The Senate has confirmed Robert Gates
By on Dec 6th, 2006 at 5:13 pm
The Senate has confirmed Robert Gates
to be the next Secretary of Defense.
UPDATE: Final vote: 95-2.
UPDATE II: Sens. Rick Santorum (R-PA) and Jim Bunning (R-KY) cast the only “no” votes.
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Everything he said yesterday, well, it was taken out of context, he never said that, he cannot recall it, that’s not what he meant.
December 6th, 2006 at 5:16 pmBoooooo!!, hiss, hiss…..
December 6th, 2006 at 5:17 pmLets see if Gates walks the walk.
December 6th, 2006 at 5:19 pmSo, he says we are losing in Iraq in the morning, then after lunch says we aren’t losing, making this the fastest flip flop in history and he was unanimously confirmed and then was voted in today in record time.
What gives?
December 6th, 2006 at 5:19 pmActually he didn’t really flip flop. He said we are losing the war. Later, he said the troops were winning all the battles and doing a great job. But he did not retract his losing the war statement.
We won all the battles in Vietnam and lost that war, too.
December 6th, 2006 at 5:22 pmWhat gives?
— SpudgeBoy
The rubberstampers still have their inkpads.
December 6th, 2006 at 5:22 pmSecretary of Defence isn’t that important of a position. We should have used at least a month in order to dig up his childhood dog’s name.
December 6th, 2006 at 5:23 pmI think what gives is recognition, that someone needs to be in the slot quickly to help clean up Rummy’s mess.
December 6th, 2006 at 5:29 pmGates also said no to attacking Iran or Syria. And Gates admitted that Osama is a greater threat to the US than Saddam was. Gates doesn’t believe any of the Chimpy lies on Iraq.
This guy is not Chimpy’s crony. He’s one of Poppy Bush’s boys.
Welcome to the second term of George Herbert Walker Bush.
December 6th, 2006 at 5:30 pmThe guy may not be a saint, but at least he seems to have some grip on reality, unlike Rumsfeld. Let’s get him in there and see what happens. If he does anything right it’ll be an improvement.
December 6th, 2006 at 5:32 pmWho voted against?
December 6th, 2006 at 5:33 pmAny Republican posters here live in a household of less than 40 grand a year…….
*Crickets chirping*
I didn’t think so.
December 6th, 2006 at 5:34 pmWhat gives?
Comment by SpudgeBoy — December 6, 2006 @ 5:19 pm
Exactly why you don’t let fired employees stick around afterward…
Who are the two that voted against?
December 6th, 2006 at 5:34 pmSo who were the two Senators who voted against him? I’m not seeing it yet in any articles I can find.
December 6th, 2006 at 5:34 pmWho were the 2 that said no?
December 6th, 2006 at 5:35 pmWelcome to the second term of George Herbert Walker Bush.
Comment by Tom3 — December 6, 2006 @ 5:30 pm
LOL
December 6th, 2006 at 5:36 pm2 Republicans voted against him…one of them Santorum.
December 6th, 2006 at 5:36 pmAnybody know why he got a backbone on this vote?
Two Republican senators — Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and Jim Bunning of Kentucky — cast the only no votes.
December 6th, 2006 at 5:38 pmlooks like Dems voted yes too.
December 6th, 2006 at 5:38 pmYou are people who believe that Robert Gates’ involvement in Iran-Contra wasn’t so bad…
…so it does not disqualify him from being SecDef…
…you believe that John McCain’s involvement in the Savings and Loan scandal does not disqualify him for the presidency…
…that Rudy Guiliani’s many cover-ups of open murder by his police officers and leaving his wife for his press secretary is a non-starter in his bid for president…
…AND you are not so enraged at the thievery, murdering (in Iraq and Afghanistan), mendacity, and TREASON of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney…
…that you are daily in the streets demanding their RESIGNATIONS, INVESTIGATION, IMPEACHMENT, INCARCERATION, and FORFEITURE of ASSETS…
…and you continue to suffer the inbred, racist, lying, demented FOOLS in your families, neighborhoods, and spheres of influence…
…while thinking that Alcee Hastings’ disqualification from the chairmanship of the House Intelligence Committee…
…for an impeachment on charges upon which he was later acquitted…
…and dismantling of Affirmative Actions as a remedy to past discrimination…
…is justified…
…How can God EVER “bless” this nation of racist, hypocrites for much longer?
