Bush poised to install Bolton at U.N. through recess appointment

[Judi Lynn]

Posted on Thu, Jul. 28, 2005

Bush poised to install Bolton at U.N. through recess appointment

By William Douglas and James Kuhnhenn
Knight Ridder Newspapers


WASHINGTON - President Bush is expected to sidestep Congress and appoint John Bolton, his controversial choice for United Nations ambassador, to the job temporarily because opponents have blocked his confirmation by the Senate, several lawmakers and influential conservatives said Thursday.

Bush is poised to make the hawkish, tough-talking Bolton a recess appointment under a constitutional provision that allows the president to fill a vacancy during a Senate recess. Congress is expected to adjourn for August vacation Saturday or Sunday.

Administration officials wouldn't discuss Bush's intentions Thursday, but several senators and conservatives close to the White House think the president will tap Bolton shortly after Congress goes home.

Once Bush acts, Bolton can serve as ambassador until January 2007, when a new Congress is sworn in.
(snip/...)

http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/12248428.htm

[fooj]

1. I hope both those rat bastards end up in jail where they belong.

:patriot:

[liberaliraqvet26]

2. i think this will backfire on shrub

[enough]

14. I agree, especially in light of the Biden letter today.

[SpiralHawk]

20. Nota Bene: Mercury is Retrograde

Therefore, I hereby issue a prophecy: If Bush does this now (before Aug. 16), it will come undone.

[Nickster]

3. Isn't anyone going to question the Constitutionality of this recess appt

crap!? It wasn't meant as a vehicle to sidestep the Constitution! Dammit!

[TahitiNut]

10. The Constitution only permits it when the VACANCY occurs during a recess.

The blatant violation of this LIMIT on Executive power is abhorrent, no matter who does it.

Where are all the f*cking "strict constructionists" who hypocritically argue that it's illicit to interpret the Constitution as 'granting' a right to privacy??? (Since the Constitution was never, ever intended as a delineater of the rights of the People, IT CANNOT BE regarded as an 'extension' to recognize rights not listed, as the 9th Amendment makes perfectly clear.)

[MaineDem]

16. Absolutely correct!

Robert Byrd should harp on this forever.

It's time.

[jayctravis]

24. Yes...

Surely this rule is meant to be used in the situation where a vacancy actually happens during recess. It's not a frikking free-skate period. It's Bush's fault for not putting forward someone reasonable when they could vote.

Is there any procedure where congress could recall an appointment once they reconvene?

[montanacowboy]

4. It's just another FU to the Dems

and the UN - in his own words "Who cares what YOU think?"

[ChairmanAgnostic]

12. wrong

It is directed to the country, our constitution and all rational thinking americans. It is also a signal to the rest of the world. Where's my seatbelt?

[gratuitous]

5. Well, it's not like we have any credibility to squander at the UN

So a recess appointment will be the perfect concession by the corrupt Bush administration that it doesn't give a horse's patoot about working within the community of nations and is determined to go its own way. And with such sterling results as we've had in Afghanistan and Iraq, it's no wonder these blithering idiots think they're geniuses.

[kohodog]

6. He loves giving us the finger, literally AND figuratively.

Seems we're not in a Democracy any more.

[blm]

7. We should question his diplomatic immunity re complicity w/Rove's treason.

,

[LostInAnomie]

8. Dems should get on TV right now...

... and start talking about how they think the president is trust worthy enough to not appoint someone arbitrarily to such an important position before the senate can fully investigate them.

And when he does * will look even more like a slimy untrustworthy bastard than he already does.

[Dave Reynolds]

9. At this point in time,

can Bolton worsen our standing in the world or UN?

About the only damage Bolton can do is embarrass Boosh. The rest of the world already knows what assholes our "leaders" are, Bolton could just provide more evidence.

[rocktivity]

11. Go ahead, make my day

Maybe he thinks the passage of CAFTA and the energy bill would make the Bolton recess appointment look like less of a personal defeat/political embarassment than it is. But keep in mind that CAFTA passed by two votes, and Bush himself passed the last election by by two percentage points. Wouldn't it be best to least wait until Bolton's in the clear on the Plame investigation? As my friends in Aerosmith might say, dream on.

