Bolton nomination - it's time to focus on Lugar, a political coward

[housewolf]

From Laura Rozen's War & Piece blog:


As this Bolton nomination story continues to evolve and we see more and more instances of his unfit behavior for office, it is time for the media and the progressive community to begin focusing attention on Dick Lugar. Lugar receives a pass from foreign policy moderates, because he is not a neo-con/hardliner and has made clear his discomfort with certain elements of the Bush foreign policy.

But another picture needs to emerge -- and that is of Lugar as a political coward. He is willing to vote against his personal beliefs/predilections when that is required to make peace with the conservative wing of his party. The most notable example was his 1999 vote on the CTBT. He waited until several days before the climactic floor vote in the Senate before announcing his opposition, which had the net result of bringing a number of other GOP fence-sitters to the "no" side. It was widely understood that Lugar voted against the CTBT to ensure that conservatives would not mount a challenge to his future chairmanship of the SFRC, once Jesse Helms retired. Lugar got his chairmanship in 2003, but at the price of paving the way for the first Senate rejection of an influential treaty since the ignomious rejection of the League of Nations in 1917.

This Bolton vote is shaping up as the second major betrayal by Lugar. In all of his actions since the Bolton nomination was announced (no statement of support for Bolton immediately following his nomination, a curious opening statement on Monday that appeared to castigate Bolton for his temparement and use of provocative rhetoric), Lugar has made clear his distaste for this nomination, based on Bolton's policy views and actions in office alone. But, instead, Lugar this week has hardened his resolve to steamroll the nomination through the Committee.

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http://www.warandpiece.com/blogdirs/001903.html

[flordehinojos]

1. i could not believe my ear when i heard lugar say that the bolton hearings

were not about whether a man loses his cool and throws a tantrum against underlings (paraphrasing a bit here but basically that is what he meant) and added that the bolton hearings were about THE NEED TO REFORM THE U.N. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That, not only is HARD CORE PORNOGRAPHIC SPIN. IT IS ALSO A BETRAYAL TO DECENCY AND OUR DEMOCRATIC VALUES.

An American Patriot, Richard Lugar is not!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[housewolf]

2. I couldn't believe

When Lugar closed the hearing and basically said "it's our job to approve the person president wants and if it doesn't work out, the president will probably make a change."

These folks just don't seem to get that their duty is to America first, not the president! And that the job of Congress is to STOP the president from acting against the good of America. Their constitutions role states that they are to ADVISE and consent - and the way they advise is to disproved certain bad nominations.

Grrrrrr.....