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Blame Reid's 'nuclear option' for unqualified ambassadors
Washington Examiner ^ | 12-4-14 | Editorial

Posted on 12/05/2014 7:56:14 AM PST by afraidfortherepublic

If you're looking for a good laugh this week, you probably can't do better than Tuesday's White House press conference. Reporters asked spokesman Josh Earnest about the confirmation of two Obama-appointed ambassadors whose confirmation was only possible because Democrats manipulated Senate rules earlier this year to make it easier to approve executive-branch nominees.

By the narrowest of margins, two people completely unqualified to represent U.S. interests abroad were confirmed to serve in relatively important countries they know nothing about. Colleen Bell, the new U.S. ambassador to Hungary, is a former soap opera producer who couldn't name a single strategic interest the United States has in Hungary at her confirmation hearing. Noah Mamet will now represent U.S. interests in Argentina, a country he has never even visited. Mamet reportedly does not speak Spanish.

What both of these unqualified ambassadors have in common is that each raised more than half a million dollars for President Obama's re-election campaign.

If you're looking for a good laugh this week, you probably can't do better than Tuesday's White House press conference. Reporters asked spokesman Josh Earnest about the confirmation of two Obama-appointed ambassadors whose confirmation was only possible because Democrats manipulated Senate rules earlier this year to make it easier to approve executive-branch nominees.

By the narrowest of margins, two people completely unqualified to represent U.S. interests abroad were confirmed to serve in relatively important countries they know nothing about. Colleen Bell, the new U.S. ambassador to Hungary, is a former soap opera producer who couldn't name a single strategic interest the United States has in Hungary at her confirmation hearing. Noah Mamet will now represent U.S. interests in Argentina, a country he has never even visited. Mamet reportedly does not speak Spanish.

What both of these unqualified ambassadors have in common is that each raised more than half a million dollars for President Obama's re-election campaign.


TOPICS: Editorial; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; Russia; US: Arizona; US: Nevada
KEYWORDS: 67votes; ambassador; argentina; arizona; cesi; colleenbell; harryreid; hungary; johnmccain; mamet; nevada; noahmamet; nuclearoption; putinsbuttboys; russia; senaterules; viktororban

1 posted on 12/05/2014 7:56:14 AM PST by afraidfortherepublic
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To: afraidfortherepublic

Actually these two fit in seamlessly with the rest of the Obama Administration.


2 posted on 12/05/2014 7:59:26 AM PST by fhayek
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To: afraidfortherepublic

If unqualified ambassadors were the worst of our problems, we’d be golden.


3 posted on 12/05/2014 8:01:43 AM PST by Attention Surplus Disorder (At no time was the Obama administration aware of what the Obama administration was doing)
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To: Attention Surplus Disorder

That’s a fact.

Obama’s ambassadors will be gone in a couple of years. Obama’s judges will be legislating from the bench for the next 30 years.


4 posted on 12/05/2014 8:10:07 AM PST by Bubba_Leroy (The Obamanation Continues)
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To: afraidfortherepublic

This is a joke. Historically Ambassadors have been bundlers or heavy contributors, period.

The Senate has rarely squawked about anyone. I recall the movie actor John Gavin appointed to Mexico by Reagan raised a fluff, but Gavin was actually qualified and Hispanic.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001260/bio


5 posted on 12/05/2014 8:11:32 AM PST by shalom aleichem
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To: afraidfortherepublic

Let us not forget Caroline Kennedy as the ambassador to Japan. She being such an expert on all things Japanese and all. LOL!


6 posted on 12/05/2014 8:18:23 AM PST by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose o f a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped.)
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To: afraidfortherepublic

Only slightly less qualified than Dan Rooney, the aging, senile heir to a football team, was to be our Ambassador to Ireland.

Dan had at least been to Ireland for a Steeler exhibition game that was played there.


7 posted on 12/05/2014 8:26:01 AM PST by Buckeye McFrog
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To: afraidfortherepublic

Can’t blame Reid for any of this...we know he’s a scumbag...

He only got away with it because the coward McConnel capitulated.


8 posted on 12/05/2014 8:29:41 AM PST by rottndog ('Live Free Or Die' Ain't just words on a bumber sticker...or a tagline.)
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To: afraidfortherepublic
Years ago, when I attended the Air War College, one of the people in my seminar was from the State Department. He pointed out that under existing law, the State Department provides no "representational funds" to ambassadors. Translated into English, that means if the ambassador throws a party, or otherwise entertains some important people in the country to which he is ambassador, any expenses for booze come out of his pocket. That's one reason why rich people are tapped as ambassadors. They can afford to buy booze for "representation." Of course, being a big donor or bundler doesn't hurt either.
9 posted on 12/05/2014 9:58:21 AM PST by JoeFromSidney (Book: RESISTANCE TO TYRANNY. Available from Amazon.)
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To: afraidfortherepublic

this is crappola,
presidents have been putting in worthless vermin who contributed heavily to their success forever in to top ambasador positions as well as every other position they can pay em off with.


10 posted on 12/05/2014 12:00:21 PM PST by Joe Boucher (The F.B.I. Is a division of holders Justice Dept. (Nuff said))
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To: afraidfortherepublic

We’ve been pumping out unqualified ambassadors for well over 200 years. Nothing new here. Both parties do it, and the Senate merely plays along with the game.


11 posted on 12/06/2014 3:04:10 AM PST by pepsionice
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