Saturday, May 28, 2005

Sen. Sellout (R-OH)

Sen. George Voinovich is one giant sellout when it comes to the John Bolton hearings. His votes contradict the strong convictions he's so eloquently stated on the Foreign Relations committee. Voinovich thinks very little of Bolton, stating he's one of the worst possible choices for UN Ambassador that President Bush could've made. Why then does he refuse to filibuster Bolton into obscurity? Instead, he repeatedly votes to send the matter to the full Senate for an up or down vote, knowing that the Republican majority all but assures his confirmation. Given Voinovich's intense dislike for Bolton and his belief that his appointment would damage our reputation on the world stage, you'd think he'd do everything in his power to join the Democrats in keeping the guy from ever sitting at a UN desk. But while Voinovich believes one thing, his votes tell a different story. He refers to Bolton as "the poster child of what someone in the diplomatic corps should not be," but then defends his cloture votes with "I am not so arrogant to think that I should impose my judgment and perspective of the U.S. position in the world community on the rest of my colleagues." This is a very misguided position. Imposing his judgment and perspective is exactly what he's supposed to be doing. Did his Ohio constituents vote for him so that he can vote the judgments and perspectives of George Bush, Bill Frist and Tom Delay instead? If Sen. Voinovich really believes that a Bolton ambassadorship would be harmful to the U.S. then he owes it to all Americans to vote his conscience and stop using his position of power to make meaningless statements of principle. Andy

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