4.21.2005
Voinovich Surprises Both Parties by Derailing Vote on U.N. Nominee (KansasCity.com)
BY JAMES KUHNHENN
Knight Ridder Newspapers
WASHINGTON - (KRT) - Republican Sen. George Voinovich of Ohio has a reputation as an unyielding fiscal hawk. He once voted against a water spending bill because it cost too much, even though it included a number of Ohio projects.
He's made a name for himself in the Senate - for better or worse - for bucking President Bush on tax cuts, arguing that they would increase budget deficits.
But few expected him to become a Republican thorn on Bush's foreign policy. Yet, that was his burden on Wednesday, a day after he derailed a Senate committee vote on John Bolton, Bush's nominee for United Nations ambassador.
Voinovich is a slight man with a weathered face and an unassuming manner. But he has more political experience than most senators. He's been the mayor of Cleveland, the governor of Ohio and is now the senator from one of the most crucial states in presidential politics.
During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing Tuesday, Voinovich stunned Republicans and Democrats by announcing that he was reluctant to vote right then for Bolton after hearing a litany of Democratic complaints against Bolton's management style and claims that he's bullied and threatened underlings.
"We come down here and we do what our hearts and our consciences tell us to," he said afterward.
(More ... KRT Wire | 04/20/2005 | Voinovich surprises both parties by derailing vote on U.N. nominee) ¶ 13:15
Knight Ridder Newspapers
WASHINGTON - (KRT) - Republican Sen. George Voinovich of Ohio has a reputation as an unyielding fiscal hawk. He once voted against a water spending bill because it cost too much, even though it included a number of Ohio projects.
He's made a name for himself in the Senate - for better or worse - for bucking President Bush on tax cuts, arguing that they would increase budget deficits.
But few expected him to become a Republican thorn on Bush's foreign policy. Yet, that was his burden on Wednesday, a day after he derailed a Senate committee vote on John Bolton, Bush's nominee for United Nations ambassador.
Voinovich is a slight man with a weathered face and an unassuming manner. But he has more political experience than most senators. He's been the mayor of Cleveland, the governor of Ohio and is now the senator from one of the most crucial states in presidential politics.
During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing Tuesday, Voinovich stunned Republicans and Democrats by announcing that he was reluctant to vote right then for Bolton after hearing a litany of Democratic complaints against Bolton's management style and claims that he's bullied and threatened underlings.
"We come down here and we do what our hearts and our consciences tell us to," he said afterward.
(More ... KRT Wire | 04/20/2005 | Voinovich surprises both parties by derailing vote on U.N. nominee) ¶ 13:15
