Condiliar replied to Sen. Boxer during confirmation hearings.
I witnessed Rice's type of 'integrity' in corporate america ... there was even a major principle of policy: "Integrity is our core value" ... it's one thing in writing, but, in practice, it's an entirely different thing. Performance assessment questionnaires were changed from
having integrity vs. not having integrity (as it should be), to having 'degrees' of integrity on a 1 to 5 scale. Management (i.e., leadership) had obviously taken a beaten in that category, and negatively affected scoring. Corporate integrity.
Sen. Boxer and Rice exchange in 2005
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/01/19/1510206Of course, Feinstein cut Rice slack, deflected responsibility to other 'architects' of policy, called Rice a friend, heaping praise upon her; and, the likes of Lieberman and Biden, the darlings of corporate media programs, stood in line with the GOP to confirm her.
Perhaps Feinstein should have recused herself. Should she be vetting a friend?
She confirmed her to cover her own war support record, and wraps some excuse around her vote to disguise the real reason.
Wonder if groups like Progressive Punch, often cited by some as a definitive source 'proving' a legislator's progressive/liberal credentials, scored the Senate floor vote in their tabulations? These are the kind of votes that help tell the whole story. It's a crucial vote.
Only 2 Senators on the Foreign Relations committee voted 'no' (Boxer and Kerry), 16 voted 'yes', to confirm Rice as Secretary of State.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/01/25/rice.confirmation/In the floor vote, only 13 voted against her confirmation.
NAYs ---13
Akaka (D-HI)
Bayh (D-IN)
Boxer (D-CA)
Byrd (D-WV)
Dayton (D-MN)
Durbin (D-IL)
Harkin (D-IA)
Jeffords (I-VT)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Levin (D-MI)
Reed (D-RI)
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=1&vote=00002YEAs ---85 of which ...
Baucus (D-MT)
Biden (D-DE)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Carper (D-DE)
Clinton (D-NY)
Conrad (D-ND)
Corzine (D-NJ)
Dodd (D-CT)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Feingold (D-WI)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Inouye (D-HI)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kohl (D-WI)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Leahy (D-VT)
Lieberman (D-CT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murray (D-WA)
Nelson (D-FL)
Nelson (D-NE)
Obama (D-IL)
Pryor (D-AR)
Reid (D-NV)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Salazar (D-CO)
Sarbanes (D-MD)
Schumer (D-NY)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Wyden (D-OR)
These Senators voted to confirm Rice despite such comments from their colleagues as:
Sen. Bayh:
"The list of errors is lengthy and profound and unfortunately many could have been avoided if Dr. Rice and others had only listened to the counsel offered from both sides of the aisle."
"Men and women are dying as a result. . . . It's heartbreaking that the sacrifices that have been made, the idealism of our troops, America's prospects for success in Iraq, our very standing in the world have too often been undercut by ineptitude at the highest levels of our own government."
Sen. Edward Kennedy:
saying the war had become "a catastrophic failure, a continuing quagmire" -- and he called Rice "a principal architect of our failed policy."
"In these continuing circumstances, she should not be promoted to secretary of state."
Sen. Mark Dayton:
"My vote against this nominee is my statement that this administration's lies must stop now."
Noting like confirming 'stay the course'.
CYA'ing their war support vs. doing what's right for the country.