Senator Frist: Again, Please Pull The Trigger.
This report below comes from the Washington Post today. (The commentary is provided by yours truly.) The fight over Bolton is heating up, especially on the heels of the president’s recent address where he deemed it necessary to confirm Bolton, and send him to the United Nations where he is sorely needed.
A key Democratic senator warned yesterday that the Bush administration may be losing ground in its bid to confirm John R. Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations, as the White House continued to rebuff Democrats' request for documents related to the nominee.
You cannot have those documents. When will the idiots in the Senate understand that they are not cleared for those documents. The co-chairs of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee had their chance to view them, but Sen. Reid and his cronies will not see them.
Senate GOP leaders, acknowledging no apparent progress on Bolton, said they will call for another vote to end debate in a renewed effort to portray Democrats as obstructionists, probably this week. But one of the three Democrats who sided with them on an unsuccessful "cloture" vote on May 26, Sen. Mark Pryor (Ark.), said he may abandon the Republicans, leaving them farther from their goal than they were three weeks ago.
So, certain Democrats who believed that Bolton was the right man for the right job are now departing? Sounds like Pryor is more of a RINO than many had expected. He sounds like Sen. McCain. The moment the going gets rough, he is ready to bail out, and join the other side.
If Democrats "continue being reasonable [in their requests] and the White House won't provide the information, I want to reserve the right to change my vote," Pryor told reporters.
No, you are getting pressure from your colleagues, and you are sick of it. This is not a "right to change" your vote. This is you seeing which way the wind is blowing, and playing the role of a political opportunist to the hilt.
Some Republican lawmakers expressed dismay that the effort to confirm Bolton, an outspoken conservative who has sharply criticized the United Nations, remains so difficult. Critics have cited his beratings of State Department subordinates who differed with him, but the most recent sticking point has involved Democratic requests for documents concerning Bolton's work activities.
Documents that they are not getting. And they can find nothing more on this man than he might have been abrasive to subordinates. Big deal. I am sure it was warranted. Why does everyone—all of a sudden—need to be touchy-feely? This is disgusting. This man was tasked with jobs, and he accomplished them. And if he had to raise his voice, or chastise, a subordinate to do it, then good for him. I want him in the UN.
The administration says senators have no need or right to review information regarding his role in shaping the 2003 congressional testimony on Syria or his efforts to learn the names of U.S. officials mentioned in conversations intercepted by the National Security Agency. The impasse has lasted two months.
The administration is correct. Those with a "need to know", know. They know as much as they need to about John Bolton. The man has not committed a crime, or attempted to defraud the government with any of his reports. He has been open and honest; seemingly too honest for some senators. I wonder if they were yelled at a lot as children?
"As long as the White House is not allowing the information to come forward, there's going to be no change in the vote," Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said yesterday.
Sen. Reid, no matter what you do, there will never be a change into how utterly idiotic you sound, or how truly irrelevant you really are.
On May 26, the Senate fell three votes short of the 60 needed to shut off debate and allow a confirmation vote to occur. Three Democrats -- Pryor, Mary Landrieu (La.) and Ben Nelson (Neb.) -- sided with Republicans in voting to end the filibuster.
Republicans, who have spent much of the year depicting Democrats as obstructionists in the battle over judicial nominees, had hoped a few more moderate Democrats would yield as President Bush continued to press for Bolton's approval. But with Democrats appearing to stand firm, Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) said yesterday that he will try to increase the pressure by scheduling another vote to end the debate, possibly tomorrow.
Sen. Frist, take the advice of my other half: If you would like to turn the pressure up to pressure-cooker level, then pull the trigger on the Constitutional Option regarding John Bolton. Do not tell anyone you are considering it, because there are members of your party who will undermine the attempt. Force the issue, force the Option, and get the final vote on Bolton done by five o’ clock tomorrow.
"The only way we're going to get there is have another cloture vote to demonstrate that the other side is unreasonably and irresponsibly filibustering this nominee," Frist told reporters.
Sen. Frist, I just gave you your out on this vote. Pull the trigger, already.
But Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), a leading opponent of Bolton, said the administration is showing disrespect for the Senate by refusing to provide pertinent information that numerous executive-branch officials have seen.
"Why they be dissin’ us?" Sorry, I had to do it. Give me a break. The White House is not disrespecting anyone. It has dispatched more than enough information on John Bolton. Nothing more is forthcoming. Deal with it, and make your decision based on what you have in hand. Quit crying like a baby over what you do or do not have, or I will give you something to cry about.
