The New York Sun is reporting that senators Clinton and Schumer have been getting heavy pressure from "important friends" not to support a filibuster of John Bolton's nomination as ambassador to the United Nations.
More below
As the Senate prepares to consider anew the nomination of John Bolton as United Nations ambassador, Senators Schumer and Clinton are facing increasing pressure from pro-Israel groups to renounce another Democratic filibuster in light of the escalating war in the Middle East.
The Foreign Relations Committee is set to hold a hearing on the nomination tomorrow, and several Democrats on the panel have voiced their unswerving opposition to Mr. Bolton's nomination.
From New York's senators, however, there has been nothing but silence. Mr. Schumer and Mrs. Clinton voted to block Mr. Bolton's confirmation a year ago, but they have not declared their positions this time around.
Aides to both senators did not respond to repeated inquiries about the Bolton nomination over the last three days.
One Jewish leader may have an idea why. The president of the Zionist Organization of America, Morton Klein, said yesterday that "important friends" of Mr. Schumer and Mrs. Clinton have confided to him that the senators are "seriously reconsidering" their position on Mr. Bolton. Mr. Klein, in a telephone interview, would not disclose the names of the friends, saying they had not given him permission to do so.
"If they came out against him, I would be somewhat surprised," Mr. Klein said of the New York senators. "I think there's a reasonable chance they might support him this time around."
He added, however, that "with politics, you never know."
Mr. Schumer and Mrs. Clinton have both made strong statements in support of Israel following attacks by Hezbollah and the ensuing war with Lebanon.
A shift by the senators would likely dash any hopes of another Democratic filibuster of Mr. Bolton and would point to a sizable political ramification of the crisis in the Middle East.
I am dashing this off from work since I don't see it yet posted. Where exactly do the loyalties of these two senators lie? How does Bolton's continuing at the UN help America, Israel, or anyone else? We certainly don't need a presidential candidate with "important friends. If you live in New York, please call your senators!