Update [2005-6-20 16:7:20 by catnip]:: The cloture vote failed by a count of 54 ayes to 38 nays. 60 ayes were needed. The options now are to continue debating Bolton’s nomination in the senate or to have Bush make a recess appointment. Time is running out for the senate, so a recess appointment looks likely. There will definitely be a strong backlash against the administration if that action is taken.
Join us as we watch and listen to the senate debate the nomination of John Bolton as US ambassador to the UN, followed by a cloture vote at 6 pm ET.
You can watch it online now at C-SPAN 2.
The cloture motion requires 60 votes to succeed.
The roll call vote can be found here.
Please do not post any pics because they slow down the load time. Thank you.
It’s important to note that today’s vote really is about how much power the WH has over the senate since the administration has refused to release information crucial to the senate decision making process in this case. Therefore, a vote against cloture does not necessarily equal a vote against Bolton’s nomination.
Democrats Behaving Badly (voted in favour of cloture):
Landrieu
Nelson (NE)
Pryor
Final Count:
Ayes – 54
Nays – 38
WE WON!!
Here we go.
Thank you Catnip, I tuned in late and appreciate, as always, your work here.
I really need to take typing lessons one of these days. 🙂
(so far)
{…]= paraphrased
(…)= commentary
anything not in brackets is quoted as closely as possible
[we’ll give the prez an up or down vote when we get the information (on the NSA intercepts) we asked for…]
[recounting info on Syria questionably having WMDs that were smuggled from Iraq…]
Bolton acknowledged under oath that he had sought…the identities of the Americans listed in 10 different intercepts..when I asked him why he did that he said it was out of “intellectual curiousity”…Mr Bolton was seeking these names for his intramural [activities of bullying basically]…not a single US senator has seen the identity of any of these (19) names [that Bolton and his staff have seen]…
it is alleged that Mr Bolton has been spying on inferiors and superiors…(Biden doesn’t necessarily agree with that)…as my grandmother and grandfather would say [regarding the admin not releasing the names], who died and left them boss?
[two concerns: the Syrian issue and the NSA intercepts]
yields floor
George Allen, R Virginia says, Bolton is so distinguished. . .blech
democracy is on the march…freedom is on the march…even the UN recognizes it’s time for reform of the UN…(raising voice now) I think it’s important that the US have [Bolton to reform the UN}..[we owe the prez]…this nomination has been held up by obstructionist practices…I think it is highly irresponsible for the US senate to keep obstructing reform of the UN…
(catnip’s commentary: how about that WH’s obstructionist tactics in not releasing the NSA intercept names? Huh??)
(okay – catnip has no idea what Allen is spouting about now)
(Allen mentioned “some woman from Kazahkstan or Russia” as having been dismissed as not being factual…that would be Melody Townsel)
fishing expedition…it doesn’t matter about the facts, what they want to do is ignore the dire need for reform at the UN… (can I get a “Bullshit, George!!”?)
(for those who haven’t folowed all of this senate debate on Bolton in the past, the Republicans are really pushing this “they don’t want UN reform” card harder today than they ever have before…that speaks to their real agenda, imho…)
charges: wild, unsubstantiated, false, misleading, unproven…
they all were against Mr Bolton in 2001 before any of this came up…
they seem to be intent on preserving (he misspoke there or was it a Freudian slip?) Mr Bolton’s nomination as a way of embarassing America…(yes, that’s right George, they actually HATE America)…
obstruction in this case as in many others has gone on so long…obstructionism…(I think he’s going for a senate record on the word “obstruction”)…
Mr Bolton has an exemplary career..
delaying…obstructing…also contrary to the will of the American people…(BS George but good try)
Biden has 16 minutes remaining…
motion to extend debate…objection made…motion fails…
Everything that woman says makes so much sense!
