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| "Extraordinary Circumstances:" Bolton Languishes as Left Kills Cloture |
| 2005-05-27 |
| As Michelle Malkin says, so much for comity. The problem here is that the left probably doesn't really have a problem with Bolton. They simply want to show who's still boss in the senate, and Frist is all too willing to let thing continue as such for the sake of... erm... nevermind. Republicans were not able to muster on Thursday the 60 votes needed to stop debate on John Bolton's nomination to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations despite support from two Democratic senators who had been instrumental in recent negotiations over judicial nominees. The Senate voted 56-42 to move on to a confirmation vote, four shy of the tally needed for cloture. Democratic Sens. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Ben Nelson of Nebraska voted for the end to debate, but other Democrats argued they want more information on the nominee's requests for certain intelligence intercepts. Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor of Arkansas also voted for cloture. 2006 will center around the continuing obstructionism the left is engaging in. How will they respond when the charge that the left doesn't want a nominee that will represent American interests, not the interests of the UN and the thugocracy it represents, sticks to them like a month-old banana cream pie. This activity is nothing more than gamesmanship for the simple purpose of antagonizing their opponents. |
| Posted by:badanov |
| #21 If Bolton is not confirmed, President Bush should either leave the position vacant or nominate some particularly ambitious pain in the ass like Hillary Clinton. |
| Posted by: RWV 2005-05-27 17:16 |
| #20 In that case LH let's call her Condi, because I have no respect for Boxer, Kennedy, Kerry, and friends. Diane Feinstein, on the other hand, I am simply terrified of. Nicolo Machiavelli would approve of Sen Feinstein in a big way. Allow me to illustrate: âCommencing then with the first of the above-named characteristics, I say that it would be well to be reputed liberal. Nevertheless, liberality exercised in a way that does not bring you the reputation for it, injures you; for if one exercises it honestly and as it should be exercised, it may not become known, and you will not avoid the reproach of its opposite. Therefore, any one wishing to maintain among men the name of liberal is obliged to avoid no attribute of magnificence; so that a prince thus inclined will consume in such acts all his property, and will be compelled in the end, if he wish to maintain the name of liberal, to unduly weigh down his people, and tax them, and do everything he can to get money.â |
| Posted by: Secret Master 2005-05-27 15:20 |
| #19 Who else has earned their doctorate in the political sphere besides Dr. Rice except another evil Republican, Dr. Henry Kissinger (who is, I'm sure, another fave of our "progressive, but hawkish?" friend) and Dr. Sen. Frist? As for Dr. Dean, I'll call him "Dr." and not Howling Howard the minute I can get a visual of him in med school. |
| Posted by: Jennie Taliaferro 2005-05-27 15:11 |
| #18 Belgravia Dispatch "Hyperbole. The nomination of John Bolton as Deputy Secretary of State would, arguably, have been a "body blow to the intelligence community." His nomination to be our Ambassador to the U.N. is not. Everyone who matters in Washington knows what job Bolton really wanted. That's the one Robert Zoellick currently occupies. The reason he is going to be at Turtle Bay rather than the 7th Floor is because of his alleged insubordination, his aggressive reading of intelligence, his occasional undiplomatic behavior. He's being punished, in other words, to a fashion. " |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2005-05-27 15:09 |
| #17 Please. Can we call her Dr. Rice? when we refer to ALL american political figures with that degree of respect, yes. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2005-05-27 15:05 |
| #16 McCain is crazy--I honor his service, but whatever the Vietcong did to him in that prison twisted his mind. (He'll never be CoC; my personal bet is that he'll run as a Dem as Hillary's VP. Hide and watch.) badanov and Frank G. are right--Confirm Bolton and way past time for the majority GOP Senators to cowboy up! The best kept secret in Washington is that the Dhimmicrat senators have been Borking all Bush appointees, not just the judicial nominees with their crazy "cloture" rules! And I haven't seen any scuttlebutt that Dr. Rice considered Bolton to be State Dept. "trash." As a matter of fact, I would imagine that these 2 "evil neocons" get along just fine when it comes to implementing the Bush Doctrine(s). |
| Posted by: Jennie Taliaferro 2005-05-27 15:02 |
| #15 McCain is running for president in 08. Absolutely nothing he does in the next few years will be uninformed by that. It is and always will be more important to him than the Republican party or conservatism in general. |
