George Bush has just shown the Democrats what his idea of co-operation entails. The concession speeches of Burns and Allen were still breaking news when Bush sent the Bolton nomination back to Congress.
Shrub sees the writing on the wall. He knows that Democrats loathe his nominee for U.N. ambassador, John Bolton. He knows the Senate has fallen to the Democrats. His last chance is to sneak Bolton's nomination through before the new Senate takes office.
This is a high stakes gamble for Bush that will have lasting repercussions. Will the current, Republican-majority Senate go along with this fast one? Republican senators may have to decide between backing their lame duck president to confirm a guy few like and trying to preserve some goodwill with the incoming Democratic majority.
Now a defeated Republican senator, Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, says that he will continue to oppose Bolton. Chafee's vote is expected to deny the Republicans the majority they need to move the Bolton nomination from committee to the full senate. Chafee made clear his reason for saying no:
"The American people have spoken out against the president's agenda on a number of fronts, and presumably one of those is on foreign policy," Chafee said. "And at this late stage in my term, I'm not going to endorse something the American people have spoke out against."
No comments:
Post a Comment