The Republicans didn’t even have the vote to get the Bolton nomination out of committee…
never before has a president had [a nominee so controversial]…this is a prez who said he wanted to be a unitre not a divider and in the face of this, he sticks with this nominee…
[cites former diplomats et al who oppose Bolton’s nomination…quotes Voinivich’s opposition…quotes Bolton himself re: losing 10 floors of the UN building]
today’s vote is about whether or not the senate will get the information it has requested…why is this important? It’s important to get this [info so senators can have an informed up or down vote]…[it’s important to know if Bolton spied on those mentioned in the NSA intercepts]…[it’s important to find out who Bolton’s outside clients are…call to Thomas Friedman’s office ignored…]…[it’s important to find out what Bolton’s proposed speech about Syria really said].
when we had a debate a long time ago about Judge (?)..Frist, at that time said, it is totally appropriate to have a cloture vote as we are having today when we are seeking more information… (take that, Frist!)
[this is about] whether or not this body has teh right to the information requested…the admin has stonewalled [efforts] to release this info…Biden and I have attempted to reach a consensus…Biden has narrowed the scope of his request related to Syria…[Dodd has also narrowed his request re: NSA intercepts]..if our intercepts are “pure vanilla” as our ccolleague from Kansas says {why are we not allowed to see them?]…
under normal circumstances, [I would not be requesting this information]…but we know that…Mr Bolton’s conduct was anything but ordinary…[behaviour] all in furtherance of his own ideological agenda…[mentions article in today’s WaPo referring to Bolton as “Mr No”]…[it’s not only his agenda that is problematic, it is his conduct in pursuing his agenda]…
the idea that you would allow those disagreements to transcend that firewall (between Bolton and intel staff)…that goes too far…that went too far…
[cites litany of Bolton’s bad behaviour]
we knowed that Bolton required “adult supervision”…
is this the kind of person we can trust to promote the US agenda at the UN? Mr Chairmen, I think not…[cites countries facing problems and that the US cannot handle these issues alone]…that cooperation must be embodied in the [position of the US ambassador and that person is not Mr Bolton]…
lack of diplomatic temperment..tunnel vision etc…
thsi afternoon’s vote is about whether the [admin decides what is or is not relevant to information the senate should have regarding this and future votes]…
……..It’s not going to be the same after Senator Akaka retires.
I haven’t seen much of him, but I’ve liked what I have seen.
It always amuses me when they take the roll or call a vote.
You democrats are trying his patience, not to mention straining his attention span. Bolton is a man of integrity!
The plain simple truth [is that] some on the other side are obstructing…doing harm to this country…[cites previous Bolton nominations and all evidence submitted to date…number of documents…two days of floor debate]…Bolton a “straight shooter” “a man of integrity” “exactly what the UN needs”…the American people deserve a strong, principled vote in the UN (yeah, and it’s not Bolton, First!!)…
quorum call waived…is it the sense of the Senate that we should end debate?
IOW, should debate about Bolton’s nomination be brought to a close?
Tough to hear the voices, so we may have to wait until the final count is in. They need 60 votes for this cloture motion to pass.
All I’ve heard are “Ayes” so far, but most votes haven’t been audible.
60 Senators present?
They trickle in slowly and their votes are recorded at the table.
Once the roll call vote has been tabulated, you will be able to find it here.
That’s one point for him this term.
nah…let’s only give him 1/100th of a point so far.
Also votes “no.” Hey, you never know with Nighthorse Salazar.
with the democrats!
Woooooooohoooooooooo!!!!!!!
The usual Dem suspects have all voted against cloture so far.
is if some Republicans are missing in action.
Good for him, too.
One thing that really bothers me though is that is this just all a collasal waste of time if Bush will just put Bolton in anyway over the 4th of July recess?
If Bolton doesn’t make it on his own merits he looks bad and Bush looks bad. Of course the US looks bad too, but we’re used to that.
It does serve the purpose of showing the wrold and the American people that the Republicans and the WH have stonewalled the senate by refusing to release the info requested. That makes Bolton et al look very, very suspicious.
Very lame.
don’t be too hard on her, I believe she will vote against him if it comes to a vote, she doesn’t want to upset the party hacks to much here
so far I have 32 no votes, anyone else have the same number
…on getting his head out of his butt!
