Definition:
: one that hinders progress: one that deliberately and often by indirect or delaying tactics obstructs business (as in a legislative body)
About the Word:
Obstructionist has been seeing quite a bit more use in the past few years, possibly as a result of political tensions between Barack Obama and congressional Republicans. However, the word has been used to describe intentional political gridlock for a long time; the earliest known use dates to the early 1840s. Whether one views this word as an insult depends on whether one agrees politically with the thing being obstructed, or opposes it.
Example:
"Mr. Macauley's speech was the most eloquent; but it was the speech of an obstructionist." — The New World; a Weekly Family Journal, 11 June 1842
