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Bolton has Common Sense - That's why the Democrats hate Him
townhall,com ^ | 4/22/05 | Mona Charen

Posted on 04/22/2005 5:40:23 AM PDT by Molly Pitcher

In the late 1990s, John Bolton published an article titled "The Creation, Rise and Fall of the United Nations." If you had read this essay and not witnessed one minute of his confirmation hearings, you would already know that Democrats were going to despise him.

Here is Bolton's take on the post of U.N. secretary-general: "... One should not invest excessive hope in any secretary-general. The U.N. Charter describes the secretary-general as the U.N.'s 'chief administrative officer.' He is not the president of the world. He is not a diplomat for all seasons. He is not Mr. Friend of the Earth. And most definitely of all, he is not commander in chief of the World Federalist Army. He is the chief administrative officer. Nothing less than that, to be sure, but, with even greater certainty, nothing more."

A wound to the quick! In a few words, Bolton ridiculed liberal U.N. worship. It's no surprise that they did not thank him for bringing them down to earth with a jolt. Bolton's point in that article is that the United Nations is a tool, not an end itself. Rather than the "parliament of man" liberals fondly imagine, the United Nations is a collection of nations each pursuing its own interests, and an unaccountable bureaucracy awash in waste, sloth, luxury and abuse.

Frankly, in a decade that has brought us the Oil for Food scandal, the child sex slave trade carried on by U.N. workers, U.N. failures to confront horrific human rights disasters like North Korea and Sudan -- indeed, even offering the genocidal regime of Sudan a place on the Human Rights Commission (other members: Zimbabwe, Congo, Cuba, Saudi Arabia) -- the real question ought to be not why John Bolton isn't sentimental about the United Nations, but rather why Democrats are.

Bolton is not of the "U.S. out of the U.N., and U.N. out of the U.S." persuasion. He believes that the United States should lead the body, rather than be led by it. Bolton was our point man in seeing to it that the infamous "Zionism is Racism" General Assembly resolution was overturned.

He thinks the United Nations has been useful at times. The Security Council helped negotiate and monitor a truce between Iran and Iraq in the late 1980s. The United Nations supervised free elections in Namibia, and provided monitors as Soviet troops departed Afghanistan and Cubans left Angola. The first Gulf War, Bolton argues, was the only historical example of the Security Council behaving as the United Nations' founders envisioned. That vigorous reversal of blunt aggression was possible only because of American leadership.

But Bolton's approach to the United Nations, which was also the approach of Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Jeane Kirkpatrick, is anathema to U.S. liberals. During the confirmation hearing, Sen. Barbara Boxer played a tape of Bolton's frank description of the United Nations' top-heavy bureaucracy. "There are 38 floors to the U.N. building in New York. If you lost 10 of them, it wouldn't make a bit of difference," Bolton is heard to say.

Triumphant in her belief that she had caught Bolton out, Boxer declared: "You have nothing but disdain for the United Nations. You can dance around it, you can run away from it, you can put perfume on it, but the bottom line is the bottom line." Sen. Joseph Biden wondered aloud why Bolton even wanted the job.

Bolton was placid during his grilling -- though why so few Republicans chose to attend the hearing is anybody's guess. Perhaps sensing that substantive policy differences with Bolton would not be enough to sink his nomination -- he is, after all, supposed to represent President Bush at the United Nations, not President Kerry -- the Democrats switched tactics. This is a well-worn pattern by now. We saw it with Robert Bork, and then with Clarence Thomas and countless others. It is the find dirt game. Or perhaps the invent dirt game.

It has now reached truly hilarious depths. It seems, don't say this too loud, that Bolton has been known to yell at subordinates, particularly those who lie to him. This intelligence has led Democratic senators -- and two very limp Republicans, George Voinovich and Chuck Hagel -- to conclude that Bolton lacks the proper "temperament" for a high-ranking position in the U.S. government. Can anyone say this with a straight face?

Here's the real bottom line: Republicans have permitted this to happen. If the president had backed Bolton more forthrightly; if Republican senators had supported him during his hearing; and if two Republicans had not bid for The New York Times' approval, this could not have happened.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Extended News; Front Page News; Government; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: bolton; dems; obstructionism; poorleadership; rweenies; senate; un
Bolton nomination fiasco: The perfect storm of Dem smears, R weakness & perfidy - Voinovich et al....
1 posted on 04/22/2005 5:40:25 AM PDT by Molly Pitcher
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To: Molly Pitcher

I just went to Citizens for Global Solutions web site and find that they are probably the reason for all the hubub. They basically say there that Bolton will put US interests before UN interests... shocking and unheard of in the waste of space and minds that is the UN!


2 posted on 04/22/2005 5:48:21 AM PDT by Probus
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To: Molly Pitcher
He must be just what we need....Proof....The Dems are up in arms.

Has Hillary said anything?? or hasn't the "what to say" memo arrived from Bubba.......who is getting the names of the local (starts with p)from Kofi.

3 posted on 04/22/2005 5:51:03 AM PDT by Sacajaweau (God Bless Our Troops!!)
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To: Sacajaweau
The way to reform the United Nations is quite simple.

1. Any country can be a member of the United Nations
regardless of type of government they have.
2. All countries will have the right to speak on issues and
participate in debate.
3. Only countries that have a democratically elected
government are allowed to vote on any issue at any time!
4 posted on 04/22/2005 6:38:47 AM PDT by cpdiii (Oil Field Trash, Roughneck, Geologist, Pilot, Pharmacist, (OIL FIELD TRASH was fun))
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To: cpdiii



My take is that John Bolton is the only thing that will stand between the us and the the UN's (one world government) ambition.


