Classic Coons Vote Moves Pompeo Confirmation Out of Committee

Filed in National by on April 23, 2018

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Chris “Present” Coons. He really outdid himself on this one.

Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), who originally voted “no,” then said he would vote “present” so the committee didn’t have to wait until around 11 pm to vote in person. Coons also has a close relationship with Isakson and may have wanted to spare him having to formally vote late at night. The final tally ended 11 votes in favor of Pompeo, nine votes against, and one present (Coons). Because there were more present “yes” votes than present “no” votes, Pompeo’s nomination will now be sent to the Senate floor for a final confirmation vote.

Had the committee not endorsed Pompeo, he would likely have become the first Cabinet secretary of any kind to win their job without a committee endorsement since 1945, the Senate Historical Office told me. That dubious distinction is currently held by Henry Wallace, who served as commerce secretary from 1945 to 1946.

What a joke. I’m sure his Republican buddy, Isakson, will show up big when Coons needs a solid. That’s how bipartisan comity works.

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Jason330 is a deep cover double agent working for the GOP. Don't tell anybody.

Comments (40)

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  1. CinqueB says:

    Republican or Democrat doesnt matter. Once they get to DC the Establishment Swamp gets ahold of them then they vote for themselves.

  2. Dana says:

    Republicans despised Hillary Clinton, yet when she was up for Senate confirmation as Secretary of State, she was confirmed 94-3, following a 16-1 approval vote in committee.. Republicans didn’t care for President Obama’s foreign policy, but when John Kerry was nominated for Secretary of State, he was confirmed 94-2, following a unanimous committee approval vote.

    There are no known ethical problems for Mike Pompeo, and he has already done important diplomatic work on setting up the summit between President Trump and Kim Jong-un. What could defeating Mr Pompeo’s nomination due other than to possibly torpedo the summit, a meeting at which Mr Kim has agreed to discuss possible denuclearization of the Korean peninsula? North and South Korea are apparently going to formally end the Korean War, something that would (probably) require the United States signature, because it was the US, and not the Republic of Korea, which signed the 1953 armistice.

    OK, we get it: you hate President Trump! But why would you put that hatred above a possible real improvement of relations with North Korea, when the DPRK has nuclear weapons?

  3. spktruth says:

    What a joke this republican is! Its time to find a replacement for him. There is no amount of “double speak” he can deliver that can bring cover to this outrage. Stop referring to this republican as a democrat, he simply isn’t. Going on Morning Joe to “tell the country why, won’t get it Coonsie and like an elephant, WE don’t forget.

  4. spktruth says:

    It’s not about hating Trump, yea I do. It is about the warmongering duo Pompeo and Bolton? And its not about North Korea, any one with expertise in that area could have had that meeting. There is no assurance any deal will be made with North Korea talk is cheap. Even if an agreement is made by Trump and Kim, just give Trump a day or two and he will flip.

  5. Dana says:

    Kind of difficult, I should think, to call MIke Pompeo “warmongering” when he’s the one who was laying the groundwork for the Trump/Kim summit.

    President Trump wants to get American troops out of Syria, too, troops put in there by President Obama. Not sure how that constitutes warmongering, either. He did authorize the military strike against Syria, following Syria’s chemical weapons use.

  6. jason330 says:

    So Pompeo has stopped being a psycho who wants to unilaterally bomb Iran? How do we know this?

    I don’t think Dana is familiar with Trump’s record of appointing people who are hostile to the mission of the agency they are appointed to run.

  7. So in several #BootPruitt pressers, Coons worked hard to get it on the record that he stands against Pruitt. Not so much.

  8. nathan arizona says:

    It kinda is about hating Trump. Pretty much anything he wants will be bad for the country even if it’s not completely apparent at first. Better to reject everything about him. I’m ok with sometimes compromising with moderate republicans (and democrats), but not with fascists.

  9. Alby says:

    I like the way Dana has swallowed the North Korea bullshit hook, line and sinker.

    They stopped their nuclear testing because they blew up their testing site. Beyond that, you’d have to be as stupid as a Republican to think North Korea is a threat to the U.S. It’s a threat to Japan and South Korea, two countries all the “American first” assholes don’t want to defend anymore.

