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G.O.P. Senator Sends Letter Opposing Bolton
Topic Started: May 25 2005, 07:32 AM (254 Views)
gvok
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source

Quote:
 
May 24, 2005
G.O.P. Senator Sends Letter to Colleagues Opposing Bolton
By DOUGLAS JEHL

WASHINGTON, May 24 - The Ohio Republican whose opposition to John R. Bolton as United Nations ambassador nearly stalled his nomination in committee took a new swipe at him today, circulating a letter urging colleagues to vote against Mr. Bolton when his name reaches the Senate floor, possibly this week.

The letter from Senator George R. Voinovich was sent to all senators, but it was aimed particularly at fellow Republicans in a chamber in which the party holds a 55-44 majority (with one independent). At least five Republicans would have to join Mr. Voinovich in opposing Mr. Bolton if the nomination were to be defeated.

In the letter, Mr. Voinovich said that while he had been "hesitant to push my views on my colleagues" during his years in the Senate, he felt "compelled to share my deep concerns" about Mr. Bolton's nomination.

"In these dangerous times, we cannot afford to put at risk our nation's ability to successfully wage and win the war on terror with a controversial and ineffective ambassador to the United Nations," Mr. Voinovich wrote. He urged colleagues to "put aside our partisan agenda and let our consciences and our shared commitment to our nation's best interests guide us."

The White House remains strongly in favor of Mr. Bolton's nomination, and it is unusual for a Republican to break ranks so publicly by circulating a letter opposed to a Republican president's agenda. A copy of Mr. Voinovich's letter, dated May 23 but not circulated until Tuesday, was provided by a Senate Democratic aide opposed to Mr. Bolton.

The Senate's Republican leaders signaled today that they would try to push for a vote on Mr. Bolton by the end of the week. Senate Democrats have strongly opposed the nomination, and at a lunchtime meeting today, Democratic leaders were weighing possible moves to defeat the nomination, or to use procedural moves to delay or prevent a Senate vote.

It is not clear whether any Republicans might join Mr. Voinovich in breaking ranks with the White House, which has strongly supported Mr. Bolton's nomination despite strong opposition from many critics, including senior officials who worked with Mr. Bolton at the State Department during President Bush's first term.

Among the 10 Republicans on the Senate committee, 3 joined Mr. Voinovich in expressing reservations about Mr. Bolton's nomination. In the face of strong Democratic opposition, the Republicans on the panel agreed only to send the nomination to the full Senate without an endorsement, an unusual move.

Today, however, spokesmen for two of those Republicans, Senators Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, said their bosses expected to vote in favor of Mr. Bolton when his name came before the full Senate. A spokeswoman for the third, Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, the senator had told reporters from her home state that she was "likely to support Bolton's nomination on the floor."

A spokesman for another Republican, John Thune of South Dakota, said this afternoon that Mr. Thune "hasn't made any decisions" about Mr. Bolton's nomination.

One Democrat, Senator Barbara Boxer of California, has sought to block a Senate vote on Mr. Bolton, saying that she would oppose any vote until the State Department provided documents related to the nomination that the department had so far refused to hand over. This afternoon, however, a spokeswoman for Ms. Boxer said that she had decided to lift a hold on Mr. Bolton's nomination. Ms. Boxer's spokeswoman said she would join with Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware in agreeing to a Republican plan to move toward a vote on Mr. Bolton after allowing up to 40 hours of debate.

It appears unlikely that any Senate Democrat will try to use a filibuster to block a vote, Senate Democratic officials said.

Mr. Voinovich, a former mayor of Cleveland and governor of Ohio, previously described his decision to oppose Mr. Bolton's nomination as one that was based on conscience. In his letter to colleagues, he repeated a statement made earlier this month to the Foreign Relations Committee, in which he questioned whether Mr. Bolton would "have the character, leadership, interpersonal skills, self-discipline, common decency and understanding of the chain of command to lead his team to victory."

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Dr. Noah
Sistertrek's Asian Correspondant
I am really glad that Senator Voinovich is following his conscience rather than jumping on the bandwagon. Shows real integrity. :yes:
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Fesarius
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Admiral
^^^
You don't think those whom oppose his line of thinking have integrity?
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Wichita
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The Adminstrator wRench
Having seen George Voinovich in action as mayor of Cleveland and Governor of Ohio for 8 years, his letter shows real hypocrisy. This is the same man who ordered his pilot to take off in face of a "no fly" order when President Clinton visited Ohio. When he received the regular fine for such action, he hired a law firm (with the taxpayer's money) to fight it. It cost us about $20,000 to fight a $1500 fine (which was ultimately paid) becuase Voinovich saw himself as "too important" to wait 30 minutes for the President of the United States.

Do I think Voinovich is any more or less of a "meanie" than anyone else? No - I think that most people who have reached the position he has reached has "p-o'd" someone at sometime and I find it odd he's so hesitant to recognize that.
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24thcenstfan
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Something Wicked This Fae Comes
Dr. Noah
May 25 2005, 11:27 AM
I am really glad that Senator Voinovich is following his conscience rather than jumping on the bandwagon.

I agree. I suspect* he is doing this for all the right reasons (*I have to say suspect, because no one really knows what is in the heart of another). That he legitimately opposes Bolton on the basis of his qualifications.

