Bolton Updates & the most important senators to call today

[housewolf]

These two Repub senators have indicated that they are wavering on Bolton nomination to the UN. Please take the time to call their offices and convey your strong opposition to his nomination.

Senator Lincoln Chafee, Rhode Island [phone]
Senator Chuck Hagel, Nebraska, [phone]


And here is a link to all members of the Senate Foreign Relations committee. If you have the time, call as many of the Republican senators about the Bolton nomination as you can
http://www.foreign.senate.gov/about.html


Ask that the committe members read the actual INTERCEPTS that Bolton wrote rather than just the summaries they are planning on reading. For more information about the INTERCEPTS
http://www.thewashingtonnote.com/archives/000473.html
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The MAIN REASON to oppose the Bolton nomination is this:
"One of the most important qualities that an ambassador to the UN needs, it seems to me, is the ability to distinguish clearly between his own views and US policy, and the willingness to present US policy accurately, even when he disagrees with it. An ambassador who is a tactless boor may not win us any friends, but an ambassador who seriously misstates our policies to further his own agenda can do much more serious damage. There are several incidents in John Bolton's record that suggest that he does not have this ability. "

Read more here, including how Bolton sent Condeleeza Rice off on her first trip to Europe without some important informtion
http://obsidianwings.blogs.com/obsidian_wings/2005/04/on_john_bolton.html
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What the Bolton nomination would mean to Republicans
If the issues about John Bolton had only to do with his personally outrageous and unconstructive views of the United Nations itself, I think that this debate would be over. But the Republicans are being put in a position of confirming someone who has:
1. lied to them about his past behavior in trying to have intelligence agents fired
2. who has tried to actively sabotage official Bush administration policy towards North Korea
3. who may have misused highly classified NSA intercepts in his personal and reckless crusades, or in his personal rivalries with others in government
4. whose obsessions with intelligence resulted in his own office attempting to produce its own intelligence fact sheets as rival reports to State's INR reports

Chafee, Hagel, Alexander, Murkowski, Lugar, Voinovich -- all of them -- don't want to be in the position of confirming a guy who has engaged in such reckless behavior. The Bush administration needs to act as if it did not realize the full scope of issues regarding Mr. Bolton's candidacy and pull back.

John Bolton is not someone that this nation can be proud of in the important role of U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.

more...
http://www.thewashingtonnote.com/archives/000476.html
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Steve Clemons promises
"More soon on the question of Bolton's efforts to generate his own intelligence estimates."
http://www.thewashingtonnote.com/
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Bolton is being characteried as a serial liar, see here
http://www.thewashingtonnote.com/archives/000474.html

[whistle]

1. Will Bolton be brought back before the senate committee to....

...explain the differences between his perception of what happened when he appeared and gave testimony early last week and the testimony given by former I&R director Carl Ford last Thursday

[housewolf]

2. I don't know - currently the committee vote is scheduled for tomorrow

Although I've read someone's opinion that it will be delayed based on some of the new information that came out yesterday and today. Based on your question regarding Carl Ford's testimony and the fact that the vote is scheduled for tomorrow, I'd have to say that the committee was not planning on calling him back for that. However, there is a lot of behind-the-scenes work that goes on too, in terms of phone calls and written testimony, so there may be one or more committee members checking back with him on what Ford had to say.

[whistle]

3. Ahaa, then the vote will most likely move forward unless....

..this so called "new information" bolsters the anti Bolton vote, because as it stands now, I think the committee will vote to recommend Bolton for the nomination.

[housewolf]

4. Chafee and Hagel are wavering

If either one of them would vote against the nomination, it will fail in the committe and not be brought to the full senate. There is still a posibility that they will vote against.