Sunday, April 24, 2005

Bolton update: More good news

It looks more and more like Bolton's going down:

The Washington Post (click here): "The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has set a vote on John R. Bolton's nomination as ambassador to the United Nations for May 12 -- a delay that Bush administration officials acknowledged yesterday is increasing their anxieties about Bolton's prospects." Good stuff. The more anxious, the better. Signs of desperation: Cheney has come out of his underground bunker to counter Powell's now-public reservations about Bolton's nomination, and various right-wing groups are poised to attack Senator Voinovich and other Republicans who side with the Democrats. Yes, friends, they're turning on their own in order to purify themselves, their party, and their movement. The end is near.

More from the Post: "Republican sources on the Foreign Relations panel said that one of the committee's GOP senators, Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), told colleagues she is particularly troubled by the allegation that Bolton, as a private lawyer in 1994, became so angry at a government contractor that he chased her through a Moscow hotel, hurling objects and verbal threats, and later spread rumors about her." Nice guy, eh?

The New York Times (click here): "Recently declassified e-mail messages provide new details of the bruising battle that John R. Bolton, then an under secretary of state, waged with analysts at the State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency in 2002 as he sought to deliver a speech reflecting a hard-line view of Cuba and its possible efforts to acquire biological weapons." Yet more evidence of Bush Administration evidence-manipulation leading up to the Iraq invasion. It's one thing to get it wrong, as many governments and intelligence services did, quite another to manipulate the evidence and thereby mislead the American people (and the rest of us). Where's the outrage?

There will be more reprehensible nominations to come, not least for the Supreme Court. Let's hope the Democrats are able to maintain this momentum. And let's hope that at least some good and decent Republicans have the courage to do the right thing.

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3 Comments:

  • CNN cites allegations against Bolton

    Lynne Finney, former U.N. policy adviser for the U.S. Agency for International Development, worked with Bolton at the State Department in late 1982 or early 1983. Finney wrote Sen. Barbara Boxer, Calfornia Democrat, alleging that Bolton asked her(Finney) to persuage U.N. represenatives from other countries to weaken restrictions on the marketing of infant formula in developing countries. When Finney refused, citing serious health concerns, she alleges that Bolton tried coercing her and threatened termination of employment.

    Christian Westermann, State Department intelligence analyst, alleged that Bolton threatened to fire him over a 2002 speech in which Bolton accused Cuba of harboring a secret biological weapons program. Westermann, alleged that Bolton's speech used language reflecting ambiguous intelligence assessments. In regards to Westermann's allegations, Bolton testified that he was upset because Westermann had gone behind his back -- not because Bolton disagreed with him.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 7:18 PM  

  • Judical nominations,possible ban on filibusters,and conservative Christian organizations

    CNN states...

    Vice President Dick Cheney informed Democrats that he will cast the tie-breaking vote to ban filibusters of President Bush's judicial nominees if the Senate deadlocks on the question and Democrats said they would use procedural tactics to slow Senate business if Republicans bring the matter to a head.

    Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist told supporters he was willing to use the Republican majority to change Senate rules to prevent filibusters of judicial nominees

    Sen. Charles Schumer, New York Democrat "The White House has always wanted to reduce the Senate's power and the fact that Vice President Cheney is encouraging this abuse of power should strengthen the Senate's resolve to resist," Schumer said.

    Conservative Christian leaders used a nationally televised rally to urge an end to Democratic filibusters against several of President Bush's nominations for federal judges. Focus on the Family founder James Dobson told the crowd at the "Justice Sunday" rally in Louisville, Kentucky, "The future of democracy and ordered liberty actually depends on the outcome of this struggle." The Family Research Council is a conservative Christian organization, that according to its Web site, attempts to "shape public debate and formulate public policy that values human life and upholds the institutions of marriage and the family." Dobson said the filibusters are "unconstitutional" and "inappropriate." Dobson said President Bush's re-election in November states that Bush should choose who sits on the judical courts. "We sent a message to Washington that there was a concern over the judiciary," Dobson said. "It was talked about often during the campaign. And yet now, a minority of members of the Senate -- the Democrats, essentially, and about six or eight...Republicans -- are determined to prevent that influence from being felt on the court."

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 7:33 PM  

  • By Blogger BRSMAN, at 3:44 PM  

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