Posted on 04/01/2007 6:04:20 PM PDT by Quick or Dead
WASHINGTON — President George W. Bush pulled the plug on the nomination of Clayton businessman Sam Fox to be ambassador to Belgium after learning just minutes before Wednesday's confirmation hearing that Democrats had the votes to defeat him.
A solid wall of Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee planned to oppose Fox because of his donations to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which denigrated the Vietnam War service of 2004 Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, a panel member.
On Tuesday, veterans who served with Kerry wrote panel members urging them to oppose the nomination.
"My understanding is the entire Democratic membership of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has these concerns," said Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va. White House officials confirmed that they concluded a half-hour before the session that the votes weren't there for Fox. Kerry said Fox had sealed his fate by refusing "to disavow the politics of personal destruction and to embrace the truth."
(Excerpt) Read more at stltoday.com ...
And they are? Or was it just that one guy?
Commodore Kerry, the Hero of Vietnam.
Yeah, melon head. Jon carey committed treason by his own addmission and then called our troops rapists, murderers and terrorists. Yer' damn right it's gotta' stop.
This is just so like Kerry... what a friggin woos!
"AWWWWW..those big bad Swiftboats beat me up!! Mommmmy! That's not FAAAAAAIR!"
Looks like the Prez has had another testiclectomy.
This gets depressing.
That was a lot like my first thought, too---really depressing.
This is stale non-news, the kind of stuff newbies like to rub in.
Fixed it...
More retreat from the White House. What they don't seem to realize is that every time they do the Dems get more emboldened.
No kidding - Kerry wouldn't even be holding this grudge if the Swift Boat Veterans had been lying and he had been able to discredit them. Truth is Painful for this one. Unfortunately for Kerry, it's not going away...
Well, why don't we just ask the Dems who we can appoint that will make them happy? /s
They pretty vote vote lockstep all the time. I imagine they will unanimously protest the next nominee as well. Seems a recess appointment would have been a better route to go.
The trick is that too many Dems are still fighting the Viet Nam War (which they started) and claiming that no one else can question them.
Personally, I think the Dems should be held accountable for that war in its entirity, and that any of them now in the Senate or House who voted for genocide should be taken to the Capitol steps and executed for crimes against humanity (after appropriate trial of course). These pukes have mouthed off one too many times.
Not only blame the White House but ole Sam sounded as if he were in the wrong. "No balls Sam" sealed his fate. I'm glad he lost this opportunity. If ya can't stand up to doofus Kerry we don't need you on the government trough.
The story itself is not important, just the Bush-bashing.
Do we need an ambassador to Belgium that badly?
What exactly is GW's game plan? It sure seems to be going downhill.
I don't think it's stale non-news.
This appears to me to be another poker hand, especially in light of the recent GOE event, Bush and Fox sent a message and put another nail in the coffin of John Kerry. John Kerry's comments at the end say it all. LOL!
__________________________________________________________
"It came as a surprise," said Committee Chairman Joe Biden, D-Del., at the outset of the hearing. He later added in an interview, "I assumed there was going to be some discussion, some room for negotiation. I think a lot of this was avoidable."
Fox, 77, is the national chairman of the Jewish Republican Coalition and has more than $1 million to Republican candidates and causes since the 1990s, according to Federal Election Commission records.
Under questioning by Kerry about his $50,000 contribution to the Swift Boat group when he testified before the committee last month, Fox expressed no regrets. "...When we're asked, we generally give," he said, citing his donations to many groups.
Kerry told the Post-Dispatch Wednesday that he was prepared to allow Fox' nomination to proceed "If Mr. Fox would simply acknowledge that he made a mistake, and disavow the (Swift veterans) he once supported. I think a lot of committee members felt the same way. Again, he chose not to, which raises questions about his judgment."
In what appears to be a great shock to many, Bush's gameplan apparently is to avoid battles he cannot win.
I very much doubt Sam feels bad making Kerry relive his loss of the Presidency. :^)
Hahahahahahahaha!
Or else send Michael Dukakis--back in 1988 he was the authority on Belgian endive.
Hey now - you make Dems sound like Terrorists. Don't you realize that they are as patriotic as any other American?
[/sarcasm]
Nothing like freedom of speech in this country. Donate to the wrong group? Sorry, no political power for you.
I can see that a newbie like you might see it that way, but this is one of our most troubling problems.
He probably pulled the nomination so Fox can be appointed to the position while the Senate is in recess. Fox could serve the rest of this session of Congress without Senate approval, I think.
They pulled the rug out from underneath our Asian friends, left them twistin' in the red wind and a few million of them died. Yeah, kerry, kennedy and such have a lot to answer for, but hey, if you don't have a conscience sleep comes easy.
Just so. I don't see why we need to rush things to have an ambassador in Belgium. Let Pelosi and Kerri take the blame if the seat is vacant. Let them explain it to their pals over there.
Don’t look now, but it looks like my President is planning on a recess appointment for Fox! ‘Bout time.
Bush Uses Recess Appointment Power to Install GOP Fundraiser Sam Fox as Ambassador
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,264090,00.html
WASHINGTON — President Bush named Republican fundraiser Sam Fox as U.S. ambassador to Belgium on Wednesday, using a maneuver that allowed him to bypass Congress where Democrats had derailed Fox’s nomination.
Democrats had denounced Fox for his 2004 donation to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. The group’s TV ads, which claimed that Sen. John Kerry exaggerated his military record in Vietnam, were viewed as a major factor in the Massachusetts Democrat losing the election.
Recognizing Fox did not have the votes to obtain Senate confirmation, Bush withdrew the nomination last month. On Wednesday, with Congress out of town for a spring break, the president used his power to make recess appointments to put Fox in the job without Senate confirmation.
ping.
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