:headbang:
rocknation

[Democrat 4 Ever]

17. Go ahead Chimpy, make my day. I will enjoy it even more when

the Special Prosecutor's report comes out and starts naming names in this administration that are in on the deliberate outing of a covert agent for political revenge. Bolton will be near the top of the list. (This is Bolton's modus operandi - his signature management style!) Nothing would please me (and probably most all of the UN delegates) to see that a$$wipes frog marched out of the UN building in handcuffs.

Simple things like constitutional rules, laws, or matters of decency are inconsequential to this bunch - Chimpy will name Bolton to the UN but I'm betting it will come back to bite him on the ass.

[cliss]

64. I think you're right, Dem.

If Bush appoints Bolton, he's taking a huge risk. Of course, we all know how Bush feels about his 2nd Term (God, I love that word -- it reminds me of something).

This time around, Bush is not quite so subtle, not quite so diplomatic. Now he just goes automatically for the jugular.

And I think if Bush does this, Bolton will become radioactive at the UN. He'll have no credibility. At this point, his notoriety has pretty much sunk him.

Good. Go ahead & do it. Let's see what happens afterwards.:smoke:

[RC]

13. I understand there are some inconsistencies in some forms Bolton is

legally required to fill out that have to do with this position?

[Straight Shooter]

19. bush thrives on inconsistencies.

It's his trademark. One of them, anyway.

[MaineDem]

15. "[Clinton] has shown contempt for Congress and the Constitution."

This is what GOP Senator Inhofe said about a Clinton recess appointment.


Posted Monday, June 14, 1999, at 4:48 PM PT

Earlier this month, on the final day of a congressional recess, President Clinton appointed James Hormel ambassador to Luxembourg without Senate confirmation. The move prompted Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., to remark, " has shown contempt for Congress and the Constitution." Is Inhofe right?

...

Clinton has used the recess appointment relatively sparingly; his average of nine per year is far lower than Reagan's 30 and Bush's (Poppy) 20.

http://slate.msn.com/id/1002994/

This is a pretty good read.

[Straight Shooter]

21. How critical was the ambassadorship to Luxembourg?

Gumby on a pogo stick, the hypocrisy never ends.

[jayctravis]

25. Was Clinton's recess appointment hotly contested-

and then done in spite of that fact?

[Lecky]

18. If so, this is just more proof that Bush is a complete psychopath

[DURHAM D]

22. I can not even imagine what many moderate Americans who voted for

Bush must be thinking these past few weeks. Although they likely will not admit their dismay to others, internally many, many Repugs have got to be thinking "What is the matter with this guy".

Bolton and Rove are such disgusting humanoids by anyone's standards yet Bush continues to champion them. All but about 25% of voting Repugs have got to be totally nauseated.

[napi21]

23. Knock yourself out Shrub! I think it would be better to have wht WORLD

recognize how bad you really is when Bolton gets indited for lying to Congress!


Sure, put him front and center before the UN, and then YOU will have to explain why you appointed such an AH to that position!

It'll give the Senators a break, at least this time!

[PurityOfEssence]

26. Do it. We should show our true face to the world.

We are the privileged assholes of the planet, and we should strut and fret our ugliness for all to see.

[Moderator]

27. kick

[Dickie Flatt]

28. Bush plans to install Bolton as U.N. Ambassador in recess appointment

http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=103672

President Bush intends to announce next week that he is going around Congress to install embattled nominee John Bolton as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, senior administration officials said Friday.

Bush has the power to fill vacancies without Senate approval while Congress is in recess. Under the Constitution, a recess appointment during the lawmakers' August break would last until the next session of Congress, which begins in January 2007.

Two officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because the president had not made the announcement and Congress wasn't in recess yet, said Bush planned to exercise that authority before he leaves Washington on Tuesday for his ranch. The House recessed on Thursday and the Senate's break was scheduled to begin later Friday.