I think it shows character to stand strong in this way (IMO).

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Wichita
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The Adminstrator wRench
I would have been more inclined to agree had he attended the hearings on John Bolton's nomination. If it was SO important an issue, I think it was reasonable to expect him to attend the committee meetings to discuss the issue.

He just got elected to another 6 years, but still thought a PR swing in Ohio was more important than listening to testimony for a committee of which he is a member.
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who
Have light saber. Will travel.
This is the opinion of 1 person. Big deal.
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gvok
Unregistered

Note : I edited the title to include Bolton's name. I just noticed it was cut off.
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Dr. Noah
Sistertrek's Asian Correspondant
Chuck Hagel from my homestate of Nebraska agreed with Mr. Voinovich's assessment. So it's more than one person's opinion.
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who
Have light saber. Will travel.
Dr. Noah
May 25 2005, 11:33 AM
Chuck Hagel from my homestate of Nebraska agreed with Mr. Voinovich's assessment. So it's more than one person's opinion.

Please provide the link rather than just adding hearsay.
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24thcenstfan
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Something Wicked This Fae Comes
who
May 25 2005, 12:36 PM
Dr. Noah
May 25 2005, 11:33 AM
Chuck Hagel from my homestate of Nebraska agreed with Mr. Voinovich's assessment. So it's more than one person's opinion.

Please provide the link rather than just adding hearsay.

Noah can add as much hearsay as he wants. You can choose to believe him or not.

Sources are only required when posting articles.

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Dr. Noah
Sistertrek's Asian Correspondant
Since you asked nicely who:

http://sg.fullcoverage.yahoo.com/s/usatoda...outpanelbacking

Bolton nomination goes to Senate without panel backing By Barbara Slavin and Bill Nichols, USA TODAY
Fri May 13, 6:13 AM ET



A Republican's protest over John Bolton's nomination to be United Nations ambassador forced the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to send President Bush's choice to the Senate floor without an endorsement Thursday.


The unusual committee action, taken on a party-line vote of 10 Republicans and 8 Democrats, prolongs the biggest confirmation battle of Bush's second term.


Given the Republican Senate majority of 55, Bolton has a good chance of being approved. However, according to Senate records, only nine of 46 nominees reported out of committee with no recommendation have been confirmed since 1925. The last was Solicitor-General Theodore Olson in 2001.


The dramatic high point of the five-hour committee meeting came an hour into the session, when Chairman Richard Lugar, R-Ind., called on Sen. George Voinovich (news, bio, voting record). The Ohio Republican, whose refusal to vote three weeks ago delayed committee action, said testimony and documents had convinced him that the hard-charging State Department arms control chief was not right for the job.


At a time when U.S. credibility in the world is low and the United States needs more allies to share the burden of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Voinovich said, "the United States can do better than John Bolton." (Audio: Voinovich addresses panel)


He called Bolton "the poster child of what someone in the diplomatic corps should not be" and said Bolton would have been fired if he worked for a major corporation.


"What message are we sending to the world community when ... we have sought to appoint an ambassador to the United Nations who himself has been accused of being arrogant, of not listening to his friends, of acting unilaterally, of bullying those who do not have the ability to properly defend themselves?" Voinovich asked.


Some State Department and CIA officials told committee staffers that Bolton verbally abused subordinates, tried to get two analysts who disagreed with him fired and sought to present exaggerated scenarios about weapons programs in Cuba and Syria. But Lugar said the allegations were overstated and in some cases wrong. Although Bolton was often combative and aggressive in standing up for White House policy, Lugar said, Bolton was "extremely well qualified" and never engaged in any "serious ethical misconduct."


Voinovich said that in deference to Republican colleagues and Bush, he decided not to block the nomination in committee. "I'm not that arrogant to superimpose my point of view," he told reporters later. He said he would try to persuade others to oppose the nomination.


Voinovich's spokeswoman, Marcie Ridgway, said he met with Bolton for a second time this week before making his decision.


Three other Republicans who had expressed reservations - Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska - joined in sending the nomination to the floor.


Hagel said Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had assured him that Bolton would carry out their instructions. "I take the president at his word and Secretary Rice at her word," Hagel said.


Bush spokesman Scott McClellan said the White House is confident Bolton will be confirmed. However, Sen. Barbara Boxer (news, bio, voting record), D-Calif., said outside the committee room that "we always have in the back" the option of a filibuster, a parliamentary maneuver to prevent a vote.


Sen. George Allen (news, bio, voting record), R-Va., said Bolton's bluntness would be an asset. "We are not electing Mr. Congeniality," Allen said.


"We're not electing Mr. Peepers to go there ... drinking tea with his pinky up and just saying all these meaningless things when we do need a straight talker, and someone who's going to go there and shake it up," he said
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Admiralbill_gomec
UberAdmiral
Looks like George Voinovich has served his last term in the Senate...
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gvok
Unregistered

Hopefully not. He seems like a rational Republican on this issue to me.
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Dr. Noah
Sistertrek's Asian Correspondant
I agree. We need more representatives who are willing to reach across party lines and put aside partisanship to start making positive changes.
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