Posted on 06/09/2005 8:23:14 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - Senate Democrats opposed to John R. Bolton asked one of his GOP supporters to be a go-between in their pursuit of information that could break an impasse over his nomination to be U.N. ambassador.
At the same time, a Democratic lawmaker said the Bush administration has made overtures to try to get the nomination to a final vote.
"The White House did make some proposals which didn't really do it, but they're reaching out a little bit," Sen. Barbara Boxer (news, bio, voting record), D-Calif., told reporters Thursday.
Democrats have demanded to know more about communications intercepted by the National Security Agency that Bolton had asked to see when he was the State Department's arms control chief.
The lawmakers suspect Bolton may have sought the information to retaliate against government workers who disagreed with some of his views on Cuba, Syria and other hot spots.
The administration has refused to provide the information, beyond a limited briefing given to GOP Sen. Pat Roberts (news, bio, voting record) of Kansas, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and the vice chairman, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va.
Roberts supported Bolton when the full Senate debated his nomination last month. Rockefeller opposed Bolton.
On Thursday, Sens. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., and Joseph Biden, D-Del., wrote to Roberts and Rockefeller to enlist their help in getting the additional information from the administration.
Dodd and Biden said they have a list of three dozen "names of concern." They want National Intelligence Director John D. Negroponte to check that list with the names of U.S. citizens in the secret communications Bolton saw, and then tell Roberts and Rockefeller if there is any overlap.
Roberts and Rockefeller would then explain to Senate Democrats "whether there was any inappropriate use of the names," Dodd and Biden wrote.
That is a slight modification of a compromise proposed by Dodd last week and rejected by Negroponte.
Republicans need 60 votes to move Bolton's nomination forward. They fell short of that mark last month.
Democrats claim they have enough votes to again hold off a final up-or-down vote, but would drop their procedural delays if the White House produces the information sought.
The President should tell Reid and Boxer to stuff it. Both of them have mouths that won't quit and wouldn't trust either of them to protect any intelligence information. If they give this info, these two lunatics will come up with something else to delay the vote.
Activists gather on the west side of the US Capitol Building on Capitol Hill to protest the nomination of John Bolton as US ambassador to the United Nations. An up-or-down vote on John Bolton's controversial nomination to become Washington's UN ambassador will be blocked indefinitely, unless the White House produces classified documents about the nominee, the US Senate's top Democrat said.(AFP/File/Brendan Smialowski)
Bolton won't get a vote with out some means of providing info to someone to put down the Dem charges, or at least reveal what he did or didn't do.
Unbelievable.
Just when I think the Democrats have hit the absolute bottom of eye-popping shamelessness and skull-numbing stupidity, they claw out an even deeper hole for themselves.
Any Republican who agrees to this crap is in big trouble. The democrats either vote yes or no on Bolton. Period!
The Republicans were given a mandate by the American people to do what they have to do. They'd better not tell the American voter to shove it and cave to the small minority - again!!!!!!!
US Senator Patrick Leahy, D-VT, speaks on his cellphone outside the West Wing of the White House as a US Marine Corps Honor Guard stands his post, May 2005. Leahy said that President George W. Bush's controversial nominee for UN ambassador, John Bolton, will be approved, but by a small margin.(AFP/File/Paul J. Richards)
AFP: US Senate will make Bolton UN ambassador: Leahy
Good ol' Leaky! ;-)
How about this?
Okay, then, how about this?
I see; then, what about this?
Uh huh. Well, what about this?
Till the end of time.
L
July 4th.
Tick tock...
Sorry anti-American democrats. They're classified.
Well Bolton will have to wait 15 months for that, or a few months; I'm not sure if Congress recesses every year for this purpose. It won't happen.
The Dems are betting that won't happen, that is why they're pulling this stunt. All a charade to hopefully have Bush back away from Bolton and nominate someone else.
Funny thing is this could have all been avoided and Bolton put to vote, if the G.O.P. had a real senate majority leader.
Leahy is about the least plugged in Congress critter in the body. Nobody talks to him; nobody trusts him; his staff dislikes him, so say Congressional staffer polls.
There seems to be this impression that Frist can use his medical skills to hypnotize the opposition to round up votes he otherwise doesn't have. Odd.
L
Recess appointment.
Does that count for this purpose? Just asking? If it does, then the appointment I presume would last until January, 2007. As I say, it won't happen.
The same clause that Republicans are basing their opinion that any President's judicial nominees must get an up-or-down vote also includes ALL presidential nominees. So, if they were willing to go to the mat for the judicial ones, why not this one?
And if they're not willing to do the same for this one, what does that tell us about their motives?
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