December 6th, 2006 at 5:48 pmTom3 ***Ding Ding Ding!!! Spot on.
December 6th, 2006 at 5:57 pmPappy’s insisting that Jr utilize some of elder’s cronies instead of the incompetent Cheney/Jr cronies.
Wouldn’t Oscar the Grouch have made a better SecDef than Gates?
Yes, Mr. Santorum, ejoy that last vote. Go ahead, savor it. It will be one of your last. Santorum has lost every shred of respectability he ever had. Good riddance.
http://www.getsomejosh.com
December 6th, 2006 at 6:02 pmthat was too damn quick.
December 6th, 2006 at 6:03 pmI like this guy.
What’s Santorum going to say? “HE NEVER MENTIONED BOMBING EVERY BROWN PERSON NATION IN THE WORLD?!”
December 6th, 2006 at 6:05 pmSo what was Ricky’s problem, voting “no”. He should have voted “no” on the Gay Marriage Amendment, he should have voted “no” on invading Iraq, he should have voted “no” on the Military Commissions Act of 2006… those are examples of where a “no” vote would have made a difference.
Good bye Ricky… don’t let the door hit you on your arse.
“We kicked out Rick in 2006″
December 6th, 2006 at 6:06 pmsantorum probobaly voted no becuase he still wants rumsfield to hold his job
December 6th, 2006 at 6:11 pmOK. So what’s he going to do about the systematic under reporting of deaths in Iraq? Or wasn’t this a true house cleaning of corrupt Bush Cabal officials? Nah…
[from http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061206/ap_on_re_us/us_iraq_violence_figures ]
WASHINGTON – U.S. military and intelligence officials have systematically underreported the violence in Iraq in order to suit the Bush administration’s policy goals, the bipartisan Iraq Study Group said.
In its report on ways to improve the U.S. approach to stabilizing Iraq, the group recommended Wednesday that the director of national intelligence and the secretary of defense make changes in the collection of data about violence to provide a more accurate picture.
The panel pointed to one day last July when U.S. officials reported 93 attacks or significant acts of violence. “Yet a careful review of the reports for that single day brought to light 1,100 acts of violence,” it said….
Hello? Anyone listening?
December 6th, 2006 at 6:18 pmActually, he said we are “loosing” the war in Iraq. The media just made a typo, that’s all.
December 6th, 2006 at 6:19 pmsantorum was peeved cause he didn’t get the job………
December 6th, 2006 at 6:22 pmSantorum probably voted no because Gates won’t even consider attacking Iran.
December 6th, 2006 at 6:30 pmHere is the list of “No Vote” and “Nay” voters straight from US Senate website
NAYs —2
Bunning (R-KY)
Santorum (R-PA)
Not Voting – 3
Bayh (D-IN)
Biden (D-DE)
Dole (R-NC)
December 6th, 2006 at 6:31 pmDidn’t Dole introduce Gates at yesterdays hearings? What is she doing, “forgetting” to vote???
Biden is a coward…we already knew that.
December 6th, 2006 at 6:34 pmI think we should brace ourselves….
December 6th, 2006 at 6:37 pmWhy rock a sinking ship? Any opposition to Gates at this point in time would be just vindictiveness and counterproductive. When Duhbya and the Dick are impeached in January Madam President Pelosi will name her own cabinet. Why feed the trolls for 60 days for nothing? Just let them starve or eat crow. She can offer the job to Gates as well (Bill that is) and let his foundation foot the bill (pun acknowledged if not intended. Actually Mrs. Melinda Gates would make a damn fine Secretary of the Treasury since her Asset/Liability Ratio is a helluva lot higher than the current situation perpretated by bushco.
December 6th, 2006 at 6:37 pmInscription above Dante’s “Gates of Hell” – Abandon hope all ye who enter here.
Seemed relevant.
December 6th, 2006 at 6:58 pmI think we should brace ourselves….
