Despite Elections, Bush Pushes Bolton Nomination

Showing indeed that he's slow to learn, Bush is having a hard time learning what the Tuesday election means. Think Progress has the story on Bush's attempt to shove through the already rejected Bolton nomination to the UN:

At today’s White House press conference, Tony Snow revealed that the White House has officially renominated John Bolton as U.N ambassador and plans to push for his confirmation during the lame duck session of Congress. Bolton, who has repeatedly failed to gain Senate confirmation, is one of Bush’s most divisive nominations. The move comes one day after Bush pledged to “to work with the new Congress in a bipartisan way.”

(snip)

In September, Bolton’s nomination was sent back to the White House after Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) said he had “more questions that needed to be answered.”

Incoming Senate Foreign Relations chairman Joe Biden (D-DE) said yesterday that Bolton’s nomination is “going nowhere,” but previous accounts have indicated that Bush plans to again recess appoint him during the lame-duck session.

These games can't go on forever. Steve Clemons of The Washington Note has been watching John Bolton as closely as anybody and had this to say today:

Another highly placed source has informed me that in just a few minutes Senator Lincoln Chafee is calling a press conference to state categorically that he will not support John Bolton's confirmation in the upcoming lame duck session.

The Bolton confirmation will be officially dead in a few minutes.

Chafee lost his seat in the Senate but he's the kind of politician that Republicans should be rebuilding their party around. It should never be forgotten that Bush ran as a moderate in 2000 and largely kept hidden his right wing agenda. Americans are rejecting the right wingers in increasing numbers. It's time for the Republican to do the same and turn to real Republicans, moderates and conservatives who care about the future of the country rather than the me-first version of conservatism that belongs to a bygone century. Our country needs two viable parties, not a lame duck president unwilling to change along with a party bankrupt on ideas hanging desperately on to power.