did anyone watch Voinovich on Bolton?

[paulk]

Wow...

He really gave Bolton both barrels.

That bit at the end - "I'm worried about my kids" - I thought he was going to break into tears.

How any Republican could support Bolton after that is beyond me...


let me rephrase that -

How any Republican with a shred of dignity, etc....

[europegirl4jfk]

1. I saw it!

It was a very moving moment when he talked about being afraid which country they would leave to his children and grand-children. As a Republican with a conscience - it seems - he has any reason to cry.

[whometense]

2. I had to miss between

3:00 and now. Loved the Biden/Sarbanes vaudeville act! :D

Has Kerry spoken yet?

[ginnyinWI]

3. nope--I'm waiting, too. n/t

[ginnyinWI]

4. it's good to see a man who has come clean with his conscience

Too bad the others are such partisans. :(

[whometense]

5. It is.

You have to wonder if anyone's actually listening. It seems like they all come to the senate floor with their speeches prepared, deliver them, and leave.

Did anyone actually hear Voinovich?

[europegirl4jfk]

6. Dodd was there

and addressed Voinovich directly after his speech to thank him. He had really nice words for Voinovich. But then this jerk Coleman spoke and ruined it all.

BTW, Levin is on the floor right now and he's citing the British memo! Great!

[LeftyLizzie]

7. I saw a clip of it

on NBC Nightly News. It was very moving, and it did sound like he was about to cry. It took a lot of guts for him to do that, and it's nice to see some sense coming from a Republican in Congress.

[TayTay]

8. Voinovich is an honorable man

He will be slammed unmercifully for voting against Bolton and for speaking out so powerfully against him. It's too bad. I saw his floor speech and he was very moving. He knows that the United States is throwing away goodwill that took generations to build up around the world.

The US used to want to be known as a beacon of freedom and civil rights. There was a day when outrage would have been the response if it was known that the President of the United STates allowed despicable practices like rendition and torture on his watch. Those days are behind us (at least while * is President.) Voinovich knows this. He knows what the score is and how badly the US is faring in the court of world opinion. He also knows that this will take generations to repair.

I recently read something where someone in Saudi Arabaia was complaining about something in that country being torture. the response was, "Well we're not as bad as the US, but it was bad." Imagine that. Under * this nation is being unfavorably compared to a dictatorship like Saudi Arabia in it's human rights policy. I'm sort of glad my father never lived to see this day. It would have broken his heart.

[paulk]

10. I think it was Amnesty International

just called Gitmo the "modern day Gulag" or something like that.

I thought it was interesting that Voinovich went into that - the damage to our moral standing in the world - he almost sounded like a ... liberal! He didn't just bash Bolton - he was highly critical of Bush's entire foreign policy.

[JohnKleeb]

9. Good for him

I think of all the states with all republican delegations, Ohio has the best, DeWine isnt a bad guy either honestly. Was disappointed that my more decent republican senator ended up supporting Bolton but I was glad he didnt walk lock step with the right on the filibuster.

[foreverdem]

11. I heard a clip on Air America

He did sound like he was going to cry. It was very moving. It's a shame that people in his own state are running ads slamming him because he is speaking the truth and has the guts to stand up against the Repubs.

[karynnj]

12. Just saw the end of a replay

He was really compelling. I hope that at least some of the Republicans can be reached. Unfortunately, they know exactly how much flack they will get if they vote against him, because they see how much grief Voinavich is getting.

Maybe if it goes over the holiday weekend, they'll have a chance if constituents really talk to them. I'm pretty shocked that senior republicans didn't have a problem with the fact that he clearly lied under oath to the committee and distorted and mishandled intelligence. It would seem that these things should be sending him to jail not the UN.