| Posted by: anon 2005-05-27 14:18 |
| #14 It's ironic that while McCain reminds us to watch his "Faith of our Fathers" movie, in which the money scene portrays him turning down an early release from POW prison out of loyalty for the other captives, he has been anything but loyal during his political career. |
| Posted by: Captain America 2005-05-27 14:06 |
| #13 If Bolton isn't confirmed, maybe we should nominate some green eye shade type and say that we've given up on the UN being able to do anything good and we will just concentrate on trying to prevent them from stealing and wasting money. |
| Posted by: mhw 2005-05-27 13:31 |
| #12 Please. Can we call her Dr. Rice? |
| Posted by: eLarson 2005-05-27 13:27 |
| #11 the whole debate about Bolton is silly on both sides. The job Bolton really wanted was Dep. Sec of State,which went to Zoellick. UN job is Condi's way of getting Bolton OUT of the State Dept. At the UN he can say some blunt things, as red meat for y'all, but everything he DOES will be at the behest of Condi. |
| Posted by: Liberalhawk 2005-05-27 13:21 |
| #10 I am so mad about this. I gave the finger to Harry Ried when I saw him on TV this morning, but then I thought about it and realized that he is not the problem. The problem is the weakness of the republicans. They are not championing Bolton, they are not really calling the dems on their obstruction or their broaching of the constitution. They are playing nicey nice. And they are looking like fools in the process. Don't get me started on McCain. He is a self-aggrandizing asshole (well, even more self-aggrandizing than his senate colleagues). |
| Posted by: remoteman 2005-05-27 13:14 |
| #9 At issue are documents which Rockefeller has already seen. There's nothing there that would make a Dem suddenly decide to vote FOR Bolton, so it is a simple twist in the breeze tactic. Rush had an interesting point a minute or two ago: let's see all of Joe Biden's memoranda and emails relating to Bolton! Make it a trade, there's for the State Departments. And make sure all of the ones from Ralph Neas are there. Never will happen, but it was a funny little illustration. |
| Posted by: eLarson 2005-05-27 13:14 |
| #8 SW - allowing that is capitulation to a minority view of how we should deal with the UN. The Donks lost, now they need to be crushed. Backbone implants, alternative Sen Candidacies, whatever it f*&king takes! |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-05-27 12:35 |
| #7 Steve, that is not even a fine point. Requiring super majorities for presidential appointment are unconstitutional, period, senate rules or not. |
| Posted by: badanov 2005-05-27 12:22 |
| #6 To be fair, the agreement amongst the "Gang of Fourteen" applied to judicial nominees only. I like Bolton, I think he would be good for the U.N. if only because Kofi would be taking the gaspipe daily, and I think we need someone at the U.N. to rattle the rafters a little and cut through the nonsense. But I don't think Bolton is going to be that man, I think he's done for. He's just made too many enemies, and that's the issue here. Ideology alone wouldn't stop the nomination: after all, Rumsfeld got confirmed, and everyone on the Left knew who and what he was. But Rummy knew how to play the game, and Bolton missed a lesson or two. If I were GWB, I'd arrange for Bolton to have a change of heart on this, and find an appointment for him that doesn't require Senate approval. Then I'd find someone who could rattle the rafters just like Bolton but who is a little smoother, and I'd make that person my U.N. nominee. After all, the point is to get someone in there who can shake things. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2005-05-27 12:07 |
| #5 Hey John McCain hows it feel to get stabbed in the back again by the Dhimicrats? I don't blame them everyone knows what they are, I blame you for selling your party and country short for your ?50 hours? of political high ground. Arizona must be very proud of him. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2005-05-27 10:46 |
| #4 I'd like to see Bush recess appoint somebody like Ann Coulter to the Supreme Court when the donks start the circus over an opening there. I wonder how long they'd block a regular appointment to an open seat with her sitting up there pillaging fifty years of leftist sacred |
| Posted by: Laurence of the Rats 2005-05-27 09:57 |
| #3 The United States Senate is the greatest disfunctional body in the world. |
| Posted by: Doug De Bono 2005-05-27 09:36 |
| #2 Lindsay Graham, John Warner, Dewine are more likely to peel away as McCain sticks it to his fellow Repubs |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-05-27 09:29 |
| #1 What did it take? Four days? Are you shocked Sen. McCain? I'm not. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2005-05-27 08:36 |