  10. Dana says:

    Oh, believe me, I very much value our relationship with, and defense of, Japan and the Republic of Korea. My parents met and were married in Tokyo, where they were both stationed during the Korean War. Immigrants from South Korea are some of the best people we admit into our country: educated and hard working people who contribute to American society!

  11. Dana says:

    Mr Arizona wrote:

    It kinda is about hating Trump. Pretty much anything he wants will be bad for the country even if it’s not completely apparent at first.

    Really? If Korean denuclearization is achieved — we don’t know if it will yet — and the two Koreas sign some sort of peace agreement, just how can that be bad for our country?

    President Trump’s bombast about tariffs with China? After that, Xi Jinping announced plans to open up China’s economy, including lowering tariffs for autos and enforcing the legal intellectual property of foreign firms. How is this bad for the US?

  12. Alby says:

    @Dana: Then you’re not an “America first” asshole. Congratulations. Though I would note that your comment about South Koreans is exactly the kind of race-centered bullshit that marks your tribe. South Koreans come in all the same flavors other people do. I know lots of intelligent Southerners who aren’t assholes, but I would never characterize the region that way, because I know lots of others who are.

    As for China, so far, all talk. Same with North Korea, actually. And, for the most part, same with Trump.

    Perhaps this is what typifies Trump fans: They listen to words instead of watching actions.

    If Trump’s methods were sound, he would not have declared six bankruptcies and would not be facing indictment for money-laundering and fraud..

  13. nathan arizona says:

    Dana: Everything Trump does will turn to shit at some point. He would use apparent good things (if he could pull them off) as cover for worse problems than the ones he claims to have solved.

  14. puck says:

    A peace treaty would be welcome, but North Korea is not going to give up its nuclear weapons, period. Anyone who believes that is a sucker.

  15. Delaware Left says:

    I hope at somepoint the rest of the state will wake up and realize this clown is a bigger embarrassment than Carper could ever hope to be

  16. jason330 says:

    The entire GOP Caucus must laugh thier asses off when Coons leaves the room. “There goes smiling Chris, he can’t get enough of being humilated.”

  17. puck says:

    Coons thinks they are laughing with him.

  18. CinqueB says:

    They? Delaware is laughing.

  19. Dana Garrett says:

    I don’t want Pompeo because he is an Islamaphobe and a homophobe. The high votes for Clinton and Kerry in the past have nothing to do with the need to reject this slime ball. He needs to be rejected because he holds some basic beliefs that make him undiplomatic. His nomination to this post was in part because he holds these beliefs. It’s a way Trump could stroke his base which share his hatreds.

  20. spktruth says:

    Trump will screw up the North Korea deal no matter what. He just said, “I want complete de-nuclearlization. ! No way North Korea will agree at this meeting or year from now. A deal will take time.
    Impulsive Trump wont’t grant time, in his mind, no deal at THIS meeting, he walks. What comes next he gives the command to attack North Korea! How many of you think he would never do it? Yes, he will. As the Mueller investigation progresses, Trump is more filled with panic, anxiety, fear and revengeful thoughts. That’s how he has dealt throughout his life. He is determined to break out of the Iran deal leaving two nations going full bore towards nuclear weapons. France is NOT a good partner on the Iran deal or staying in Syria. Trump said,”we will hit them like nobody has ever hit them” Bolton and Pompeo agree. Iran is contained, the best deal signatories will ever get. Iran remains in compliance.
    Kim must also be contained, as Obama contained Iran. Trump set the bar too high…it will not be tolerated by N. Korea. Remember what Libya did, they got rid of theirs and whamo, bamo now a 3rd world nation. Regime Change. Why would any country believe anything coming out of the mouth of Trump and his war monger friends. Coons et all the center corporate owned democrats will of course vote with the republicans for war or whatever the idiot prince wishes.

  21. Alby says:

    Libya was a Third World nation the whole time.

  22. spktruth says:

    Libya is now a failed state, Thanks to Clinton and France. Libya was regime change too…and no, it was’nt the worst of the worst nations in Africa…is now.