(but yes on the cloture motion, of course).
35
Same for Mary Landrieu, Olympia Snowe.
aye. That sinks it doesn’t it. Snowe aye tooo.
Landrieu – aye
Nelson (NB) – aye
Nelson of Neb and lanturd have got to go. Fucking turn coats. WTF are they doing?
gleefully ceding Senate power to the executive branch. Next time, we won’t even bother asking the White House for any documents, since it only makes them angry.
your sig line unfortunately.
Thse Dems voting in favour of cloture are infuriating. How could they possibly be against having more information about Bolton in order to make a more informed decision? (rhetorical question)
Snowe and Collins are (R) Senators, so don’t list them under the “behaving badly” category up above. I just thought we had a chance with those two to “pull a Voinovich.”
Oops! I really should print out a list of who’s who. Thanks for the correction.
I have 37 no votes so far
Guess it’s time to wake up the rest of those napping Republicans, Frist.
We only need 41 to kill cloture right?
that is correct
I count 47 aye, 38 no, no changes so far from last time
Does that mean he thinks thye won?
Maybe, but I think if they can’t get it done today, it will not get done and they will let the nomination die, put john boy into some cozy ambassadorship. I don’t think those documents will ever see the light of day from this administration at least.
one way or another. Bush has already said he will throw him in there over the summer recess. You are right, we will never see those documents unless the Supreme Court subponeas them.
This is a nightmare….WTF are those rogue Dems doing? This cannot go to an up or down vote. I will eat my sig if it does.
Ayes – 54
Nays – 38
Though Bush will appoint during recess no doubt
we could hope for today. (Although I’m not going to forget the Democrats who almost threw it for us.)
Now we need to frame the recess appointment to do maximum damage to the Chimperor.
only 54 voted yes. Uh Oh something else is happenening.
They’ve been discussing amendments to the energy bill all day.
okay, here is my take on this, there was a motion for a call to quorum, it was allowed that not all of the sentators need be present to create the necessary quorum. That means that with 38 votes was enough to defeat the cloture motion.
didn’t Frist change his vote last time to keep it alive and to bring it back for a vote? WTF is going on.
Yay!
That probably means a recess appointment.
which is some amendment about surveys on the coast of Florida. Wow, Bolton looks bad, the White House looks BAD. Woo hoo.
recess appointment or let it die, I vote for recess appointment and as someone stated above, lets start framing it now
Interesting that they were unable to dig up 6 more Republicans for that vote.
who did not vote? And why did they not vote?
You’ll be able to check the roll call vote once it’s up.
talking about the vote. then downing st. memo talk.
Good for her. I don’t get MSNBC. 🙁
was just whining about the Democrats mving the goal posts. here
He is saying that the administration told the Senate that none of the names on their list were names that Bolton wanted info on. Isn’t this a lie, I mean, something that can be documented as a lie.
Official Results
Not Voting:
Burns (R-MT)
Coleman (R-MN)
Feingold (D-WI)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kerry (D-MA)
Kohl (D-WI)
Levin (D-MI)
Thune (R-SD)
Republican Crossovers (Voted Nay):
Voinovich (R-OH)
Democratic Crossovers (Voted Yea):
Landrieu (D-LA)
Nelson (D-NE)
Pryor (D-AR)
Voting changes compared to previous cloture motion:
Inouye (D-HI): Not voting to Nay
Specter (R-PA): Not voting to Yea
Voinovich (R-OH): Yea to Nay
Thanks. I’ll add Pryor to my list of Dems behaving badly.
But it is the Catnip that I know and love putting Cspan links up and diaries on confirmation hearings. God I love Catnip and I’m not even a cat.
but on NPR they are saying that Bush will make Bolton one of the “interim” appointments when congress goes on recess during the fourth of july.
that means he is only appointed until the midterms. I think that is how it goes…someone correct me if I am wrong.
I think at the midterms Bush has to go through all of this again. In the meantime Bolton is less powerful.