GOP Pushes Bolton Floor Vote

[G_j]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/04/26/AR2005042601255.html

GOP Pushes Bolton Floor Vote
Strategy Frames Nomination as Debate Over U.N. Reform

By Jim VandeHei and Charles Babington

Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, April 27, 2005; A07

President Bush and Senate Republicans are intensifying their push to confirm John R. Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations and are considering forcing a showdown vote on the Senate floor if the Foreign Relations Committee refuses to endorse the controversial nominee, according to White House and Senate aides.

With Bolton's confirmation jeopardized by allegations that he bullied colleagues who crossed him, Bush is planning a three-pronged strategy to win Senate approval next month of his nominee, aides said.

The White House is providing detailed rebuttals to any allegations Republican senators find troubling. Bush is also looking to make the debate over Bolton about reforming the United Nations, not Bolton's temperament, and working with Senate Republicans to produce a vote count this week showing there are enough votes to approve the nominee on the floor.

A "nose count that demonstrates majority support for Bolton ensures that any Democratic effort to drag heels again in committee is just struggling against the inevitable," said a senior Senate GOP aide. This marks the first time the GOP has threatened to circumvent opposition to Bolton on the Foreign Relations Committee, which would lessen the impact of having one or more Republicans on the panel oppose Bolton.

..more..

[Avalon Sparks]

1. FUCKING FACISTS

EOM

[truthisfreedom]

2. let them do it. watch the "i told you so" explosion as bolton embarrasses

himself, the administration, and our country over the next 3 years.

[G_j]

12. seems a lot of Americans don't care

about being respected for qualities such as diplomacy, intelligence and reason. They are not embarrassed to have arrogant, incompetent, bullies represent the US to the world.
And we wonder why we have such a big problem with bullies in our schools...duh At the very highest levels of government we reward and promote liars and bullies.

[calimary]

31. Well, I do.

Here's what I just emailed him, after calling the local offices:

Please vote NO on John Bolton!

I do NOT want him as MY voice and face to the world, representing me as a fellow American. His way of "doing business" will only help us make more enemies, not more points in our favor.

And we sure don't need THAT just now.

Thank you.

And please also protect the filibuster. Republican senators in the future will wish you had.

Here's his email address: http://voinovich.senate.gov/contact/index.htm

Here's the link to his regional contact info. The Washington office line is busy-busy-busy, but you shouldn't let that stop you. The bad guys aren't letting it stop them, you can bet.
http://voinovich.senate.gov/state_office/index.htm

[lthuedk]

3. Will moderates wake up in time?

Let's hope it is an act of sabotage:



-sp

[Daphne08]

4. Unbelievable!

I'm speechless.

[Timebound]

5. I can believe it...

I'm surprised at the turn of events, but not shocked, cause they'll stoop to any level. Fascists...

[Ruffhowse]

6. This may not be so bad. I say, give Bush all the rope he needs to

hang himself and sit back and watch the fun. Bolton will be like a bull in a china shop in the UN. Just think of all the outrageous statements he will make, and what a shambles he'll create of our diplomatic efforts around the globe. The media will love covering this stuff. All that chaos will rub off on Chimpy and further push him down in the polls. By 2006, people are REALLY gonna hate the Repukes.

[Born Free]

7. democrats flinched

Once again the democrats flinched, they made the mistake of offering to comprimise so the stronger party the right wing GOP believes they can pund the wimps into the ground. Democrats need to learn that any sign of comprimise is seen as weakness to the GOP

[saracat]

8. Yup. And to think we were crowing about how "clever" reid was! Not me!

This is what happens when you try to deal with them. Grrrr!

[mwb970]

21. I wouldn't assume that I know more about politics than Reid. (n/t)

[saracat]

32. I assume nothing. The floor vote is dangerous. I don't think you bargain

with the GOP. We should take our stance and hold to it. I don't understand why we waffle when the momentum is on our side! Hopefully this will blow up in their face, but they do have more votes than we do! Our only hope is the moderates and they have not been voting with us lately!

[LittleClarkie]

11. I don't see the two as related

You could tell that someone, be it the White House or the GOP, hate told Chafee to hammer the Bolton vote through committee over Dem objections. It didn't work. All this newest report shows is that the WH hasn't given up. It's the same crap they were pulling before Reid tried the compromise.

Bolton and the court nominees are two different issues. The WH would be pulling this shit regardless.

Meanwhile, the Repubs are getting scarier and scarier. The more the Dems can do to look like the reasonable ones, the better.

As far as the compromise is concerned, from what I've been able to gather from reading here, Reid went for the deal that the Dems have been willing to settle for all along. They just want to maintain a balance, that's all.

Anyway, they're not done yet. The bun is still in the oven. It's too early to say that we have success or failure. Just more strong arm tactics from the Repubs as usual. I can't wait to see how the Foreign Relations Committee reacts THIS time. With that group of people, I think all the Repubs are doing is making them angrier and more willing to fight. Don't forget how these guys fought the last time. They're not done, not Kerry, not Boxer, not Biden or Feingold or Dodd. Those people are angry as hell.

Meanwhile, in other news, the Bolton investigation is being widened.