  23. Alby says:

    I don’t actually care. I was just correcting your error.

  24. spktruth says:

    I didn’t make an error. A simple google would prove it obviously.

  25. spktruth says:

    Libya
    Third World
    Developing Countries
    Why is Libya considered a third world country

    1 Answer
    Murphy Barrett
    Answered Mar 25, 2017
    Because it is neither part of NATO, or a former member of the Warsaw Pact.

    That’s where 1st, 2nd, and 3rd world comes from. It was an idea that arose during the Cold War.

    1st World, the West, NATO and some allies.
    2nd World, Warsaw Pact, the Soviet Union and Communism.
    3rd World, everyone else.
    513 Views

  26. Kelly says:

    Dana
    All of the Trump hater’s are going to be surprised when Trump gets re-elected, because the Dems are going to have a bunch of old has been running. Do all of the Trump haters enjoying that extra money in your check. You didn’t get anything from Obama. Go Trump

  27. Liberal Elite says:

    @spktruth “Third World…Because it is neither part of NATO, or a former member of the Warsaw Pact.”

    I think that is an obsolete definition. It’s an old definition that offers no hope for improvement of status.

    An improved definition: The 3rd world is where population is not controlled by family planning. Instead it is controlled by disease, starvation, bloodshed, drought, tribalism,…

    Based on this definition, the 1st world didn’t even exist until the 19th century.

    But based on this definition, there is also a hope for all humanity.

  28. Alby says:

    Yeah, you did. It was a Third World country before, during and after.

    I picked on that rather than point out that you can’t predict the future and you ought to stop trying.

  29. Jason330 says:

    Kelly says:
    …Do all of the Trump haters enjoying that extra money in your check. You didn’t get anything from Obama. Go Trump

    Bless you. i needed a laugh.

  30. RE Vanella says:

    I overheard an interesting conversation out here in Seattle.

    Trump voters on the coast near big cities feel the need to keep defending him somehow. Their identity depends on it.

    Trump voters in the south and Midwest and rural areas needn’t play this game anymore. Most of them understand he’s an idiot and a thief and given up.

  31. jason330 says:

    I’d be surprised to learn that Souther and Midwestern Trump voters are any more self-aware than coastal Trump voters. The psychological need to keep the truth at arms length, and defend the swindler who swindled you runs deep.

  32. RE Vanella says:

    Difference is, the lady claimed, that those voters don’t NEED to make wild, inane statements of support. They rarely are challenged. They just see what they see and realize they were hoodwinked (again…).

  33. RE Vanella says:

    Anyway, signing out for now. Hoping on a flight home. One day turn around and it’s off to New Orleans Friday. Jazzfest, folks. Jazzfest.

    Jah Bless.

  34. larry, dfh says:

    There was no chemical weapons attack by the Syrian govt. That’s a complete fabrication, and it’s insulting to try to bring it up in this forum as some kind of undisputed fact. Any argument associated with such a dishonest statement must be regarded with the skepticism due a common huckster.

  35. Ben says:

    thanks for stopping by, Boris. Now off to your incel convention.

  36. jason330 says:

    I just learned what incel was today. What a bunch of psycho losers.

  37. RE Vanella says:

    Larry was previously the deputy director for communications on the Gabriel Green for President campaign in ’72.

  38. spktruth says:

    Al: you might try to actually read the facts. You say “you don’t care about the issue”, obviously your not following it. I am following the middle east, especially with the commander in thief we have in the White House right now. Syria, Israel, Iran, Egypt, Turkey, Libya, Jordan, Saudia Arabia, UAE, Yemen, Quatar et all is the next big war we will fight over RELIGION and OIL. I care, and believe others do as well.

  39. Alby says:

    It’s not the caring I mind, it’s the assertion that you know what’s going to happen when obviously nobody does. You might try talking in probabilities instead of certainties so you don’t sound like a nutcase.

    If you’ll notice, nobody answers your plentiful diatribes. Maybe they’re not as interested as you think, at least not in your interpretation of them.