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Condi Rice hearings

Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 16-2 to in favor of sending the nomination to the full Senate. John Kerry and Barbara Boxer were the only two voting against her. I saw some of the hearings, including some of Boxer’s outrageous performance and some of Kerry’s typical shuffling about. Boxer is lean-witted and mean spirited. And Kerry’s performance, I think hbis public one since the loss--was done like--as Shakespeare has Joan of Arc say of her French soldiers--a Frenchman: turn and turn again. Does anyone seriously think this man would have made a good president?

Discussions - 19 Comments

At a bare minimum, it is nice to see John Kerry show up in the Senate and vote for something.

I saw the hearing on C-SPAN . . . Boxer for President ’08 . . . :-D

Matt, I hope that either (1) that was a joke, or (2) you are not familiar with Boxer. You seem like a reasonable and open-minded person. Barbara Boxer is neither. She is an angry socialist who is so lacking in maturity that cried when the House accepted the Electoral College’s votes.

Moe,



Honestly, I don’t know much about Boxer. She cried??? I had no idea. That’s kind of funny . . . and immature. I must admit, she was pretty amazing in the hearing, though. She seemed very angry . . . but good politicians should be to an extent (I didn’t see her break this extent in this hearing . . . but it sounds like you know her, Moe . . . is she REALLY angry??). So, I rescind my endorsement based on new information. Maybe I’ll check next time before I give my support . . .



You know who really impressed me in the Condi hearing? Our own Senator Voinovich. He is such a happy man. I voted for him. Fingerhut freaked me out . . . but I’ve always liked Voinovich. He’s a good moderate Republican. Where did all of those go?



Thanks for pointing that out, Moe. I honestly had no idea.

Boxer also used a lot of race-baiting in her 1998 race against Matt Fong, er, I mean, "foreign diplomats." No kidding. She ran ads juxtaposing "Fong" and "foreign" in order to garner the xenophobe vote. Not someone I would even like to meet, let alone vote for.

Thank God Bush was elected!


Condi should have handed this dimwitted maniac her head.

Kerry seemed distraught. His vote against Rice was the action of a petulant man. This was not a vote of conscience nor of intelligent disagreement. Well, at least he was there.

Matt,

Could you be any MORE of a pushover?? (Or were you being EXTREMELY sarcastic, to the point where it’s hard to tell what a person is actually saying) You were so acquiescent in response to Moe Szyslak -- if the REAL Moe was pushing beers on you at Moe’s Tavern in Springfield, you’d be another Barney, and drunk as a skunk. Golly gee, Moe, if you say that Barbara Boxer is an immature socialist, then I guess she must be, and I’m gonna change my opinion 180 degrees. Think about it - do you really think that Boxer would bad-mouth capitalism and suggest socialist alternatives? Boxer loves capitalism and capitalists as much as the next congressperson - although, like the more liberal ones, she does believe in REGULATING corporations. But does it really need to be stated that this doesn’t make her a socialist?? I’m reminded of the Looney Tune cartoon where the little lap-dog jumps and runs hyperactively next to the lumbering bulldog, saying "What are we gonna do next, George, what are we gonna do now??" and being a complete sycophant to whatever the big dog does. Matt, GIVE YOURSELF SOME CREDIT, and don’t play the lapdog to Moe.

Now, "Kris Kristofferson"’s claims of race-baiting are distressing, and worth investigating. I’m not a fan of Boxer at all, and I wouldn’t necessarily put that past her. But geeez...she’s no socialist!

Well Ben,

1. I don’t come here to voice my opinion (unless I feel extrememly led . . . which I suppose is somewhat often). I come here to learn . . . that’s kind of what college is all about. If someone (like Moe) makes a statement that is contradictory to mine, then I’m going to look into. If you look at some of my other comments (especially on my own personal blog, I am far from a pushover. I am not, however, closed to changing my mind or view on something or someone. People like that, in my opinion, are ridiculous.

2. My first comment was entirely unfounded. I didn’t know anything about Senator Boxer. I was just saying that because she attacekd Condi Rice (something that I still think was a good thing).

3. I looked up information of Senator Boxer after Moe’s post and found several (seemingly bipartisan) articles written about her and occassionally quoting her. I even went to her own personal website to read up on her. You’re absolutely right. She is not a socialist. That’s why I never said she was . . . regulating corporation is GOOD.

