Bolton Still Faces a Difficult Path

[cal04]

Roll Call Staff


Despite jubilation within conservative ranks following last week’s announcement that Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) would support President Bush’s nomination of John Bolton to remain U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, it remains unclear whether Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) will be able to muster enough support to break an expected Democratic filibuster, Senate aides on both sides of the aisle said.

http://www.rollcall.com/issues/52_11/news/14451-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS
An excerpt
Last year, Sens. Ben Nelson (Neb.), Mary Landrieu (La.) and Mark Pryor (Ark.) broke ranks with their fellow Democrats and supported an end to the filibuster of the nomination. But with Bush’s popularity sagging — in large part because of his foreign policy decisions — and with Democrats making a credible push to retake the Senate in November, Republicans said it would be premature to count those three votes for Bolton at this point.

An aide to Nelson said he would again support a cloture motion to end the Democratic filibuster. A spokesman for Landrieu would not commit either way until the Senator revisits the issue following Bolton’s confirmation hearing. A spokeswoman for Pryor did not return a request for comment.

Even if all three vote with the GOP again, Frist would still be two votes short of the 60 votes needed to end a filibuster.

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Frist_lacks_votes_to_overcome_Bolton_0725.html

[whistle]

1. It really should be AN IMPOSSIBLE path, Bolton needs to go...

...along with the rest of the BushCo players.

[LynneSin]

2. 1 vote - Voinovich already said he's switching his vote

he was one of the folks who crossed-over.

But the last time we voted on Bolton - 5 democrats didn't even vote that day including Feingold, Kerry, Kohl, Johnson (and I forget the 5 but it was a progressive - might have been Kennedy). So we would have all 5 of those votes

[karynnj]

4. I think you are mixing it with another issue - Kerry and Feingold voted

against him in committee and for fillibustering. Here is the vote on cloture - a nay is for not invoking cloture (for the filibuster.

S. Senate Roll Call Votes 109th Congress - 1st Session

as compiled through Senate LIS by the Senate Bill Clerk under the direction of the Secretary of the Senate


Vote Summary

Question: On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Nomination of John R. Bolton, of Maryland, to be Representative of the U.S. to the United Nations )
Vote Number: 129 Vote Date: May 26, 2005, 06:17 PM
Required For Majority: 3/5 Vote Result: Cloture Motion Rejected
Nomination Number: PN326
Nomination Description: John Robert Bolton, of Maryland, to be the Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations, with the rank and status of Ambassador, and the Representative of the United States of America in the Security Council of the United Nations
Vote Counts: YEAs 56
NAYs 42
Not Voting 2
Vote Summary By Senator Name By Vote Position By Home State


Alphabetical by Senator Name Akaka (D-HI), Nay
Alexander (R-TN), Yea
Allard (R-CO), Yea
Allen (R-VA), Yea
Baucus (D-MT), Nay
Bayh (D-IN), Nay
Bennett (R-UT), Yea
Biden (D-DE), Nay
Bingaman (D-NM), Nay
Bond (R-MO), Yea
Boxer (D-CA), Nay
Brownback (R-KS), Yea
Bunning (R-KY), Yea
Burns (R-MT), Yea
Burr (R-NC), Yea
Byrd (D-WV), Nay
Cantwell (D-WA), Nay
Carper (D-DE), Nay
Chafee (R-RI), Yea
Chambliss (R-GA), Yea
Clinton (D-NY), Nay
Coburn (R-OK), Yea
Cochran (R-MS), Yea
Coleman (R-MN), Yea
Collins (R-ME), Yea
Conrad (D-ND), Nay
Cornyn (R-TX), Yea
Corzine (D-NJ), Nay
Craig (R-ID), Yea
Crapo (R-ID), Yea
Dayton (D-MN), Nay
DeMint (R-SC), Yea
DeWine (R-OH), Yea
Dodd (D-CT), Nay
Dole (R-NC), Yea
Domenici (R-NM), Yea
Dorgan (D-ND), Nay
Durbin (D-IL), Nay
Ensign (R-NV), Yea
Enzi (R-WY), Yea
Feingold (D-WI), Nay
Feinstein (D-CA), Nay
Frist (R-TN), Nay
Graham (R-SC), Yea
Grassley (R-IA), Yea
Gregg (R-NH), Yea
Hagel (R-NE), Yea
Harkin (D-IA), Nay
Hatch (R-UT), Yea
Hutchison (R-TX), Yea
Inhofe (R-OK), Yea
Inouye (D-HI), Not Voting
Isakson (R-GA), Yea
Jeffords (I-VT), Nay
Johnson (D-SD), Nay
Kennedy (D-MA), Nay
Kerry (D-MA), Nay
Kohl (D-WI), Nay
Kyl (R-AZ), Yea
Landrieu (D-LA), Yea
Lautenberg (D-NJ), Nay
Leahy (D-VT), Nay
Levin (D-MI), Nay
Lieberman (D-CT), Nay
Lincoln (D-AR), Nay
Lott (R-MS), Yea
Lugar (R-IN), Yea
Martinez (R-FL), Yea
McCain (R-AZ), Yea
McConnell (R-KY), Yea
Mikulski (D-MD), Nay
Murkowski (R-AK), Yea
Murray (D-WA), Nay
Nelson (D-FL), Nay
Nelson (D-NE), Yea
Obama (D-IL), Nay
Pryor (D-AR), Yea
Reed (D-RI), Nay
Reid (D-NV), Nay
Roberts (R-KS), Yea
Rockefeller (D-WV), Nay
Salazar (D-CO), Nay
Santorum (R-PA), Yea
Sarbanes (D-MD), Nay
Schumer (D-NY), Nay
Sessions (R-AL), Yea
Shelby (R-AL), Yea
Smith (R-OR), Yea
Snowe (R-ME), Yea
Specter (R-PA), Not Voting
Stabenow (D-MI), Nay
Stevens (R-AK), Yea
Sununu (R-NH), Yea
Talent (R-MO), Yea
Thomas (R-WY), Yea
Thune (R-SD), Yea
Vitter (R-LA), Yea
Voinovich (R-OH), Yea
Warner (R-VA), Yea
Wyden (D-OR), Nay

