He's Baaaack

And no, I don't must mean me. Although I am. Score one for DSL.

I mean sewer-dweller, slim-merchant Sam Fox, the Swift-Boating jackass who couldn't make it through the Foreign Relations Committee to become an ambassador. So Bush, in the new bipartisan spirit he spoke about right after the 2006 elections--and we were supposed to take at face value or we were "angry liberals"--gave the scumbag a recess appointment.

But, hell, Joe Lieberman likes him, so he must be both qualified and a kindly gentleman (see Joe and Heckuva Job Brownie).

Here is Senator Chris Dodd's forceful statement, the kind of real straight talk that makes him a man I could most assuredly support for president:

"It is outrageous that the President has sought to stealthily appoint Sam Fox to the position of ambassador to Belgium when the President formally requested that the Fox nomination be withdrawn from the Senate because it was facing certain defeat in the Foreign Relations Committee last week. I seriously question the legality of the President's use of the recess appointment authority in this instance. I intend to seek an opinion on the legality of this appointment from the General Accountability Office and invite other Senators to join with me in that request. This is underhanded and an abuse of Executive authority -- sadly this behavior has become the hallmark of this administration."

And here is Senator John Kerry's equally terrific statement, which showed a lot of class and restraint considering he was on the receiving end of attacks funded by this human-waste dump:

It's sad but not surprising that this White House would abuse the power of the presidency to send a donor to Belgium over the objections of the Senate.

When it comes to getting body armor for our soldiers or relief for New Orleans, they're AWOL, but they'll move heaven and earth to reward a smear.

This White House has governed on fear and smear for far too long. Today's move shows it is wedded to the politics of personal character assassination that they are willing to take unprecedented steps to reward donor Sam Fox with an Ambassdorship.

Last week, the White House acknowledged that Sam Fox did not have the support of the Foreign Relations committee to succeed. Rather than lose a vote, they withdrew his nomination. Rather than fight on principle, they are hiding behind cowardly and perhaps illegal tactics. Today we see they will go to all odds to reward its biggest
donor.

This is another abuse of power by this White House and shows an utter disregard of Congress's role in the nominating process. It's time this White House learns it can't change the rules just to win its game.

Unfortunately, this White House is so inseparable from the politics of character assassination that they would take unprecedented steps to install Sam Fox as Ambassador. It's cowardly to buck the will of the Foreign Relations Committee to reward a donor whose nomination was withdrawn rather than face outright rejection. Never before has a president used a recess appointment to support a withdrawn nominee. Every time this White House shows that if they can't win the game, they just change the rules, our democracy and the Constitution loses.

Just in case you haven't read up on it lately Sam, Belgium is like this whole different country. They don't speak 'Merican there.