Jonathan “Michael” Bolton (the real no talent ass-clown)

The Bush administration and leaders in the Republican Senate have been outraged in the past month by Jonathan Bolton being held up in committee and not allowed a vote. GW nominated Mr. Bolton as the United States ambassador to the United Nations, the sole body unifying our governments and regulating global peace. After disturbing allegations of Bolton possessing less than superior diplomatic and communication skills, Democrats in the Senate demanded a hold be put on Bolton until further investigation could be performed.

In the past Bolton’s feelings of the UN and US diplomatic relations can be summed up in a couple short, self-amusing, quotes he enjoyed sharing with audiences:

"There is no such thing as the United Nations."

"If the U.N. secretary building in New York lost 10 stories, it wouldn't make a bit of difference."

He has been called by Carl W. Ford Jr., former chief of the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research, "a serial abuser" and "a quintessential kiss-up, kick-down sort of guy."
Bolton’s former boss former Secretary of State Colin Powell has not spoken out against Bolton, but has refused to indorse him for his position. Something James Baker, Lawrence Eagleburger, Alexander Haig, Henry Kissinger and George Shultz (all former Secretaries of State) have done. Unfortunately none of these men have ever worked with Bolton directly, and have no real knowledge of his skills as a diplomat.
Finally, after much resistance by conservatives, Democrats were allowed to hold an examination in committee pertaining to Bolton’s past and abilities. Now, after a month of debate the committee on foreign relations has decided to send Bolton to the floor for a vote without a positive or a negative endorsement.

Republican Senator from Ohio, George Voinovich, has even spoken out against Bolton’s nomination:

"It is my opinion that John Bolton is the poster child of what someone in the diplomatic corps should not be."

With all this information about Bolton’s abilities becoming apparent we would expect the White House to be following foreign relations committee member Sen. Voinovich’s lead and repeal the support of an unqualified candidate. Here is what Secretary of state Condi Rice had to say:

Yes, he's been critical of the United Nations from time to time, but in some ways that is a great benefit because at a time when the U.N. is undergoing a considerable discussion about reform, looking at what needs to be done, it's a good thing to have somebody who's thought both about the good and the bad at the U.N."

With quotes from Bolton like the ones above, it doesn’t seem to me that he has thought twice about the good of the UN. It definitely appears this man is not setting out with good diplomatic relations in mind. Or maybe I am misinterpreting the line about “losing 10 stories of the UN building.”

And what insightful words does our President have about his nomination to the worlds most important diplomatic body:

Bush said that Bolton was "blunt," but said he "can get the job done."

I am sure Senate Republican leaders at least are taking a rational approach to this mistake of a nomination:

Sen. Richard Lugar, the chairman of the committee, said that while Bolton's actions were "not always exemplary," evidence heard by the panel does not support a disqualification of the nominee.

"The end result is that many of the accusations have proven to be groundless or, at worst, overstated."

The man publicly said he doesn’t believe the UN exists. You can’t overstate that. Plus the fact he has a trail of colleagues that he has failed to get along with. That right there seems enough to disqualify a person from one of the most diplomatically sensitive positions in the world.
It seems republicans are again voting down party lines with their rubber stamp, and not voting for what is in the best interest of the nation. The parallels are too close to ignore when comparing this situation to the White House’s judicial nominations. Senate Democrats found 13 of GW’s judges to be outrageously wrong for a federal bench position, yet Republicans want to go so far as to change Senate rules in order to put these extremists in power. The future of the filibuster is hanging in the balance with Bill Frist demanding totalitarian control of the Senate. In order to protect the rights of the minority and allow Majority party mistakes to be controlled we cannot let the filibuster fall. The republicans of late have become a party gone mad with power, like a cheetah as it’s pace quickens they have become blind to the peripheral vision, and are making drastic mistakes.