Comment by Zooey — December 6, 2006 @ 6:37 pm
Why, you gonna jack this thread? :D
December 6th, 2006 at 7:37 pmNice one Unbelievable.
December 6th, 2006 at 7:44 pmThanks folks for providing the 2 Senators who voted no. Interesting about little Ricky. What’s he trying to say? Nevermind.
December 6th, 2006 at 7:45 pmWhy, you gonna jack this thread? :D
Comment by unbelievable
Vegan…
December 6th, 2006 at 7:49 pmNice one Unbelievable.
Comment by ForTruth
Again with the apple polishing…
December 6th, 2006 at 7:51 pmAgain with the apple polishing…
Comment by Zooey
That apple is burnished.
I love Apple products and don’t polish them enough.
December 6th, 2006 at 8:24 pm“We won all the battles in Vietnam and lost that war, too.” –Tom3
Tet was not exactly a great success story for the U.S.
Agent Orange deployment and massacres like My Lai — ‘battles’ we won– can hardly be considered victories.
• Khe Sanh was defended, and then abandoned five months later.
• The propaganda victory far outweighed the military loss.
• Westmoreland was removed from direct command.
• The My Lai massacre (and 35 others that were only revealed thirty years later) showed clearly that the U.S. was engaged in massive warcrimes.
• The deployment of Agent Orange II (and the other rainbow agents) peaked in the same time period — another major warcrime that wasn’t revealed until our own troops started getting cancer.
The U.S. lost the battle for its national ideals when LBJ decided to engage the military without regard to morality or international law.
Only in the dire military sense can the U.S. be said to have won ANY battle in Vietnam.
Halliburton was at the root of both these debacles.
December 6th, 2006 at 8:44 pmVegan…
Comment by Zooey — December 6, 2006 @ 7:49 pm
Keeps the Mormons at bay…
December 6th, 2006 at 8:47 pmNice one Unbelievable.
Comment by ForTruth
I couldn’t resist :)
Again with the apple polishing…
Comment by Zooey — December 6, 2006 @ 7:51 pm
That, I’ll eat… :)
December 6th, 2006 at 8:48 pmThis appointment is making me a little nervous. Questioning about his role in Iran-Contra were practically non-existent. He said we’re not winning in Iraq, then two hours later, he said, we’re not losing.
December 6th, 2006 at 8:52 pmHe gets a swift nearly unanimous confirmation.
I hope it is the right move, but I remain skeptical.
That, I’ll eat… :)
Comment by unbelievable
All of ForTruth’s sucking up pays off…
December 6th, 2006 at 8:53 pmThat, I’ll eat… :)
Comment by unbelievable
All of ForTruth’s sucking up pays off…
Comment by Zooey
Oh crap….
December 6th, 2006 at 9:21 pmThat’s ok – he’ll be incredibly easy to bust, once the skeletons start cascading out of his closet. Then HW will really have something to cry about.
December 6th, 2006 at 9:25 pmYou know, I am looking at a spray bottle of “Apple Polish” (special cleaner for Mac computers) right now…
December 6th, 2006 at 9:29 pmHello y’all, I was wondering about Santorum! I think he wanted Iran in the crosshairs too, he just won’t rest until all the world is Xtian (God or goddess or FSM help us all).
Or maybe he just wasn’t paying attention?
All of ForTruth’s sucking up pays off…
Comment by Zooey — December 6, 2006 @ 8:53 pm
I meant the apple…
Guttermind :D
December 6th, 2006 at 9:37 pmDid any of our fine Democratic Senators ask him about his involvement in the terrorist war against the peoples of Central America in the eighties? No? Didn’t think so. Of course, all liberals can think of complaining about is that he might have broken the law in the US – because they were just as involved in supporting fascism in Guatemala and El Salvador and Contra terrorism in Nicaragua as the “right”.
At least Gates is right about Iraq – the US is neither winning nor loosing. In fact, “winning” and “loosing” is just not a category this crime can be evaluated in. What would winning even mean? What is loosing? The question makes no sense.