[Toucano]

29. Fuckers! n/t

[still_one]

38. Not fuckers, NAZIS!!!

[H5N1]

30. He's on a roll

[gizmo1979]

31. After he lied about being questioned?

I'm sure he must be the best candidate.Of all the people to choose he chooses the flat out worse candidate for the job.

[mike_c]

32. bush gives the finger to America....

Fuck you, chumps!

[katty]

53. Dictator bush F/U America-Poppy says I can do what I want

[indepat]

33. Looks like W will get what he wants, one way or the other

[bribri16]

34. The Repubs may as well get it all now, they are through for the next

20 years!

[Bill McBlueState]

35. spin

Hopefully the Dems and their media teams know exactly how to spin this. "End-run around the Constitution" is a phrase we should be hearing a lot.

[stepnw1f]

36. This Is What A Dictatorship Looks Like

What happens to dictatorships?

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

37. What will happen

when it comes out that Bolton lied to Congress? Will the fact that he has no credibility do anything to the dynamic of the US and the UN?

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

39. This is great!

A recess-appointed ambassador, surrounded by a congressional perjury scandal. What great fun.

[peacetalksforall]

40. They should change all signs at ports around our country to say

Welcome to the United States of Corporations, PNAC, and a maniac.

Our people are Of the Corporations, For the Corporations, and By the Corporations.

We export democracy, we don't practice it.

We love liars and do our best to make liars our leaders.

And there is always a cap on the amount our leaders receive in payola.

But don't call us a Banana Republic, we are a Zuccini Republic. Green for money.

[donkeyotay]

41. Maybe by then he won't be "embattled"

Maybe he'll be indicted. The effer was OSP, his office was responsible for reinstating the yellowcake claim after the CIA repudiated it. He may have outed Plame. He's a vindictive evil snot who wants to trash the UN for having told the truth about his lies.

WHERE IS THE ACCOUNTABILITY??? Isn't the president even going to pretend that he's unhappy with the people who supposedly mislead him into this disastrous war?

:nuke:

Here's Rice lying like a republican about the mystery:

DR. RICE: First of all, the CIA did clear the speech in its entirety and George Tenet has said that. He’s also said that he believes that it should not have been cleared. And we apparently, with the—in October for the Cincinnati speech, not for the State of the Union, but the Cincinnati speech, George Tenet asked that this be taken out of the Cincinnati speech, the reference to yellow cake. It was taken out of the Cincinnati speech because whenever the director of Central Intelligence wants something out, it’s gone.

MR. RUSSERT: How’d it get back in?

DR. RICE: It’s not a matter of getting back in. It’s a matter, Tim, that three-plus months later, people didn’t remember that George Tenet had asked that it be taken out of the Cincinnati speech and then it was cleared by the agency. I didn’t remember. Steve Hadley didn’t remember. We are trying to put now in place methods so you don’t have to be dependent on people’s memories for something like that.

MR. RUSSERT: Did you ever read the memo that I referenced?

DR. RICE: I don’t remember the memo...

http://www.msnbc.com/news/973028.asp?cp1=1

[Frederik]

42. That should be January 2006

I believe.

How much credibility will Bolton have as a "recess appointee"? Not a friggin' lot, that's how much.

[etherealtruth]

57. Are you sure about January '06?

I'm not trying to be an ass ... I'm not sure and would like to know...

[Frederik]

60. Come to think of it

maybe it's really january 2007? Seems pretty pointless to appoint him for four months doesn't it.

[etherealtruth]

61. I'm disappointed ....

I had hoped beyond hope that you were right ('06). I am very sorry (for all of us) that you revised your opinion.

[Frederik]

62. Sorry 'bout that

Hope I was right the first time x(

[babylonsister]

43. Now that's what I call a Friday night DUMP! nt

[halobeam]

45. Quite true. We all knew this was going to happen.

We just knew it.

[truthisfreedom]

44. someone explain to me how he can do a recess appointment for a position

that opened while Congress was in session. the Constitution clearly states that recess appointments can be done for positions that open while Congress is OUT of session. the spirit of that law is that if Congress isn't available, government can continue anyway. in this case, it seems like he's just doing things willy nilly, which, although bushco always does things that way, seems UNCONSTITUTIONAL in this case.

