John Kerry was confirmed by the Senate 94-3 after appearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee - which he actually chaired at the time. Speculation has held that Obama nominated Kerry because the two became close while Obama was a senator. Kerry became his mentor. This is payback, and also a way to obtain a secretary that will be loyal. That is not always a good thing.
- Click here for his opening statement.
- Click here for video of the hearing.
- Click here for his opening statement.
- Click here for video of the hearing.
Mr. Kerry, who is a Vietnam veteran, a former presidential nominee and the son of a diplomat, will be inheriting a difficult agenda. The conflict in Syria has killed more than 60,000 people. The international envoy on the Syrian crisis, Lakhdar Brahimi, who reported to the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday, has made no headway. Egypt is in turmoil. By Mr. Kerry’s own account, relations with Russia have deteriorated.Our two senators voted against him - along with Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe. The National Journal tries to explain why, while noting that Cornyn is a default "no" vote against all the president's nominees. Elections play a key role:
As chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee during Mr. Obama’s first term, Mr. Kerry was a loyal ally of the White House and served as an interlocutor with President Bashar al-Assad of Syria and President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, among others.
During a nearly four-hour confirmation hearing last week, Mr. Kerry demonstrated familiarity with a broad range of issues, but he did not present any new ideas on how to address them.
Of the three senators to vote on Tuesday against President Obama's nomination of Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., to be the next secretary of state, two are up for re-election in 2014: Sen. John Cornyn, the GOP minority whip from Texas, and Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla. The other is Cornyn's fellow Texan, the newly-elected Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.
It's easy to figure out why Inhofe would oppose Kerry, as the two of them are staunch advocates on polar opposites on climate change policy. (Inhofe said as much in a statement explaining his vote). Inhofe also is not in significant danger of a primary challenge or losing the general election if he runs again.
Cornyn, however, does have reason to look over his shoulder, as home state conservatives are vowing to contest his re-election. And voting against Kerry certainly won't hurt Cornyn in Texas.
"Sen. Kerry has a long history of liberal positions that are not consistent with a majority of Texans. After reviewing the nomination hearing, Sen. Cornyn could not support Sen. Kerry's nomination," said Cornyn spokesperson Megan Mitchell in a statement reported by the Dallas Morning News.
Cruz won't have to run again until 2018, but it might be poor form to vote against the interest of the Tea Party since they were responsible for his electoral success. Cornyn's vote - again - points out the influence of the Republican primary voting bloc in the state. One of the commenters pointed out that Cornyn waited to vote until after Cruz. Once Cruz voted no, Cornyn had to.
It also highlights cultural differences between Texas and the nation at large.
The Chronicle highlights this statement from Cruz:
“I was compelled to vote no on Sen. Kerry’s nomination because of his longstanding less-than-vigorous defense of U.S. national security issues and, in particular, his long record of supporting treaties and international tribunals that have undermined U.S. sovereignty. Now that he has been confirmed, I look forward to working with him in the years to come, hopefully, to protect our interests and preserve U.S. sovereignty.”
Nothing to back up the allegations, but that might be worth investigating. Note his use the word sovereignty - which is a touchstone for conservative Texans.
