Despite the months of Democratic filibuster in the Senate, President Bush appointed John Bolton as the U.S. ambassador to the UN. Though all of his appointments need the "advice and consent of the Senate," Bush used the Senate's August recess as reason to appoint Bolton as an emergency appointment, though the term will be in effect until 2007.\nThe excuses for the filibuster revolved around Bolton's character and his negative views of the UN. If Bolton's character was enough to warrant rejection, then the Senate should have voted and rejected him. There were not enough votes for rejection, however, so then the Senate should have confirmed Bolton and stopped dragging out the process.\nAll certain Democratic senators wanted to do was stall the inevitable by using the filibuster. If the Senate didn't have enough votes to reject Bolton, then that represents indirectly the will of the people who elected those senators, who were selected because of their stance on issues.\nThe filibuster being used, then, is nothing more than a subversion of the democratic process and a pathetic attempt to throw a monkey wrench into the government's working machine. President Bush used his prerogative of emergency appointment to end the aimless stalling on Capitol Hill and accomplish his goals for the UN with the man he sees fit.\nThe president and the majority in the Senate were elected by the people to make the decisions they deem good for our country. Far from being the "loyal opposition," the filibusterers in the Senate are only trying to halt the majority from carrying out their decisions. Bush's appointment thwarted this attempt to hijack government process and should be applauded, because now Bolton can begin to carry out his goal of UN reform.
Dissent
Our new U.S. ambassador is none other than John Bolton. President Bush appointed him last Sunday without Senate approval. Many would justify Bush's choice because of how long it was sitting in the Senate. But many would criticize Bush because of his way of appointing Bolton during a Congressional recess. \nSince the beginning of his term as president, Bush knew who he wanted to fill in for the position as U.S. ambassador. And who does he choose? Someone who criticized the UN and has said, "there is no such thing as the United Nations. There is an international community that occasionally can be led by the only real power left in the world and that is the United States when it suits our interest and we can get others to go along." This was stated at the 1994 Global Structures Convocation in New York. \nNot only is Bolton the wrong candidate for the job, but his appointment makes a mockery of the powers bestowed on the government as Bush is using an emergency measure to circumvent time-tested American checks and balances. Although it's the constitutional right of our president to make this decision, it speaks volumes when it isn't backed by our appointed leaders.
Dissent written by \nAndrea Opperman