Come on guys, we're not dead yet. It's not time to scream at Reid yet. It's time to keep up the pressure. Make your voices heard. LTTE! Call, call, call!

[Straight Shooter]

15. I concur 100 percent, LittleClarkie. Rational Dems vs. radical Repubs.

:thumbsup:

[calimary]

30. What you said, LittleClarkie!

We're not beaten yet. Unless we get discouraged and give up.

[saracat]

33. We have always looked reasonable. Fat lot of good it did us.

I agree Bolton and the nominees are different, but I think we should NEVER bargain with these people. And Boxer, Kerry and ,Dodd can be as angry as they please, but without the votes, we can't do much. The best thing that happened, and I give Kerry much of the credit for this, is the widening investigation. I hope this whole thing backfires in the repug faces big time. We must hold Reid's feet to the fire. NO more negotiating! Hold firm. We have everything to gain and nothing to lose. No surrender. No compromise.

[gratuitous]

14. Well, nothing's happened yet

The committee vote isn't scheduled until next month, and the way I read the article, it's just a bunch of partisan whistling past the graveyard -- give us Bolton or give us death. I'm not terribly impressed with the bluster and bloviation, though the GOP knows that a lot of people are swayed by it, so they keep doing it.

I don't think Bolton's nomination will get out of committee, and it should be a sign of the Bush administration's incompetence that they don't have a Plan B for this post.

[freedom_to_read]

16. i agree -- this is a bunch of hot air

fed to the WaPo by the Bush politbureau. the real chestnut of this propagand -- er, news piece is the quote from the "unnamed Bush staffer" that "any Democratic effort to drag heels again in committee is just struggling against the inevitable."

Project strength when you are weak, and pretend your way is inevitable. This has Rove's greasy hoof-prints all over it.

[Renew Deal]

23. What are you talking about?

How do you figure? They had them on the ropes with Bolton and forced the pukes to not vote.

[bowens43]

9. typical. If they can't win they'll cheat or change the rules.

fucking bastards.

[Dulcinea]

10. Do they have the votes?

May this whole fiasco fall flat & send Bolton back to whatever rock he crawled out from under.

[DemBeans]

13. gee, isn't the Congress a separate branch of gov't?

You'd think that some GOP'ers in the Senate would be resentful over Bush continually imposing his will and meddling on their turf. This isn't anything new, he got his fingers into everything on the Hill in his first (stolen) term.

I guess you have to check your pride at the door to be a Republican member of Congress.

[napi21]

17. I question if they have the votes too. All we've heard from so far

were those on the Foreign Relations Committee. With all the BS about Bolton, don't you think there are at least a few rational Pubs who wouldn't want to confirm this idiot? Even with all the pressure and bribary, asome of these folks face re-election next year, and I'm sure self preservation trumps support for a lame duck.

[Roland99]

18. So, if the Senate Foreign Relations Committee doesn't want him...

The Propagandist will still push for a vote and obstruct the Senate from continuing to investigate claims of Bolton's abusive behavior?


Par for the course.


Authoritarianism.

[freedom_to_read]

22. I'm confused about this

Several articles I have read say that if the SFRC does not vote to recommend Bolton, his nomination can still go to the floor "without recommendation."

But when I watched the hearings, I was under the impression that a majority of the committee would have to vote to bring the nomination to the floor, with or without recommendation.

Can any experts on the way Congress works clear this up?

[Frederik]

19. How on earth

is Bolton going to contribute to "reforming the United Nations"? He doesn't even acknowledge that it exists!

[Frances]

20. It's about our intelligence agents and keeping America safe

Bolton has bullied intelligence agents trying to make them say things that aren't true

If Bolton succeeds in getting rid of honest intelligence agents, we are more at risk for another 9/11

[swag]

24. From Steve Clemons

at www.thewashingtonnote.com

"The White House is trying to demonstrate that it has a majority of Republicans who will vote to confirm Bolton on the floor. Duh...of course they do....until other Senators are forced to look at the evidence, which members outside the Senate Foreign Relations Committee have not been tasked with doing -- at least not until the Committee does its job of compiling a full record on Bolton and voting on it.

I'm not moved at all by the White House's tactic of canvassing the votes of its members. Those opposed to Bolton will be visiting these same Senators and asking the question of whether they can conscientiously vote in favor of Bolton after they know X, Y, and Z about him.

We should put an "acknowledgement of the facts contract" in front of every Senator who plans to vote for or against John Bolton and have them SIGN IT."

[AlCzervik]

25. It sounds like Rove is floating a trial balloon here

i hope to Lugar doens't have the votes to get him out of commitee.

[progressoid]

29. Yep - I was going to say "testing the waters"

I think they are looking for alternate ways to weasel him in and still retain some allies in congress.

I think he's losing the battle but I wouldn't be shocked if he gets the job somehow. Hell, who would have thought Rice and Wolfowitz would get promoted?

[AuntiBush]

26. He'll take us into HOLY JIHAD NUKE w/IRAN

That's what I think the rush is about.

:scared::scared::scared:

[Alizaryn]

27. So then .... Can we filibuster him?

[Mandate My Ass]

28. Bolton's unfitness and multiple scandals make confirmation unlikely

A headline I'd love to see.:eyes: