C-Span, the only TV channel that matters anymore for news, again replayed the Senate Foreign Relations Cmte meeting of last week this morning. I caught parts of it last week but had an opportunity to watch the whole thing today, including Dodd, Biden and Kerry go ballistic over John Bolton. A synopsis of all the Bolton allegations from an anti-Bolton perspective can be found here and here. To recap, Bolton has alleged problems about exagerating WMD claims, overstepping bureaucratic lines to get people fired who disagreed with him, patterns of "serial abuse" (most recent allegation here), and overall credibility problems - debate over his ideology notwithstanding.
Republican Senator Voinovich made a lot of headlines for voicing his initial opposition to Bolton during the meeting, which would deadlock the nomination 9-9. Since then Voinovich has been been the focus of a lot of hate mail recently, for example see Malkin's latest take on it.
Where will Nebraska's favorite politician weigh in on the nomination? During the meeting, the Chuckster said that he wanted to move the nomination out of committee but that he wasn't necessarily going to vote for Bolton on the senate floor and that the allegations "demanded" further review. In fact, the Chuckster is being targeted by liberal groups to vote against Bolton and has yet again opted to depart from the party line and voice concern over Bolton.
In anycase, you can send the Chuckster's constituent office an email if you support, or oppose, the appointment of this crazy man as UN Ambassador.
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Good ol’ Chucky. He is becoming about as much of a joke to Nebraska as his college across the aisle. He used to be a man of strong principles, but lately his hemming and hawing reminds me of a certain Massachusetts Senator.
As for Bolton, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: his hair and mustache ought to be reasons enough to prevent him from representing the U.S. in any official capacity.
Are you kidding me with this? I hit the Michelle Malkin link, and the Move America Forward ad (if it is in fact real, it looks like a joke to me) makes me think the apocalypse really is upon on us.
Its dumbed-down partisanship at its worst (in the case as practiced by Republicans
I don’t think anything unusual is up with the GOP these days. It’s just a normal case of Ruling Party Syndrome. The Great White Elephants perceive a mandate. The mainstream media (MSM) have tried to pass on the message that they don’t really have the mandate they think they have, but since Bush & Co. don’t like, respect, or trust the MSM, Bush & Co. have no reason to heed the message.
Here’s a scary thought for you: What if the Republicans make gains in the 2006 congressional elections? That will be a crystal clear mandate. The idea of it really freaks me out.
Oh how I long for the glorious days of divided government!
(No seriously. No irony intended.)
Republican gains would certainly take care of that last shred of faith I have in humanity. Fortunately, I think Dems will pick up moderate gains in 06, and more in 08.
The people, no matter how stupid or ignorant, can only take so much “old time religion.” One of these days, the Republican party will implode under the weight of religious extremism.
True, Americans will only tolerate so much “old time religion.” But the same goes for Democratic nanny statism, among other Democratic quirks. Right now, I think most Americans would rather see evolution and creationism given “equal time” in the classroom, rather than being told what to drive and what to eat. Is it a rational decision? Maybe, maybe not. But it is the collective will of the people, for good or ill.
The current religious resurgence in America isn’t all that surprising. In the 90’s there was little need for religion. Indeed, pop culture was all about excess and having fun. Gradually Americans realized the “consequences” (actual or perceived)—the tech bubble burst, kids were all doped up on behavior-altering medications, 19 terrorists scared the crap out of us. So people went back to their faith which they had ignored for so many years. In many peoples’ minds, 9/11 was a direct result of our cultural agnosticism. A religious boom founded on fear and insecurity that emphasizes morality is only natural.
But like everything, this too shall pass. Maybe that’s a good thing, maybe it isn’t. We will know for certain when it happens once the Democrats start making gains in Congress.
I would rather fend off comments about my gas guzzling SUV, or my passion for McDonald’s cheeseburgers then be told I’m going to hell for engaging in the sin du jour. I would also prefer that to be innundated with evangelical religion whenever I enter a public space, or be told I cannot end an incapacitated loved one’s life if this was his/her desire.
Don’t get me started on evolution v. creationism (or “intelligent design”). How some can legitimately justify giving equal time to a biblical story at the expense of proven science is beyond my comprehension. I would hope most agree with me, for if not, we are in more trouble than I ever thought.
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