The Bolton train derailment was an amazing piece of work, wasn't it?

:toast:

Nice job, Dems! Special applause for:

Biden (who was relentless, passionate, a superb leader who made Lugar look weak and tunnel-visioned)

Dodd (whose statement that he NEVER votes against nominees--except this one--was devastating)

Boxer (similarly relentless--extracurricularly too, evidently)

Kerry (whose argument about the necessity of doing their jobs right was similarly devastating)

Obama (whose sincere question about the procedure of getting the committee's future findings out on the floor if the vote has already left the committee made Lugar's waterboy-for-Frist act pathetically transparent)

Wow! Compare them to:

Lugar (it was wonderful to watch him break out into a sweat and lose control of the reins upon Voinovich's "defection!")

Hagel (whose heart was transparently not in doing Frist's bidding)

Allen (the only semi-competent Republican on the committee who seemed unconflicted about ramming the Bolton vote through)

Coleman (a transparently incomeptent Republican who was willing to use irrelevant media factoids to try to ram the Bolton vote through)

Chaffee (duh...which way did he go, George?)

Voinovich (who doesn't seem to have gotten the memo, somehow!)


WOW!

In front of the whole country. Did any of this get play on the news tonight? Other than the Cspan feed, of course.

True that it's more impressive if you actually witness it. And if the media didn't witness it, did it really happen for most Americans? Probably not. But the nomination killing train may be picking up sufficient speed with or without anyone but a few paying attention.

I was just amazed by how obvious the behind-the-scene machinations were. Lugar was trying to be a good boy. He seems to have hypnotized himself into being one. He really seems to have been caught way off guard by Voinovich's sincere discomfort. But I doubt Lugar really believes in the Bolton nomination. He has clearly been pressured into just delivering it or else. It's almost painful to see a person become such an obvious tool.

And that committee is swimming in incompetence.

I think Allen ranks just below Coleman in terms of incompetence. Coleman is clearly either dumber than a sack of nails or has inhaled a lot of paint fumes.

but compared to the other Republicans on that committee, he seemed the most ready for the fight. Lugar doesn't give a shit about anything but doing what the behind-the-scenes masters order. Hagel is walking on the edge of bad faith. Chaffee is covering his ears and singing "la-la-la"--someone must have promised him something. But Allen was the only one who tried to put up a real fight. If there were more doing what Allen did, Voinovich might have gotten the message and Frist might have been toasting himself for his political mastery tonight.

He definitely carried the torch for the Republican committee members. They certainly did not appear to want it.

Funny. Frist and his cohorts have been posturing in the Senate as if they are acting as one and the Republicans in committee will fall in line on everything. He resorts to blaming Democrats for holding up nominees when, as we saw today, often it internal divisions within the Republicans that stall appointments.

That Frist is even contemplating the nuclear option is telling. Whereas many characterize it as a signal that the Republicans are too arrogant and too powerful, I think it signals weakness on the part of the party. If the party were as strong as Frist makes them out to be, there would be no reason for them to get rid of the minority party's last resort.

The Democrats seem pretty well able to handle themselves in the face of the Republicans petty proceduralisms. Frist is a loser. I wonder why the Republicans even chose him. What is his strength really based on? When you get right down to it, the Republicans are a pretty pathetic, nearly talentless group in the Senate.

Those Democrats, though, just at that table, are a pretty stellar crew.

And that's saying a lot. Frist is horribly ineffective as a leader - even as an ideological leader he's deficient. He seems to lack the sort of acumen that is required of a majority party leader. The party really misstepped when they chose him to succeed Lott. In hindsight they might have been better off pressuring Lott to stay in as majority leader. It would have left scars, sure, but at least they wouldn't have to operate under a weakling like Frist.

On the other hand, it works out better for us the way it is now. Thank you, Senator Frist! :toast:

He makes Daschle look like Napoleon. :wtf:

On the morning of Nov. 3, does anyone remember how relentless Allen was...making a round of ALL the MSM morning talk shows. Literally every 5 minutes repeating on-air, insisting that Kerry needed to Concede immediately!

Great Lounge Post: Coleman: Dumber than Nails or Inhaled Paint Fumes?

Isn't that supposed to be part of "Frosh Senator 101"? Even Lugar didn't know all the ramifications of a tie vote, Biden had to setp in and explain it all.

I assumed it was because he's only in year four.

