Tuesday, June 07, 2005

It’s a bluff - Democrats say have votes to delay Bolton vote: “Senate Democrats back from a weeklong recess said on Tuesday they were holding firm against allowing a vote to confirm John Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations until the Bush administration turns over more information on him.”

Ugh…more of this childish foot-stomping by the Democrats. There is no chance that the White House is going to put up with this game anymore. If the Democrats obstruct an up-or-down vote on Bolton, Bush should either give him a recess appointment or leave the seat empty. The debating club known as the United Nations will have to continue without us.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Leave the seat empty.

Bush should use this to show how worthless even the Democrats think the UN really is. If the US really needed an someone in the position, the senate would have confirmed him long ago.

Eric said...

I'm just baffled that the Senate is spending so much time on such a useless position. It's not like Secretary of Defense or something.

Bolton has already been through the confirmation process three times before and the Democrats have found absolutely nothing damaging on him other than he's (maybe) impatient with co-workers. Jeez, just let him go already. It's just the UN.

Anonymous said...

"...more of this childish foot-stomping"
...
"...leave the seat empty"

Yeah! That'll show those "childish" STINKERS!

Anonymous said...

Obviously from a right wing zealot. Bush needs to turn over what is requested instead of thinking he's above it all. He has to deal with Legislative branch and comply, even though he'd like to eliminate that freedom, and be King

Anonymous said...

The UN is flawed, goofy and at times even criminal. The same can be said of Congress and even some recent Presidents.

But is the UN worthless? The answer is 'no.' The UN is an international forum for debate and dispute resolution and provides neutrality for peacekeeping forces. It is just one of the tools in the diplomatic toolbox, to be used when it suits our needs. Bush the Elder and other Presidents understood this.

It is becoming clear that unless we institute compulsory military service, and find a really big pile of money somewhere, we are not going to be able to address every potential threat with a unilateral military response. Having other options is prudent.

The Democrats are humiliated because they cravenly knuckled under and voted against their consciences during the pre-Iraq hysteria because at the time the polls said they would lose public support otherwise.

Republican supporters are focusing on the comments made about how 'mean' Bolton is because these support their view that Democrats are silly.

But what is really going on is that the Democrats are dragging this out to remind the public over and over that Bolton aggressively crushed dissenting opinion on the intelligence assessments used to justify the invasion of Iraq, and that rather than being punished he is being rewarded by the Bush administration.

Eric said...

I think that's an excellent point: Bolton is the stand-in for Bush and criticism over intelligence and diplomatic failures. But the holy defense of the vaunted United Nations seems an odd position for the Democrats when so many Americans have a dim view of that particular institution.

I think Frist should call the vote anyway and see if they'll filibuster a Presidential nominee; there's gotta be five Democrats (up for re-election) who have some sanity to vote for cloture.