In the end, Gates’ appointment, and Democratic acquiescence to it, is just another step in the clean-up operation of the American empire with regard to Iraq. Blame it on individuals, on corruption and incompetence – and the ideology behind survives unscathed for the next war.
December 6th, 2006 at 11:09 pmCongratulations to Mr. Gates….I have long been an admirer of his. I advocated his appointment as DCI when Bush was first elected back in 2000. For some reason, Dubya chose to retain Clinton’s DCI George Tenet. And we all see how THAT decision worked out. But better late than never…Mr. Gates is a dedicated public servant and will make a terrific Secretary of Defense.
December 6th, 2006 at 11:13 pm“This appointment is making me a little nervous. Questioning about his role in Iran-Contra were practically non-existent.” –Marie
Tradition long holds that a President is entitled to their own choice of Cabinet officers, which is what SecDef is. There is no way that the Dems are going to interfere with that choice, absent a real smoking gun.
“In the end, Gates’ appointment, and Democratic acquiescence to it, is just another step in the clean-up operation of the American empire with regard to Iraq” — christian h.
That’s just bigotry. You don’t like the Dems, so you want them to do something for your sense of morality and justice which isn’t political and which has never been done, nor is there an actual payoff for doing so. The Dems did exactly what was prudent to do, which is to choose their battles. Which in our current case, does not include trying to backseat drive the Executive from the Legislature — something that is highly improbable of success.
Andrew Johnson was impeached because he did not want the Legislature choosing his Cabinet for him (he missed conviction on those grounds by one vote). Twenty years later, the Supreme Court sided with Johnson. Since that time, the Legislature has only blocked nominees with obvious legal problems. That’s just the way it is.
It is clear to anyone who understands the logic of these political decisions that the ONLY way to change the policy of the Executive in large strokes is by winning the Presidential election — AND THE COUNT — in 2008. It’s a tragedy that the War Powers Act and the impeachment power are so weak, but that’s the facts.
December 6th, 2006 at 11:32 pm“Congratulations to Mr. Gates….I have long been an admirer of his. I advocated his appointment as DCI when Bush was first elected back in 2000.”
Bush was not elected in 2000. He stole the count, and his partisans in the Supreme Court shat on their dresses, as is obvious to anyone who wants to review Bush v. Gore for the fundamental requirement of ONLY issuing precedential decisions from that highest bench.
“For some reason, Dubya chose to retain Clinton’s DCI George Tenet.”
Rumsfeld’s decision, because Tenet was malleable.
“And we all see how THAT decision worked out.”
No, we see how the coup that put Bush into power has worked out. A total disaster, which you supported.
“But better late than never…Mr. Gates is a dedicated public servant and will make a terrific Secretary of Defense.” –Exley
Gates is an old wolf who may or may not have lost his teeth and become a vegetarian. He is certainly a racist geopolitician like the rest of the Bush administration. He is not likely to have a successful run as SecDef because the President he serves is a complete idiot as well as a major warcriminal who works for the very forces which twisted the Pentagon into its current illegal posture. And there are no patches on U.S. policy in Iraq available. At best, all he will be able to do is to rein in the Boy Wonder in his willingness to start a third war against Iran. If he fails at that duty TO THE COUNTRY AND THE TROOPS, then he will be one of the worst SecDefs in U.S. history, as his predecessor certainly was.
December 6th, 2006 at 11:38 pmPaul, I did not advocate blocking Gates’ confirmation. I do, however, believe that at a time where the US is once again running death squads in far away countries it might be right to ask about relevant experience and impressing upon the new SecDef that the US should not be in the business any longer. The fact remains that the reason the Democrats will never ask questions like this is not because they are prudent politically, but because they are part and parcel of the imperialist foreign policy consensus. Oh, and please look up the meaning of the word “bigotry”.
December 7th, 2006 at 9:16 amSantorum thought “Gates” sounded too close to “Gays”
December 7th, 2006 at 10:28 amFor some reason, Dubya chose to retain Clinton’s DCI George Tenet.
December 7th, 2006 at 10:40 amGay Sex Gay Ass Gay Ass
I can not agree with you in 100% regarding some thoughts, but you got good point of view
March 31st, 2008 at 10:22 am