Tuesday, July 26, 2005

Well, Ain’t This a Dandy Surprise: Bush to Sidestep Congress

Advise and consent unless, you know, it’s something you don’t want to hear. Or reveal. That’s right, the Bush White House, in its never-ending zeal to never look bad for anything it’s ever done ever (power granted them by the People, who still refuse to hold their feet to the fire), has decided that, rather than doing the right thing and handing over the papers that Congressional Democrats have asked for, would rather go for an end-run around the Constitution in their zeal to dismantle the UN.

This is a little different. There was talk of a recess appointment a few months ago, but that was stalled as Senate Republicans tried to make a deal with Democrats. It would seem that deal is as dead an innocent Iraqi who happened to be in Baghdad at the wrong time, so we get this movement.

Scott McClellan’s line here really summarizes the whole approach of this morally void Administration: White House press secretary Scott McClellan said Bush has used his power for temporary appointments when "he has to get people in place that have waited far too long to get about doing their business." He said that "sometimes there's come a point" when Bush has decided he needs to act.

Nice. “Their business” being the dismantling of not only any sort of global consensus but also the means to ascertain what that global consensus is. Divide and conquer is what I’m talking about here. They’ve managed to divide and conquer the American People by fracturing communications and making them such a mess, and now they’re looking to do it on a global scale. What Scotty is saying here is, we have an agenda that we mean to ramrod through and we have to do it quickly before the People take notice.

Here’s the worst part: this appointment will last over a year: Under the Constitution, the appointment would last until the end of the next session of Congress — no later than January 2007.

Here’s the whole article. I’d be disgusted, but honestly, nothing this administration does anymore surprises me. I’d like to know who they’re representing, because it sure as hell isn’t the American People.

WASHINGTON - Frustrated by Senate Democrats, the White House hinted Monday that President Bush may act soon to sidestep Congress and install embattled nominee John Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations on a temporary basis.

White House press secretary Scott McClellan said Bush has used his power for temporary appointments when "he has to get people in place that have waited far too long to get about doing their business." He said that "sometimes there's come a point" when Bush has decided he needs to act.

Bolton's nomination has been stalled for months. Critics say Bolton, who has been accused of mistreating subordinates and who has been openly skeptical about the U.N., would hurt U.S. efforts to work with other countries on global matters. The administration says the tough-talking Bolton is ideally suited to lead an effort to overhaul the U.N. bureaucracy and make it more accountable.

Bush could put Bolton on the job by exercising his authority to make a recess appointment, an avenue available to the president when Congress is in recess. Lawmakers are expected to leave Friday for a summer recess and not return until Sept. 7.

Under the Constitution, the appointment would last until the end of the next session of Congress — no later than January 2007.

Republicans have twice attempted — and failed — to break a Democratic filibuster against Bolton's nomination. The White House has ruled out withdrawing Bolton's name, and has called repeatedly for a vote on his nomination.

Some in Washington had expected Bush to give Bolton a recess appointment over the Senate's July Fourth break. But Republicans said negotiations with Democrats were ongoing, and a recess appointment, should it come to that, probably wouldn't occur until August. There has been no sign of a breakthrough in recent days.

You know I said Roberts was the Antichrist? Jesus, was I ever wrong. Look at this picture of Bolton and tell me he doesn’t belong somewhere in Hell’s pantheon.



Brr.

Posted by crimnos @ 8:22 AM