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Friday, November 10, 2006

The next head to roll: John Bolton


UN Ambassador John Bolton is arguably one of the best representatives the United States has ever had in the United Nations. This competant, forceful and decent man actually gained some ground in forcing the UN to be at least somewhat accountable to its supposed priciples.

Nevertheless, he's likely to be the next target of the New Order in Washington.

As you remember, he was blocked in the Senate by a mixture of RINO Republicans (several of which have now said that if they had it to do over again, they would have voted for him) and `progressive' Democrats. Bolton's 2005 recess appointment came after Democrats blocked repeated attempts by GOP leaders to grant him Senate confirmation and his recess appointment ends when the new congress takes over.

John Bolton's prospects for staying on as U.N. ambassador essentially died today as Democrats and one lame duck Republican said they would continue to oppose his nomination.

Good ol' Lincoln Chaffee of Rhode Island, who was defeated by Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse on Tuesday,found a way to mark the end of his term with one final bit of obstruction and outright nastiness. He told reporters that he would continue opposing Bolton, which blocks moving Bolton's nomination from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to the full Senate.

It was Chaffee, by the way, who delayed any vote until after the elections.

As for the Democrats, in one of their first examples of the new bi-partisanship, they pledged to stretch out debate on Bolton with the aim of killing it. The 60 votes needed to force a vote on the nomination simply aren't there.

"I see no point in considering Mr. Bolton's nomination again in the Foreign Relations Committee because, regardless of what happens there, he is unlikely to be considered by the full Senate," said Sen. Joe Biden(d-DE) the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee and the prospective chairman once the Democrats take over.

And that's where it ends.

Bolton was simply too pro-American, too effective, too anti-jihad and probably too pro-Israel to be kept on by the Democrats in the Senate, who favor a more `internationalist' stance.

He'll be missed.

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