Did anyone catch the senate hearings for the appointment of John Bolton as Ambassador to the U.N.? I was absolutely amazed. First of all, I'm shocked that Bush has the balls to appoint a staunch unilateralist,who publicly denounced the legitimacy of the U.N. as an international body, to the post of U.N. Ambassador. Secondly, the hearing demonstrated once more the extraordinary level of utter contempt that many of these politicians have for the American public. Relevant issues that were brought before the committee were blatantly spun by committee members in order to avoid very serious questions about Bolton's manipulation of intelligence, as well as his lack of repsect for dissenting views within the bureaucracy. We need a congressional revolution.
These guys have no conviction or moral code and have no qualms about sucking a little dick in order to climb the ladder of power. Is this the "religious right" that we've been hearing so much about?

Re: Hearing for John Bolton....

i dont think that the religious right has a lot do to with neo consevatism. ultra right christians are concerned with life/cultural issues and making sure the arabs dont destory israel. the neo cons are concerned with promoting american power and through worldwide democracy. sure, there is an alliance of convenience, but i would guess that they dont see eye to eye on a lot of foreign policy.

its true though, john bolton for the UN and paul wolfowitz at the world bank seems kinda offensive. not only because theyre both so critical of international institutions and have deep seated extreme ideologies guiding their political behavior, but also because theyre such controversial figures here in the US. i dont buy the argument that theyre promotions is bush telling the world that he does, in fact, actually care about international law. his team has never compromised, and why would they start now, while still riding the wave of post 9-11 popularity.

Re: Hearing for John Bolton....

I agree. My statement was meant to be sarcastic. Even though the Neo-con Republicans and the Religious right don't always see eye to eye or, for that matter, even care about the same issues, somehow the Republicans, via a conservative media blitz, have laid claim to the title ... "The party of moral values." The irony of this claim is laughable!

Re: Hearing for John Bolton....

The further truth is that President Bush has given audience to both the religious right and the neo-cons. that is why both groups seem to have more and more influence every day. Both groups are influencing politics like we haven't seen in 40 years!

Re: Hearing for John Bolton....

everything comes full circle............ maybe one day things might actually become ""normal"" emphasize the quote/unquote

Re: Hearing for John Bolton....

i did watch parts of the hearings, and while some senators threw bolton softballs, there where some, christapher dodd and john kerry to name two, gave him abit of a talking to. unfortunetly that is all it will amount to. kind of funny though whenyou think about the u.n and world bank. two of the wealthiest international organizations charged with peace keeping, debt relief, economic reconstruction and humanitarian projects run by former bush administration war hawks, namely, bolton and wolfawitz....]

Re: Hearing for John Bolton....

I believe the U.N. is still run by Kofi Annan....lol.

Re: Hearing for John Bolton....

yeah i know, little brain lapse at post 2 a.m, after reading extremely boring legal docs...little embarrassing that one..

Re: Hearing for John Bolton....

Ah, I was teasin' ya ;-)

Re: Hearing for John Bolton....

Why does the word infiltration pop into mind?

Re: Hearing for John Bolton....

I am forever amazed at the ego on Bush. Although I do believe that a president ought to have some leeway to appoint the people he wants, his penchant for picking the very worst possible candidates for a job stuns me -- which I can only trace to his probably correct belief that he can ram through pretty much whomever he wants.

I just picture Bush coming up with his proposals: "How about a guy who doesn't recognize the legitimacy of the UN for our UN ambassador? How about a neo-con hawk to deal with the world's humanitarian issues? Wouldn't that be ironic? Hey, Dick, what will you give me if I can get these folks confirmed? [insert Bush chuckle here]"

You know there's a serious problem when you hear that "Bolton is up for UN Ambassador" and you think to yourself, "please dear God, let him be talking about [b]Michael[/b] Bolton."

John Bolton and his mindset may have a place in government. Trying to make a diplomat out of someone with no diplomatic skills whatsoever, however, is just laughable. Of course, he'll be confirmed, though... :roll:

Re: Hearing for John Bolton....

[quote=toasty]You know there's a serious problem when you hear that "Bolton is up for UN Ambassador" and you think to yourself, "please dear God, let him be talking about [b]Michael[/b] Bolton." [/quote]

HA! That's great.... :D

Re: Hearing for John Bolton....

It doesn't even seem like all of the Republicans on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee are supporting this guy....

[url]http://us.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/04/19/bolton.senate/index.html[/url]

That's gotta make even the administration wonder if he's the right person for the job.

Re: Hearing for John Bolton....

hey i found a video of Bolton ranting, interestingly enough on a website supporting him. its pretty intense:

[url]http://www.moveamericaforward.org/index.php/SpecialProjects/SupportBolton[/url]