"They're filibustering their own nominee," Dodd said. White House compliance with the Democrats' requests, he said, would quickly lead to a confirmation vote in which Bolton would need a simple majority in the 100-member Senate. Republicans hold 55 seats.
Dumbass, your party decided that to filibuster was divine. Drop the dirty tactics, and fight it out in the Senate like the Founders used to. If you lose, so what? You live to fight another day. Your party, Sen. Dodd, is too used to getting it’s way. That day is soon to end.
Sen. Richard J. Durbin (Ill.), the chamber's second-ranking Democrat, said: "Instead of calling a vote, [Frist] should call the White House. Because if they will produce the basic information which [Bolton] and his staff had access to . . . it's the end of the controversy. Clearly, there is something in those documents which is so damaging to Bolton, they don't want to release it."
Sen. Durbin, my other half handed you your ass earlier, so I will not beat too hard, but the refusal to release those records, I am sure, has little to do with what Bolton is "guilty" of, and more along the lines that the information is none of your business, you nosy, daffy bastard.
"This is about partisan politics, not about documents. They have the information they need," said Erin Healy, a White House spokeswoman.
The administration says Bolton, while undersecretary of state for arms control, obtained the names of 19 U.S. officials and companies mentioned in conversations monitored by the NSA. When the administration refused to divulge the names to high-ranking senators, Dodd and his allies offered to specify about three dozen people and to ask if any were among the 19. The administration rejected that request as well.
Frist said yesterday that Democrats keep "moving the goalposts," but Dodd said Democrats have changed their requests only to narrow them. "Thirty-six names is not excessive," he told reporters, given that Bolton learned the identities of 19 people or firms mentioned in secretly monitored conversations.
This is pathetic: TO THE MORONS OUT THERE—It is clearly none of your business. At a time like this, when certain senators cannot keep their damned mouths shut, I would tell them to take a flying leap, as well. You do not get the records. You have enough information to make a decision. Make it, shut up, and move on.
If you cannot do that, I suggest you check the want-ads. Your time in the Senate will soon be up.
The Bunny ;)
This report below comes from the Washington Post today. (The commentary is provided by yours truly.) The fight over Bolton is heating up, especially on the heels of the president’s recent address where he deemed it necessary to confirm Bolton, and send him to the United Nations where he is sorely needed.
A key Democratic senator warned yesterday that the Bush administration may be losing ground in its bid to confirm John R. Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations, as the White House continued to rebuff Democrats' request for documents related to the nominee.
You cannot have those documents. When will the idiots in the Senate understand that they are not cleared for those documents. The co-chairs of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee had their chance to view them, but Sen. Reid and his cronies will not see them.
Senate GOP leaders, acknowledging no apparent progress on Bolton, said they will call for another vote to end debate in a renewed effort to portray Democrats as obstructionists, probably this week. But one of the three Democrats who sided with them on an unsuccessful "cloture" vote on May 26, Sen. Mark Pryor (Ark.), said he may abandon the Republicans, leaving them farther from their goal than they were three weeks ago.
So, certain Democrats who believed that Bolton was the right man for the right job are now departing? Sounds like Pryor is more of a RINO than many had expected. He sounds like Sen. McCain. The moment the going gets rough, he is ready to bail out, and join the other side.
If Democrats "continue being reasonable [in their requests] and the White House won't provide the information, I want to reserve the right to change my vote," Pryor told reporters.
No, you are getting pressure from your colleagues, and you are sick of it. This is not a "right to change" your vote. This is you seeing which way the wind is blowing, and playing the role of a political opportunist to the hilt.
Some Republican lawmakers expressed dismay that the effort to confirm Bolton, an outspoken conservative who has sharply criticized the United Nations, remains so difficult. Critics have cited his beratings of State Department subordinates who differed with him, but the most recent sticking point has involved Democratic requests for documents concerning Bolton's work activities.
Documents that they are not getting. And they can find nothing more on this man than he might have been abrasive to subordinates. Big deal. I am sure it was warranted. Why does everyone—all of a sudden—need to be touchy-feely? This is disgusting. This man was tasked with jobs, and he accomplished them. And if he had to raise his voice, or chastise, a subordinate to do it, then good for him. I want him in the UN.
The administration says senators have no need or right to review information regarding his role in shaping the 2003 congressional testimony on Syria or his efforts to learn the names of U.S. officials mentioned in conversations intercepted by the National Security Agency. The impasse has lasted two months.