So, yeah. Push-over? I think not. Able to see the faults of oneself and change opinions? Probably not as much as I should. But I try. And that’s what I did here. I was wrong. I would not vote for Senator Boxer for President like I had said earlier. I was just correcting myself. Sorry if you’d like me to stick to an opinion that I really don’t believe . . .

No Ben, she is a socialist, and Boxer and many of the "more liberal ones" do not "love" capitalism, they reject its basic premises. There is a large range of right-moderate-left that accepts capitalism but wants to regulate it to varying degrees, and most members of Congress fall into that range somewhere. Some, however (and quite a few members of the academy, especially at the east coast schools) are completely fringe and reject basic, obvious notions that normal people take for granted.

Boxer is a fringe as they come, which (although not related to economics) she showed yesterday, by being 1 of only 2 Senators to vote against Rice. (John Kerry’s vote can be chalked up to bitterness.) The only reason she has survived thus far is (1) racist campaign ads, and (2) a thoroughly inept California Republican Party. Put her in a different state, or run a candidate against her who is even semi-competenet, or have the media actually call her out on her racist ads, and she would be at home reading Engels.


Matt - I’m sorry, I mixed up your viewpoints w/ those of Moe. Quite correct, you didn’t call Boxer a socialist, just immature. Being willing to change your mind is fine and healthy, of course (a quality in short supply here at NLT!); I was just stunned by the APPARENT ease with which Moe seemed to be able to change yours. But I guess a lot happened behind the scenes; you read a couple of articles and whatnot - I’d be curious to know which "seemingly bipartisan" articles you did read, seriously.

Moe - Please share with us any truly anti-capitalist viewpoints issued by Sen. Boxer, or ANY socialist organizations which she has spoken favorably of, has membership in, etc. Conversely, do you know of any socialist groups (no, Ralph Nader orgs. don’t count) which have given her their imprimatur? I’d be interested (and genuinely surprised) to know if there were any. Here’s one organiation that does not think much of her and her recent actions (which they label "pathetic"). Now, you could at least make a case that Bernie Saunders is a socialist (I guess he’s called himself that before, but his own website merely recommends links to progressive groups like Sierra Club and the Center for American Progress, which is definitely a Dem. group, NOT socialist) Look, just because someone is to the left of Leo Strauss, Bill Kristol, or what, Rush Limbaugh (recent Claremont Institute honoree), that doesn’t make them a socialist.

And, just for the record, I’m not really a fan of Boxer, by any means...

Boxer supports the U.S. Postal Service, doesn’t she? Down with socialized mail!

Amen on inept California Republican party. It may be partly my fault because I denied that bunch of twits my counsel and compansionship, primarily because they are mostly yuts.

Is it more appropriate to refer to Peter Schramm as "Petey Schramm" or "Dr. Schramm"?

"jesse fan in chapel hill" wrote:

"If Boston is a terrorist target;........well you are welcome to it."

Good God, that’s positively SICK! So, Kerry is from Boston, and many folks in that city are Democrats, so you are actually WELCOMING terrorists to attack it???!!?? Where is the verbal beat-down you should be getting from Schramm, Alt, Knippenberg, Moser, Hayward and the NLT crew?? Only silence!! Golly, have you ever thought that there might be a few thousand Republicans in Boston, too? Well, it’s outrageous and absurd enough that you feel that those who voted for the candidate you didn’t like (and who lost) should be targeted by terrorists!

And who is this "jesse" that you are a fan of?? Jackson, Ventura, Helms?? Something tells me it’s one or both of those last two... ugh...

Where is the verbal beat-down you should be getting from Schramm, Alt, Knippenberg, Moser, Hayward and the NLT crew??

I think I can speak for the others in saying that our silence ought not imply agreement. I happen to love Boston, and I hope it goes without saying that none of us wants to see a terrorist attack anywhere. Even Berkeley.

John is right - I think the lack of response is indicative of the fact that we all know it was a ridiculous statement. Someone I know suggested after the election that it would "serve you right" in the "so-called heartland" if an attack happened there, presumably because we had earned an attack by voting for Bush. I responded then as many have now: by not dignifying it with a response.

Just kidding. Of course I know that Boxer is a socialist.

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