Because cloture was rejected, it then didn't come to a vote. Note that you need 41 nos - we had 42.
I did a search looking for "Bolton" on the Thomas roll call for first session of the 109th congress.

Notice that although Voinvich voted against him in committee he voted FOR cloture. If no one more than one person changes, we can still win the cloture vote.

[karynnj]

5. By the way, Not Voting is equivilent to NO, on cloture votes

for all practical purposes. They need to get 60 ayes - here they only got 56 - so we can afford to lose 3 of the nos or not voting here. Voinivich, after voting "no" in committee voted for cloture.

(I could only find one cloture vote on this in Thomas.)

[LynneSin]

6. I realize there wasn't anything malice by those who didn't vote

but the thing is if they did vote this time around they would support the filibuster :D

[karynnj]

9. I wasn't meaning malice - just that they knew their voted counted

as a no. I don't remember the circumstances when Frist had it voted on the second time - when he did worse with 54 instead of 56 yeas. Clearly many Democrats were away from the floor. I assume they didn't rush back as there was no reason to - the only thing that matters is whether they get 60 "ayes".

The positive news is that Voinivich was already an aye. In 2005 there were 43 people who did not want cloture - each explicitly voted "no" at least once (and never aye). If we lose less than 3 of these, he can't get Senate confirmation.

[karynnj]

7. You are right - there was a second cloture vote in June I missed

that someone else found. The no votes and Not voting count the same way so there's no gain. Voinivich is not a loss because he voted for cloture then. They need to get 4 more votes than they had in May - Between the 2 votes, you can see that we really have 43 (the May list of nos and Inohe who was a not voting in May but a no here). unless we lose 3 or more of our nos, Bolton can't be confirmed.

U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 109th Congress - 1st Session

as compiled through Senate LIS by the Senate Bill Clerk under the direction of the Secretary of the Senate


Vote Summary

Question: On the Cloture Motion (Upon Reconsideration, Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Nomination of John R. Bolton, of Maryland, to be Representative of the United States to the United Nations )
Vote Number: 142 Vote Date: June 20, 2005, 06:04 PM
Required For Majority: 3/5 Vote Result: Cloture Motion Rejected
Nomination Number: PN326
Nomination Description: John Robert Bolton, of Maryland, to be the Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations, with the rank and status of Ambassador, and the Representative of the United States of America in the Security Council of the United Nations
Vote Counts: YEAs 54
NAYs 38
Not Voting 8
Vote Summary By Senator Name By Vote Position By Home State