5 posted on 04/22/2005 6:53:04 AM PDT by ANGGAPO
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To: Molly Pitcher
Bolton has been known to yell at subordinates, particularly those who lie to him..

Considering that the next presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton once screamed, "That f.....Jew B......", and nothing is ever said about that.

Democrats I can understand being lunatics - it's harder thinking that Republicans like my own state's Senator Voinovich is lunatic asylum material. But he is. Traitor.

6 posted on 04/22/2005 6:57:38 AM PDT by swampfox98 (Michael Reagan: "It's time to stop the flood.")
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To: Molly Pitcher
Bolton has been known to yell at subordinates, particularly those who lie to him..

Considering that the next presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton once screamed, "That f.....Jew B......", and nothing is ever said about that.

Democrats I can understand being lunatics - it's harder thinking that Republicans like my own state's Senator Voinovich is lunatic asylum material. But he is. The old Traitor.

7 posted on 04/22/2005 6:59:19 AM PDT by swampfox98 (Michael Reagan: "It's time to stop the flood.")
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To: Molly Pitcher

How is it possible that the Repubs remain to cowardly and impotent after the last election? Can someone PLEASE explain this to me? It's just infuriating!


8 posted on 04/22/2005 7:33:27 AM PDT by pabianice
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To: Molly Pitcher

I have a different take on this - #1 the U.N. gig is not all that important, so why sweat it? #2 the Dem's don't win any points by "sticking up" for the U.N. and essentially proposing we be weak & deferential to a bunch of corrupt foreigners



9 posted on 04/22/2005 8:13:23 AM PDT by ghost of nixon
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To: ghost of nixon; lepton; ABG(anybody but Gore); Bitwhacker; Dog; All
I was going to listen to Limbaugh per usual..., but instead am listening to Dennis Prager...he's interviewing Joel Mowbray on his just-launched website in support of the Bolton nomination.

Very excellent on Bolton's effectiveness at the State Dept. & why careerists at State hate him, have undermined him the past 4 years...

I imagine there's a link at NRO, Mowbray's home base...didn't quite catch the address of the site...

10 posted on 04/22/2005 9:14:58 AM PDT by Molly Pitcher (We are Americans...the sons and daughters of liberty...*.from FReeper the Real fifi*)
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To: Molly Pitcher

HAHA! Calls Voinovich himself a serial abuser of his staff....


11 posted on 04/22/2005 9:15:47 AM PDT by Molly Pitcher (We are Americans...the sons and daughters of liberty...*.from FReeper the Real fifi*)
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To: All; lepton; The Raven; Bitwhacker; ABG(anybody but Gore); Dog
Confirm Bolton.com
12 posted on 04/22/2005 9:29:28 AM PDT by Molly Pitcher (We are Americans...the sons and daughters of liberty...*.from FReeper the Real fifi*)
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To: swampfox98
"Considering that the next presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton once screamed, "That f.....Jew B......", and nothing is ever said about that."

Something will be said as soon as she starts campaigning. A lot will be said. Biden will be asked about his gross (and colorful!) double standard.

13 posted on 04/22/2005 10:21:37 AM PDT by cookcounty ("We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the Courts" ---Abe Lincoln, 1858.)
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To: Molly Pitcher
" I was going to listen to Limbaugh per usual..., but instead am listening to Dennis Prager...he's interviewing Joel Mowbray on his just-launched website in support of the Bolton nomination."

Mowbrey said on the Praeger show that Steven Ford, who called himself a "conservative Republican," in fact is a contributor to far left causes and politicians, including John Kerry and Charlie Wrangel.

Unfortunately, I could not find the source for this on Mowbrey's website

14 posted on 04/22/2005 10:28:22 AM PDT by cookcounty ("We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the Courts" ---Abe Lincoln, 1858.)
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To: cookcounty
Was this near the end of the interview??

If so, I think Mowbray said he'd be writing about this later...

15 posted on 04/22/2005 11:03:53 AM PDT by Molly Pitcher (We are Americans...the sons and daughters of liberty...*.from FReeper the Real fifi*)
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To: Molly Pitcher

We should just dump Bolton overboard and recall Mad-Bomber Halfwit. At least she can show the UN delegates how to do the Macarena. /sarcasm


16 posted on 04/22/2005 3:19:48 PM PDT by ABG(anybody but Gore) (From Roe v Wade to Terri Schiavo, the RATS have become a death cult...)
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To: ABG(anybody but Gore)
AAACK. She is the very definition of mediocrity.. definition.......

I can't help but think that if the Judicial appt. situation had been solved already we wouldn't be facing this Bolton confirmation mess...

17 posted on 04/22/2005 4:23:34 PM PDT by Molly Pitcher (We are Americans...the sons and daughters of liberty...*.from FReeper the Real fifi*)
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To: swampfox98
Let's add Byrd's use of the "N" word. Almost everything is being controlled and slanted by the news media. Otherwise, we'd hear of the great accomplishments of the USA and its' allies in BOTH Afghanistan and Iraq.

We are the brave and the bold, and in time, the truth of our goodness will unfold.

18 posted on 04/23/2005 1:16:16 PM PDT by Sacajaweau (God Bless Our Troops!!)
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