other regulatory and oversight provisions that are uniquely applied to the CFBP which other bank and financial regulators escape. Again, more smoke, intended to disguise the hunger Republicans have for holding the agency's pursestrings. It was designed that way for a reason, and of course, they hate it.

But here's the key to the whole kerfuffle:

McCONNELL: There's nothing wrong with Mr. Cordray personally. This is about an unaccountable, unelected czar and we're simply not going to appoint him -- confirm him -- or anybody else to this agency that shouldn't exist in its current form.

See? It's not about Cordray. Had Elizabeth Warren been the nominee, they would have been able to make it all about her and never, ever even revealed their true motives. But now we have Richard Cordray, someone who is far less controversial and far more inside the parameters of "acceptability", by McConnell's own admission. Still, they will refuse to confirm him or any other nominee simply because they don't like the way Dodd-Frank kept the agency out from under the thumb of Congress.

Really, I think Chris Wallace should have asked McConnell to hold his breath until he turns blue. That's really what we have going on here. A Republican temper tantrum designed to weaken an agency that exists to serve the 99 percent.

Update: Steve Benen reacted even more strongly than I. He calls McConnell's declaration "radical nullification".

As a matter of legal and institutional principles, Americans haven’t seen tactics like these since the Civil War. It led James Fallows to explain yesterday, “This strategy depends absolutely for its success on its not being called what it is: Constitutional radicalism, or nullification.” Jonathan Cohn made the same point last week, andThomas Mann referenced a “modern-day form of nullification” in July.

Political tactics and schemes come and go, as politicians and parties win and lose. But what Republicans are doing now does real damage to the American system of government. It is, by any meaningful definition, a serious and important political scandal.