"A protracted debate about a foregone conclusion"
All I can say is I'm glad I'm not a member of the United States Senate.
Over the weekend Senator Babs Boxhead claimed to be the victim of a vicious attack by Condoleezza Rice during her confirmation hearings last week:
Senator Barbara Boxer says she is the real victim of last week's confirmation hearing for Secretary of State-designate Condoleezza Rice, yet continued yesterday to question the national security adviser's honesty. "She turned and attacked me," the California Democrat told CNN's "Late Edition" in describing the confrontation during the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing. "I gave Dr. Rice many opportunities to address specific issues. Instead, she said I was impugning her integrity," Mrs. Boxer said.
IOW, she gave Dr. Rice many opportunities to admit to all the recycled false charges made against the Bush Administration's Iraq policy from last year's presidential campaign - you know, the one that re-elected the President.
But what was this "attack"? Answer: Dr. Rice twice expressed her "hope" that Senator Boxhead would not "question my integrity".
Meanwhile, according to the transcript, Senator Boxhead launched at least half a dozen personal attacks against Dr. Rice:
When Senator Voinovich mentioned the issue of tsunami relief, you said - your first words were "The tsunami was a wonderful opportunity for us."
Now, the tsunami was one of the worst tragedies of our lifetime, one of the worst, and it's going to have a 10-year impact on rebuilding that area.
I was very disappointed in your statement. I think you blew the opportunity. You mentioned it as part of one sentence....
So in your statement, it takes you to page three to mention the word Iraq. Then you mention it in the context of elections, which is fine. But you never even mentioned indirectly the 1,366 American troops that have died or the 10,372 who have been wounded, many mentally. There's a report that I read over the weekend that maybe a third will come home and need help because of what they saw. It's been so traumatic to them.
And 25% of those dead are from my home state. This from a war that was based on what everyone now says, including your own administration, were falsehoods about WMDs, weapons of mass destruction....
And I think the way we should start is by trying to set the record straight on some of the things you said going into this war....
And I personally believe - this is my personal view - that your loyalty to the mission you were given, to sell this war, overwhelmed your respect for the truth. And I don't say it lightly. ...
And I will be placing into the record a number of such statements you made which have not been consistent with the facts....
So here you are, first contradicting the President and then contradicting yourself. So it's hard to even ask you a question about this, because you are on the record basically taking two sides of an issue....
And after all that, Dr. Rice merely said, "I really hope that you will refrain from questioning my integrity." Something tells me that if she weren't so classy and so disciplined, the woman that makes Babsy look like a three-watt bulb could have verbally reduced her to a grease puddle on the committee room floor if she'd wanted to.
But then, this wasn't really about Condoleezza Rice. This is to be the template for how the Democrats are going to operate in the 109th Congress: blanket obstruction and wall-to-wall scorched earth. Having ridden those tactics deep into the minority, they are simply redoubling their efforts in the same direction.
After Dr. - I beg your pardon, Secretary - Rice was confirmed this morning by the largest margin of any SecState in American history (85-13) - it fell to John McCain, of all people, to put this exercise in puerile futility in its proper perspective:
On the Senate floor Wednesday, Senator John McCain, R-AZ, suggested Democrats are sore losers. Rice had enough votes to win confirmation, as even her Democratic critics acknowledge, McCain said.
"So I wonder why we are starting this new Congress with a protracted debate about a foregone conclusion," McCain said. Since Rice is qualified for the job, he said, "I can only conclude that we are doing this for no other reason than because of lingering bitterness over the outcome of the election."
Indeed - the 2000 election. 2004 just reinvigorated it. And at the rate the Donks are going, by 2008 they and their tactics may have become completely irrelevant.
But no less entertaining.
UPDATE: Guess whose vote was amongst the "yea" votes for Secretary Rice?
Hillary Clinton.
Hmmm....
[Hat tip: Captain's Quarters]
Over the weekend Senator Babs Boxhead claimed to be the victim of a vicious attack by Condoleezza Rice during her confirmation hearings last week:
Senator Barbara Boxer says she is the real victim of last week's confirmation hearing for Secretary of State-designate Condoleezza Rice, yet continued yesterday to question the national security adviser's honesty. "She turned and attacked me," the California Democrat told CNN's "Late Edition" in describing the confrontation during the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing. "I gave Dr. Rice many opportunities to address specific issues. Instead, she said I was impugning her integrity," Mrs. Boxer said.
IOW, she gave Dr. Rice many opportunities to admit to all the recycled false charges made against the Bush Administration's Iraq policy from last year's presidential campaign - you know, the one that re-elected the President.
But what was this "attack"? Answer: Dr. Rice twice expressed her "hope" that Senator Boxhead would not "question my integrity".
Meanwhile, according to the transcript, Senator Boxhead launched at least half a dozen personal attacks against Dr. Rice:
When Senator Voinovich mentioned the issue of tsunami relief, you said - your first words were "The tsunami was a wonderful opportunity for us."
Now, the tsunami was one of the worst tragedies of our lifetime, one of the worst, and it's going to have a 10-year impact on rebuilding that area.
I was very disappointed in your statement. I think you blew the opportunity. You mentioned it as part of one sentence....
So in your statement, it takes you to page three to mention the word Iraq. Then you mention it in the context of elections, which is fine. But you never even mentioned indirectly the 1,366 American troops that have died or the 10,372 who have been wounded, many mentally. There's a report that I read over the weekend that maybe a third will come home and need help because of what they saw. It's been so traumatic to them.
And 25% of those dead are from my home state. This from a war that was based on what everyone now says, including your own administration, were falsehoods about WMDs, weapons of mass destruction....
And I think the way we should start is by trying to set the record straight on some of the things you said going into this war....
And I personally believe - this is my personal view - that your loyalty to the mission you were given, to sell this war, overwhelmed your respect for the truth. And I don't say it lightly. ...
And I will be placing into the record a number of such statements you made which have not been consistent with the facts....
So here you are, first contradicting the President and then contradicting yourself. So it's hard to even ask you a question about this, because you are on the record basically taking two sides of an issue....
And after all that, Dr. Rice merely said, "I really hope that you will refrain from questioning my integrity." Something tells me that if she weren't so classy and so disciplined, the woman that makes Babsy look like a three-watt bulb could have verbally reduced her to a grease puddle on the committee room floor if she'd wanted to.
But then, this wasn't really about Condoleezza Rice. This is to be the template for how the Democrats are going to operate in the 109th Congress: blanket obstruction and wall-to-wall scorched earth. Having ridden those tactics deep into the minority, they are simply redoubling their efforts in the same direction.
After Dr. - I beg your pardon, Secretary - Rice was confirmed this morning by the largest margin of any SecState in American history (85-13) - it fell to John McCain, of all people, to put this exercise in puerile futility in its proper perspective:
On the Senate floor Wednesday, Senator John McCain, R-AZ, suggested Democrats are sore losers. Rice had enough votes to win confirmation, as even her Democratic critics acknowledge, McCain said.
"So I wonder why we are starting this new Congress with a protracted debate about a foregone conclusion," McCain said. Since Rice is qualified for the job, he said, "I can only conclude that we are doing this for no other reason than because of lingering bitterness over the outcome of the election."
Indeed - the 2000 election. 2004 just reinvigorated it. And at the rate the Donks are going, by 2008 they and their tactics may have become completely irrelevant.
But no less entertaining.
UPDATE: Guess whose vote was amongst the "yea" votes for Secretary Rice?
Hillary Clinton.
Hmmm....
[Hat tip: Captain's Quarters]
posted by JASmius at 11:48 AM
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