The Left's Opposition To Mike Pompeo Sets A New (Terrible) Precedent On Partisanship
Here's how Cabinet nominations work for presidents both Republican or Democrat: The party that doesn't control the White House scuffs up the nominee, berates him or her for this perceived slight or that perceived misstep, then votes for their approval to the post.
Consider this list of nominees for Secretary of State and the vote by the Senate over recent years:
Alexander Haig: 93-0
George P. Schultz -- 97-0
James P. Baker: 99-0
Madeleine K. Albright: 99-0
Condoleezza Rice: 85-13
Hillary Clinton: 94-2
John Kerry: 94-2
Colin Powell and Warren Christopher were such shoo-ins there was only a voice vote.
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But historically, the thinking has always been this: The president rightly won the election and (rightly) gets to install his team. Members of the Senate have nearly always followed that unwritten rule — until Trump.
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"It doesn't matter if there's someone, Mike Pompeo — both sides agree he's qualified for this position even if they disagree with the ideological point of view — but very clearly, most of the Senate Democratic Caucus is a very progressive caucus, a very liberal caucus that wants to fight Trump tooth and nail," Raju said.
Liberal news organizations across the country have come out in support of Pompeo (if for no other reason than the aforementioned, that the fairly-elected president gets to pick his team). In a USA Today story headlined, "Confirm Mike Pompeo to fill the void at State," the left-leaning paper said, "Unless a nominee has clear ethical or competency failings, presidents should be accorded wide latitude to select top aides whom they trust and agree with. Pompeo passes that test and merits approval."
The very liberal New York Daily News, in a story headlined "Confirm Mike Pompeo: President Trump needs a secretary of state," wrote, "In hearings, Pompeo committed to rebuilding a State Department where experienced staff fled in droves and morale hit rock bottom during the feckless leadership of Tillerson. Pompeo also has solid knowledge of the world, the discipline to oversee complex diplomacy and — a double-edged sword, we admit — the trust of a President who seems to believe in almost no one."
The Chicago Tribune, in a piece headlined "Why the U.S. Senate should confirm Mike Pompeo," said, "Presidents are entitled to choose their own advisers, and nothing that has emerged about Pompeo is disqualifying. The State Department could use a secretary equipped for the job of advancing U.S. interests in concert with the president — and the sooner the better."