[The_Casual_Observer]

46. Welcome to the one party system of the USSR.

They try to stop the bastard from making a mistake, and he just does the shit anyway. I hope they like what they get.

[still_one]

47. the PNAC agenda is almost complete

[Vincardog]

48. One point to ponder is

The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may
happen during the recess of the Senate,

by granting commissions which shall expire at the end of their next session.

<http://straylight.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.articleii.html#section2>

Bolton's opening did not happen during the recess.

[halobeam]

51. And I suppose that is going to be noticed, discussed intelligently

and a responsible decision be made. Yes, I'm sorry I'm being really sarcastic, but it's not toward you at all, it's toward the lazy ass, fear driven, greed ridden officials in this country who can blast this point across the airwaves and won't. Just plain won't. I'm not surprised one freakin' bit. If it stinks, it'll happen. That's * policy...nothing less.

[The_Casual_Observer]

52. They read this as: This vacancy is happening during this recess

therefore he can act on it. It's sad that they feel the need to foist a shit guy like that down everybody's throat when there are plenty of worthy responsible people who could do that job.

[RevolutionStartsNow]

49. In other words...

this is Bush's way of giving us the finger.

Nice way to subvert the Constitution.

[uppityperson]

50. insert really bad words here

[deminks]

54. Unfucking believable.

This administration is such a complete outrage. I have no other words at the moment.

[jmaier]

55. Good

From a policy perspective it hardly matters because this administration is only dissing the U.N. anyway. Politically, it's a bad move. The right wing base will like it but Bolton isn't an attractive character and there is no love for him across a broader political spectrum. It could radically backfire if the Fitzgerald probe nails him in some way. Bush being high-handed and combatitive for something as picayune as this won't play well and goes to the whole "arrogance", "power grab" theme.

[gademocrat7]

56. Another liar getting a shrub appointment

I hope the UN changes the locks and turns their back on this lying sob.

[DemoTex]

58. Bu$h to the 70% who oppose Bolton:

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

59. He's a God damned fool

Not that anyone on this board is surprised.

Bolton will have absolutely no credibility with anyone. Plus if his involvement in Plamegate turns out to be what is rumored Chimpy will look even worse.

[spanone]

63. What about an Up or Down Vote, mr president? Chickenshit.

[Zorra]

65. Bolton will get about as much respect from the UN as a Nazi war

criminal would.

None of the other UN Ambassadors or other UN officials will ever take him seriously.

He'll be a lame duck before he starts.

[goodboy]

66. so he doesn't give a shit about an "up er down" vote. no wait...

only if the vote turns out to be "up"

Otherwise, he'll just appoint the guy anyway and get his way.

[RSchewe]

67. AP got the same info it seems...

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/UN_AMBASSADOR?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2005-07-29-22-53-06">http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/UN_AMBASSADOR?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2005-07-29-22-53-06

[Don1]

68. The Sunday Times: Bush to defy Senate and send his man to the UN

"Sarah Baxter, Washington

FRUSTRATED by five months of wrangling and recriminations, President George W Bush is expected to appoint John Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations this week in defiance of Democrat senators and critics in his own party."

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-1715045,00.html


These neo-cons hate democracy.

[Erika]

69. Bushbots hate democracy

Bolton is a bully and a horrible choice.

[babylonsister]

70. I can't bear to write P_G_B_, but I'd like to add, the

blivet sucks. I hope this bites him in the ass in a big way. I'm also frustrated, and the blivet isn't speaking for me.

[eleny]

71. Bolton will be a boil on W's ass

[oasis]

72. Bolton goes to the UN wearing a scarlet letter. He won't be operating

from a position of strength. What a joke.

[EFerrari]

73. When Bolton is appointed, we all need to write to the UN

and let them know, this criminal does not represent us.

And cc our Senators.

He can be appointed but we don't have to make it easy.

:nuke: