Senator Voinovich blocks Bolton!

Senator Voinovich just blind-sided the country, saying he "isn't comfortable" voting John Bolton out of committee. Lugar has tried to almost throw this out of committee. He must be furious. Even Hagel wilted in the end and said he would vote it out of committee.

Hot damn! It's a new ball game, folks!

Update 1: Hagel, after saying No to a Dodd Motion to delay the vote, was side-swiped by Voinovich. Then Hagel said that in the spirit of amity the committee should vote unanimously for the Dodd Motion. Pathetic. Kerry's drooling at the prospect of questioning Bolton again. Update 1.1: The vote is delayed by unanimous consent!

Update 2: It took about two seconds for the main pro-Bolton group, the anti-UN Move America Forward, to come up with a Voinovich attack ad. Go read the ad text. Hysterical. Seems like they just scribbled out "Chafee" from their script and plugged in "Voinovich." Maybe even donate; encourage the self-immolation and enjoy the show. Michelle Malkin has a roundup of right-wing blogosphere's Voinovich spew. RedStaters are beginning to get in the act. As Fred Kaplan writes:

It's a good guess that one of two things is going to happen in the coming days and weeks: Either Bolton goes down—or we start learning a lot of unpleasant things about Sen. George Voinovich.

Read Kaplan's piece, it is a good summary of the critical moment and the White House politics of all this. Also, via Laura Rozen, this site has posted video of the hearing.

Update 3: And now, the deluge: "Ford's testimony broke the dam." Wednesday's Washington Post on the Voinovich Surprise:

"The dynamic has changed," said Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee (R-R.I.), who before yesterday's session had said he was reluctantly inclined to vote for Bolton. "A lot of reservations surfaced today. It's a new day."

Chafee is such a weirdo; check out this quote in the NYTimes:

"I don't know if I've ever seen, in a setting like this, a senator changing his mind as a result of what other senators said," Mr. Chafee said. "The process worked. It's kind of refreshing."

Yet you were one of the critical votes who wilted under political pressure despite all of this information. Un-frickin'-real, this guy. Update 3.1: The LATimes account.

Comments

[J.]

FANTASTIC!! The dark horse comes around and shows there are Repubs with brains and consciousness!! I had to leave work and missed the best part - hope it gets on the news tonight.