The “recess appointment” of Bolton

Bush imposes right-wing thug as ambassador to UN

By Bill Van Auken
2 August 2005

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In both the thuggish character of the nominee and the arrogant method of his installation, George W. Bush’s August 1 “recess appointment” of John Bolton as the US ambassador to the United Nations exemplifies his administration’s contempt for democratic forms as well as world public opinion.

In announcing the appointment on the first Monday morning after Congress went on its five-week summer break, Bush declared Bolton “the right man for the job,” and charged that his nomination last March had not been put to a vote “because of partisan delaying tactics by a handful of senators.”

In reality, Bolton’s problems in the US Senate stemmed in large part from divisions within the Republican Party over the wisdom of appointing such a hardcore right-wing ideologue to the UN post.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee failed to recommend his nomination to the full Senate because Republican Senator George Voinovich of Ohio refused to endorse him. Voinovich stated reasons of “conscience” in explaining his opposition to the president’s nominee.

Dissension within Republican ranks also precluded the Republicans from casting the opposition to Bolton as merely a partisan ploy and thereby mounting an effective campaign to force a speedy up or down vote.

As for the Senate Democrats, the recess appointment expresses the utter contempt the White House holds for the so-called opposition. Having allowed the administration to push through a major portion of its agenda before the Senate went on vacation—the reauthorization of the Patriot Act, the highway and energy bills, the CAFTA trade agreement, protection for gun manufacturers—the Democratic leadership is rewarded with a resounding kick in the teeth.

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