The File on Bolton (Bangor Daily News)

[struggle4progress]

Thursday, June 02, 2005 - Bangor Daily News

<snip> The most damning evidence thus far is testimony by former colleagues that he pressured intelligence officials to change their official appraisals to conform to his views and tried to have some of them transferred when they disagreed with him. <snip>

Democrats stalled a scheduled vote last week on the ground that the White House had refused repeated requests for files bearing on Mr. Bolton's efforts to punish officials who disagreed with his views on perceived threats by Cuba and Syria. Those files have been available to Mr. Bolton and the White House. They should be made available to members of the Senate and to the general public.

Ever since Sen. George R. Voinovich, R-Ohio, broke with his party's Senate and White House leaders and forced the Foreign Relations Committee to send the Bolton confirmation to the Senate floor without approval, other Republicans have made it clear that they doubt that Mr. Bolton is right for the job. Party loyalty seems to be persuading most of them to go along with confirmation despite whatever misgivings they have.

This case presents each Republican senator with a test on how he or she weighs judgment on the facts vs. party loyalty. The Bush administration has been presenting Republican senators with many such tests, such as the proposal for drilling for oil in the Alaskan preserve, pressuring them for support of the Medicare prescription drug bill without disclosing its cost, sending up the controversial nominations of especially ultraconservative judges, proposing to privatize Social Security and trying to change the Senate rules through the "nuclear option." <snip>

http://www.bangornews.com/news/templates/?a=114399

[indepat]

1. No problem in pressuring intel officials to change intelligence to fit

pre-conceived views. Bet hardly a Repuke senator will vote against Bolton's confirmation.