The administration is correct. Those with a "need to know", know. They know as much as they need to about John Bolton. The man has not committed a crime, or attempted to defraud the government with any of his reports. He has been open and honest; seemingly too honest for some senators. I wonder if they were yelled at a lot as children?
"As long as the White House is not allowing the information to come forward, there's going to be no change in the vote," Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said yesterday.
Sen. Reid, no matter what you do, there will never be a change into how utterly idiotic you sound, or how truly irrelevant you really are.
On May 26, the Senate fell three votes short of the 60 needed to shut off debate and allow a confirmation vote to occur. Three Democrats -- Pryor, Mary Landrieu (La.) and Ben Nelson (Neb.) -- sided with Republicans in voting to end the filibuster.
Republicans, who have spent much of the year depicting Democrats as obstructionists in the battle over judicial nominees, had hoped a few more moderate Democrats would yield as President Bush continued to press for Bolton's approval. But with Democrats appearing to stand firm, Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) said yesterday that he will try to increase the pressure by scheduling another vote to end the debate, possibly tomorrow.
Sen. Frist, take the advice of my other half: If you would like to turn the pressure up to pressure-cooker level, then pull the trigger on the Constitutional Option regarding John Bolton. Do not tell anyone you are considering it, because there are members of your party who will undermine the attempt. Force the issue, force the Option, and get the final vote on Bolton done by five o’ clock tomorrow.
"The only way we're going to get there is have another cloture vote to demonstrate that the other side is unreasonably and irresponsibly filibustering this nominee," Frist told reporters.
Sen. Frist, I just gave you your out on this vote. Pull the trigger, already.
But Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), a leading opponent of Bolton, said the administration is showing disrespect for the Senate by refusing to provide pertinent information that numerous executive-branch officials have seen.
"Why they be dissin’ us?" Sorry, I had to do it. Give me a break. The White House is not disrespecting anyone. It has dispatched more than enough information on John Bolton. Nothing more is forthcoming. Deal with it, and make your decision based on what you have in hand. Quit crying like a baby over what you do or do not have, or I will give you something to cry about.
"They're filibustering their own nominee," Dodd said. White House compliance with the Democrats' requests, he said, would quickly lead to a confirmation vote in which Bolton would need a simple majority in the 100-member Senate. Republicans hold 55 seats.
Dumbass, your party decided that to filibuster was divine. Drop the dirty tactics, and fight it out in the Senate like the Founders used to. If you lose, so what? You live to fight another day. Your party, Sen. Dodd, is too used to getting it’s way. That day is soon to end.
Sen. Richard J. Durbin (Ill.), the chamber's second-ranking Democrat, said: "Instead of calling a vote, [Frist] should call the White House. Because if they will produce the basic information which [Bolton] and his staff had access to . . . it's the end of the controversy. Clearly, there is something in those documents which is so damaging to Bolton, they don't want to release it."
Sen. Durbin, my other half handed you your ass earlier, so I will not beat too hard, but the refusal to release those records, I am sure, has little to do with what Bolton is "guilty" of, and more along the lines that the information is none of your business, you nosy, daffy bastard.
"This is about partisan politics, not about documents. They have the information they need," said Erin Healy, a White House spokeswoman.
The administration says Bolton, while undersecretary of state for arms control, obtained the names of 19 U.S. officials and companies mentioned in conversations monitored by the NSA. When the administration refused to divulge the names to high-ranking senators, Dodd and his allies offered to specify about three dozen people and to ask if any were among the 19. The administration rejected that request as well.
Frist said yesterday that Democrats keep "moving the goalposts," but Dodd said Democrats have changed their requests only to narrow them. "Thirty-six names is not excessive," he told reporters, given that Bolton learned the identities of 19 people or firms mentioned in secretly monitored conversations.
This is pathetic: TO THE MORONS OUT THERE—It is clearly none of your business. At a time like this, when certain senators cannot keep their damned mouths shut, I would tell them to take a flying leap, as well. You do not get the records. You have enough information to make a decision. Make it, shut up, and move on.
If you cannot do that, I suggest you check the want-ads. Your time in the Senate will soon be up.
The Bunny ;)
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 8:07 PM
1 Comments:
"Bunny",
Excellent points-each of them. And yes, I do agree that it is time to execute the Constituional Option. If John Bolton can't be approved of tomorrow, or is filibustered, Sen. Frist should step up, and pull the trigger.
Based on what we have seen, the president isn't willing to make a recess appointment, and the Senate can't seem to obtain cloture. The cloture move is a result of Senate Rule 22, so, break that rule, and reinstitute the Senate back to the normalcy of days past.
Mistress Pundit
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