Alphabetical by Senator Name Akaka (D-HI), Nay
Alexander (R-TN), Yea
Allard (R-CO), Yea
Allen (R-VA), Yea
Baucus (D-MT), Nay
Bayh (D-IN), Nay
Bennett (R-UT), Yea
Biden (D-DE), Nay
Bingaman (D-NM), Nay
Bond (R-MO), Yea
Boxer (D-CA), Nay
Brownback (R-KS), Yea
Bunning (R-KY), Yea
Burns (R-MT), Not Voting
Burr (R-NC), Yea
Byrd (D-WV), Nay
Cantwell (D-WA), Nay
Carper (D-DE), Nay
Chafee (R-RI), Yea
Chambliss (R-GA), Yea
Clinton (D-NY), Nay
Coburn (R-OK), Yea
Cochran (R-MS), Yea
Coleman (R-MN), Not Voting
Collins (R-ME), Yea
Conrad (D-ND), Nay
Cornyn (R-TX), Yea
Corzine (D-NJ), Nay
Craig (R-ID), Yea
Crapo (R-ID), Yea
Dayton (D-MN), Nay
DeMint (R-SC), Yea
DeWine (R-OH), Yea
Dodd (D-CT), Nay
Dole (R-NC), Yea
Domenici (R-NM), Yea
Dorgan (D-ND), Nay
Durbin (D-IL), Nay
Ensign (R-NV), Yea
Enzi (R-WY), Yea
Feingold (D-WI), Not Voting
Feinstein (D-CA), Nay
Frist (R-TN), Yea
Graham (R-SC), Yea
Grassley (R-IA), Yea
Gregg (R-NH), Yea
Hagel (R-NE), Yea
Harkin (D-IA), Nay
Hatch (R-UT), Yea
Hutchison (R-TX), Yea
Inhofe (R-OK), Yea
Inouye (D-HI), Nay
Isakson (R-GA), Yea
Jeffords (I-VT), Nay
Johnson (D-SD), Not Voting
Kennedy (D-MA), Nay
Kerry (D-MA), Not Voting
Kohl (D-WI), Not Voting
Kyl (R-AZ), Yea
Landrieu (D-LA), Yea
Lautenberg (D-NJ), Nay
Leahy (D-VT), Nay
Levin (D-MI), Not Voting
Lieberman (D-CT), Nay
Lincoln (D-AR), Nay
Lott (R-MS), Yea
Lugar (R-IN), Yea
Martinez (R-FL), Yea
McCain (R-AZ), Yea
McConnell (R-KY), Yea
Mikulski (D-MD), Nay
Murkowski (R-AK), Yea
Murray (D-WA), Nay
Nelson (D-FL), Nay
Nelson (D-NE), Yea
Obama (D-IL), Nay
Pryor (D-AR), Yea
Reed (D-RI), Nay
Reid (D-NV), Nay
Roberts (R-KS), Yea
Rockefeller (D-WV), Nay
Salazar (D-CO), Nay
Santorum (R-PA), Yea
Sarbanes (D-MD), Nay
Schumer (D-NY), Nay
Sessions (R-AL), Yea
Shelby (R-AL), Yea
Smith (R-OR), Yea
Snowe (R-ME), Yea
Specter (R-PA), Yea
Stabenow (D-MI), Nay
Stevens (R-AK), Yea
Sununu (R-NH), Yea
Talent (R-MO), Yea
Thomas (R-WY), Yea
Thune (R-SD), Not Voting
Vitter (R-LA), Yea
Voinovich (R-OH), Nay
Warner (R-VA), Yea
Wyden (D-OR), Nay

[babylonsister]

3. Dodd's up for a fight:

Senator Dodd Promises "Bruising" Fight Over UN Ambassador Bolton

Senator Dodd Promises "Bruising" Fight Over UN Ambassador Bolton Updated at 6:19 PM

NYT/Reuters: Dodd Promises "Bruising" Fight Over Bolton
By REUTERS
Published: July 23, 2006

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut on Sunday promised a bruising fight in the U.S. Senate against confirming John Bolton to be the country's ambassador to the United Nations.

President George W. Bush bypassed the Senate and installed Bolton into the position last year when lawmakers were on recess.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee scheduled a confirmation hearing on Bolton for Thursday after Ohio Republican Sen. George Voinovich, who previously opposed the nomination, expressed support for Bolton.

"This is going to be a bruising fight,'' Dodd said on CNN's ''Late Edition'' program....He argued that problems Democrats had raised last year were not resolved. They blocked the nomination amid accusations Bolton in his previous job as the top U.S. diplomat for arms control had bullied intelligence analysts.

"The problems still persist. Many ambassadors at the U.N. feel he hasn't done a good job there,'' said Dodd, who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee. "It's polarized the situation.''...

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/washington/politics-bush ...

[Zorra]

8. Question: Why would Nelson support Bolton?

No honest Democrat would support such an unqualified, corrupt buffoon.

[Bandit]

10. No honest Democrat

That pretty much answers your question right there. He has voted with the Republicans more than Zell Miller. I would really like to know what ideals he holds that make him a Democrat..

[LynneSin]

11. So using that logic any democrat who doesn't have the same views as you

is considered dishonest

:shrug:

[Bandit]

12. Yes that is what I said ...right!!!!!

:crazy: Only those that don't seem to have a single Democratic ideal yet claim the mantle of Democrat. Is that too complicated of an idea to understand?

[LynneSin]

13. Well knowing that we democrats are also a very diverse nature

I'm not sure how your yardstick became the norm for what is and what isn't democratic. For that matter how is anyone here at DU or even as a registered democrat have the right to be that yardstick.

What you find disappointing as a democrat strangly enough might be the type of democrat that another person finds acceptable.