Recess Appointment

There's no doubt in my mind that John Bolton will now get a recess appointment to be the US Ambassador to the UN. I can't see any other reason that Bill Frist would call a cloture vote he knew was going to lose. It's designed to label Democrats obstructionists. Since practically the only thing in the way of an up-or-down vote in the Senate is the White House releasing NSA intercepts and other documents for Senators to view, I'd say that the Administration is being the obstructionists in this scenario. I wrote a while back about how this isn't about confirming Bolton, it's about the balance of power in the government, executive versus legislative:

I thought we learned during Watergate that no President is above the law. It is completely reasonable for the Senate to request and receive these documents. They may show that Bolton lied to the Foreign Relations Committee during his testimony. They may show that Bolton was surveilling people who didn't share his views. Or they might show nothing. The point is that the integrity of the legislative branch is at stake. This isn't partisan small potatoes; this is about what kind of government we'll have in this country; a rule by fiat from a small cabal in the White House, or three fully independent, co-equal branches. Consolidating power in the executive branch has been the MO of every President, Democratic or Republican, for many a year. It does the country no good.

Well, this executive branch has spoken, I believe, and given their options (withdrawing Bolton's name, giving up the documents, or making a temporary recess appointment), I'm almost sure they'll speak again by simply installing the guy. And then we'll get a round of speeches about how "The Democrats gave us no choice" and the like, and everyone will ignore this wanton disregard for checks and balances.