I loved how Biden overshadowed Lugar there. It was part of the whole beauty of the thing.


Welcome to DU, by the way. :toast:

I should have TIVO'd. It was so fun to watch and to see our system actually work for once, the way it's supposed to work.

I almost wondered if that note Luger got right near the end was Rove sending in a "ok, ok...let's delay the vote" message :-)

Clearly, a lot of people were watching it live.

and thanks for the welcome toast

What a jackass! Shouldn't it be rule number one for Majority leaders not to let yourself get surprised!? He made it plain, as Fenris was saying, that he doesn't have a firm grasp on what's going on. That's great news for Democrats, but aren't the Republicans going to figure this out and fix it using any means necessary (as they usually do)?

hope that for once the truth will come out AND it will sway some R's over to vote NAY on Bolton.

I think that the article on the front page of DU right now from the WAPO says it all:

The developments, which some aides called stunning, complicate matters for Bolton's backers. "The dynamic has changed," said Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee (R-R.I.), who before yesterday's session had said he was reluctantly inclined to vote for Bolton. "A lot of reservations surfaced today. It's a new day."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1691-2005Apr19.html

So basically, we sort of get a do over here, or a "re-do" but this time we are starting from a much stronger position and with some swing vote possibility from the other side.

I just hope Bolton doesn't pull his name out ritht at the time something juicy is about to really hit the fan (like Kerik did).

Phew! I think Biden hit on something when he said, "You know in your heart this guy isn't right." I think he hit some people right where it hurts--Voinovich clearly, and Chaffee apparently as well. The Dems unsettled the Republicans with the TRUTH! It's hard to just go along with the "Republican program" when it's REPUBLICANS(!) making the charges that the Dems are only passing along. I think Bolton may be finished.

I started laughing when Biden cited the Goldwater campaign theme, "In your heart you know he's right". I was SO hoping he'd follow up with the 1964 Democratic response, found on campaign buttons and billboards, "In your guts you know he's nuts".

I didn't expect him to, but it would have fit the Bolton nomination perfectly.

;)

(And true!)

and what with the room full of people?? Are they always surrounded by such a large crowd during one of these votes??

people can attend if there's room.

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

Carpet bag Norm snorted a sack full of nails.

Minnesota has put forth some great people to help shape this nation.

Coleman isn't one of them.

Boy's bought and paid for.

:yourock: I love those dotted face with the specters in the background.

:toast:

:D

I did! I did taw a putty tat!

It was better than sex!:smoke:

Reading the Freeper comments about how Dems secretly run the senate even though we are in the minority, and how even if there was one Dem and 99 Reps, the Dem would still win made it even better. Made me feel powerful to be part of a group that awesome:-) Just because you are the majority doesn't make ya invincible, kids!

Take that, you bastids! :nuke:

n/t

I lost almost all of what respect for him I did have. Watching that sweaty, smirking weasel running the hearing showed me how very little integrity he really does have. I used to respect him for his foreign policy concerns even if I didn't always agree with him. Now I don't.

Bolton is an intemperate, unstable, hatchet-man who shouldn't be getting coffee and donuts at the UN. Lugar's only argument for ramming him through was that Bush wants him there. Which is effectively no argument whatsoever unless presidents nominate people they don't want nominated.

Lugar showed himself to be nothing more than just another Republican hack. I'm glad we got to see that.

And don't get me started on that weakling Chaffee. What a sissy. Dems shouldn't count on that guy for anything.

Wasn't it he who claimed Reagan had been "brutalized" by having to cram his pea brain for the first debate against Mondale? Then he somehow acquired a reputation for being a "moderate." I bought that for a while.

Yesterday he returned to form, performing the lapdog tricks of a lackey for the right wing.

Feh.

against Bolton. Look for more damaging information to come bubbling to the surface within the next couple of weeks.

My guess is that the Washington rumor mill will be working overtime.

about the rumor mill especially. Could get interesting ...

I watched it 2 more times last night!

Voinovich has balls. That's for sure. I would have LOVED to be a fly on his wall after that meeting! Man O Man! I'm sure he'll pay for that one.

In fact Frist should pay. He's the idiot who tried to strong arm the Bolton nomination through without knowing where his people were.

way to go Dems (don't get to say that often ;))

:toast:

Is there some point at which phone calls would be more useful, other than random?

best I've ever seen, much better than my soap opera.