John Kerry on the White House Recess Appointment of Sam Fox
by Pamela LeaveySo much for a new day in political discourse. George W. Bush pulled a fast one today and “named Republican fundraiser Sam Fox as U.S. ambassador to Belgium” in a recess appointment which allows him to bypass Congress.
Democrats had denounced Fox for his 2004 donation to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. The group’s TV ads, which claimed that Sen. John Kerry exaggerated his military record in Vietnam, were viewed as a major factor in the Massachusetts Democrat losing the election.
Recognizing Fox did not have the votes to obtain Senate confirmation, Bush withdrew the nomination last month. On Wednesday, with Congress out of town for a spring break, the president used his power to make recess appointments to put Fox in the job without Senate confirmation.
This means Fox can remain ambassador until the end of the next session of Congress, effectively through the end of the Bush presidency.
The White House had withdrawn Fox’s nomination on March 28th, admitting that Sam Fox would lose a vote in the Foreign Relations Committee. John Kerry made the following statement on the White House recess appointment of Sam Fox to be ambassador of Belgium:
“It’s sad but not surprising that this White House would abuse the power of the presidency to reward a donor over the objections of the Senate.
“This nomination was withdrawn because the Administration realized it would lose in the Foreign Relations Committee. Unfortunately, when this White House can’t win the game, they just change the rules, and America loses.
“Our country would be stronger if this Administration spent more time getting body armor for our soldiers in Iraq than it did helping their powerful friends.”
This is in my opinion maddening news. That our president has no respect for the political process is thrown in our faces over and over again. We all deserve so much better than the crony loving, corrupt Bush Administration.
On a personal note, I was with John and Teresa Heinz Kerry earlier today, before this news broke, at the taping of their interview with Tavis Smiley which airs tomorrow night. I can’t write about the interview as it has not aired, but I can tell Dem Daily readers that it is a much watch interview.
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Pamela,
Nothing is too low for Bush.
He proudly wears his utter contempt of common decency as if it were a badge.
Impeach!
http://www.a28.org
Tom
It is quite obvious that this is Bush’s retaliatory response to the military appropriations bill that set certain withdrawal dates from Iraq. Bush was also very upset that Congress recessed without sending the bill to his desk for him to veto.
When it became obvious that Fox would not be approved by Congress, Bush withdrew his name in order to make this appointment during recess. Let’s just say it was premeditated “screw you” Congress response! I do hope that this appointment is found to be illegal. And from what I gather, the Belgium authorities are being overwhelmed with American e-mails asking for them to reject this appointment. The address is:
http://www.diplomatie.be/en/contact/
Just another reason to add to the list… a very LONG list… of reasons for Bush to be brought on impeachment charges!
There is no extents that those monsters will not go to try to get their way. Our country cannot take much more of those idiots!
Thanks for that suggestion Bryan. I tried this angle:
Bush just keeps on setting records for how to play dirty politics for the historians to catalogue as the basic primer of how NOT to govern.
Pamela,
The Tavis Smiley interview sounds like it is a good one. It sounds like Tavis treated Kerry and Momma T right. He wasn’t so nice to them in 2004, but since Kerry isn’t running and no longer a threat to the others, they can talk about the book and other things.
Indie
I was thinking about you today when I was sitting there watching the interview. It was awesome. Unfortunately, I’m not supposed to write about it, because it doesn’t air until tomorrow. I will say it’s one of the best interviews I have seen in a very long time and I highly recommend watching it.
I just got in from the book event and dinner with YvonneCA. I’m going to formulate my thoughts on the day and write a bit about it and then more tomorrow…
How can Mr Fox say he is honored by the appointment when he was put in behind the back of Congress?
And it is obvious that he doesn’t appreciate the military service of others. He can’t deny that.
Perhaps a campaign needs to be organized asking the Belgian government to declare the Ambassador “persona non grata.”
Dan
A little trip down memory lane. One more to add to the list of Bush lies.
Friday, January 26, 2007
BUSH LEAGUE
That President of ours is really a hoot. His latest State of the Union Speech would have been sad if it wasn’t so funny. Imagine him saying that he was interested in working with the Democrat controlled Congress, and then saying not a single thing that would indicate he was telling the truth.
What few program specifics he offered were either such foregone conclusions that he would face a “lynching” from the public if he tried to stonewall on them anymore, or were pages taken straight out of his own 2004 platform. Getting so far behind public opinion that the President is literally dragged kicking and screaming where the country wants to go is really a peculiar way of demonstrating leadership. And looking your vanquishers in the face and demanding them to surrender, as he mostly did, takes a hell of a lot more balls than brains.
Bipartisanship involves compromise. While compromise consists of meeting half way, that usually means each of us getting some of what we want, rather than merely moving to the middle of a straight line. That’s why it was not only possible, but eminently reasonable for Bush to detail particular items on the Democrat wish list that he could live with. Because, you see, he has to be willing to give to get, and the only stuff he talked about being willing to accept are his own proposals. What better formula could there possibly be for leading to a continuation of the present stalemate?
Wade Sanders sends:
As one of Kerry’s Band of Brothers, and a former Swift Boat skipper, I was personally delighted by Bush’s midnight recess appointment of Sam Fox to be Ambassador to Belgium. By standing up to the Coward from Crawford, we forced him to once again parade his incompetent arrogance before the American people. Just like a spoiled child he petulantly did what very few presidents have had to do to get his way: circumvent the authority of constitutional oversight. That Bush did it while the opposition was out of town should come as no surprise as he has never had any stomach for a stand-up fight. What has happened is no small accomplishment adn we should be proud that we were able to force him to resort to this kind of tactic. Fox’s appointment as nothing more than a joke and Fox himself is equal to that joke.
Wade
I think we’d all be happier if we could force Bush out of office. I know it won’t happen, but it’s nice to think about!
My letter to the Belgian Embassy:
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Dear Ambassador Dominique Struye de Swielande, Ministers, First Secretaries and Attachés, The Belgian Embassy,
We Americans are ashamed of the behavior of the Bush administration in many spheres, most importantly in their unconstitutional seizure of power. Last week, defying Congress by acting during a Congressional recess, Bush appointed as U.S. Ambassador to Belgium, his nominee Sam Fox, after it became clear that the Senate was not going to approve Fox.
As Senator John Kerry commented, “Never before has a president used a recess appointment to support a withdrawn nominee. Every time this White House shows that if they can’t win the game, they just change the rules, our democracy and the Constitution lose.”
Sam Fox demonstrated, during his Senate interview, (1) that he was completely ignorant about Belgium (“I only know what I read in the newspapers,” he commented) and (2) aroused deep suspicion about his honesty when he claimed to be unaware that the $50,000 he gladly gave to a political interest group during the 2004 presidential campaign–a Swift Boat PAC–was going to an organization proven beyond any doubt to be spreading lies and committing fraud.
Please reject Sam Fox as Bush’s Ambassador to Belgium. It will serve Belgium’s interests, and will restore some integrity to our democratic process.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Tela Zasloff, Williamstown, MA
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[Author of "A Rescuer's Story: Pastor Pierre Charles Toureille in Vichy France" (University of Wisconsin Press, 2003)]