Oklahoma's Inhofe and two Texans "just say no" to Kerry appointment

Staff Report

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate overwhelmingly confirmed President Barack Obama's choice of five-term Sen. John Kerry as Secretary of State, with a 94-3 vote on the Senate floor today. Republicans and Democrats praised Kerry as the ideal successor to Hillary Rodham Clinton.

But not Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe and two others. The two 'other' senators were Texans, John Cornyn and Ted Cruz. All three were Republicans and  were the only 'no' votes.

Inhofe said this in a statement released this evening:
“I have known Sen. Kerry for many years and consider him a friend, however, I am simply too philosophically opposed on the issues to support his nomination,” said Inhofe.
“Kerry has also been a strong advocate for U.S. action on climate change.  While these discussions of a legislative solution have proved to be pointless since the Senate defeated global warming legislation in 2009, the topic remains a high priority for the international community. I expect Kerry will spend a significant amount of his time supporting the United Nations with a revived Kyoto Treaty to combat climate change, which would be devastating to every facet of our economy.
"In this dangerous world filled with nuclear threats from tyrants in North Korea and Iran, Kerry’s lack of ability at times to distinguish between friend and foe is troubling.  And though he may have served the people of Massachusetts well as a U.S. Senator, I must conclude that it falls short of the requirements necessary to be the nation’s top foreign policy advisor.  I again state that I consider him a friend, but he has been, unfortunately, consistently on the wrong side of history."

"Sen. Kerry has a long history of liberal positions that are not consistent with a majority of Texans," Cornyn said in a statement. The senator is up for re-election next year and could face a tea party challenge.

Kerry's smooth path to the nation's top diplomatic job stands in stark contrast to the harsher treatment for Obama's other national security nominees — Chuck Hagel to be defense secretary and John Brennan to be CIA director.

As a White House emissary, Kerry has tamped down diplomatic fires for Obama. He also has stepped ahead of the administration on a handful of crises. He joined Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., as an early proponent of a more aggressive policy toward Libya, pushing for using military forces to impose a "no-fly zone" over Libya as Moammar Gadhafi's forces killed rebels and other citizens. He was one of the early voices calling for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to step down as revolution roiled the nation two years ago.

During his tenure, Kerry has pushed for reducing the number of nuclear weapons, shepherding a U.S.-Russia treaty through the Senate in December 2010, and has cast climate change as a national security threat, joining forces with Republicans on legislation that faced too many obstacles to win congressional passage.

He has led delegations to Syria and met a few times with President Bashar Assad, now a pariah in U.S. eyes after months of civil war and bloodshed as the government looks to put down a people's rebellion. Figuring out an end-game for the Middle East country would demand all of Kerry's skills.

The selection of Kerry closes a political circle with Obama. In 2004, it was White House hopeful Kerry who asked a largely unknown Illinois state senator to deliver the keynote address at the Democratic convention in Boston, handing the national stage to Obama. Kerry lost that election to President George W. Bush. Four years later, Obama was the White House hopeful who succeeded where Kerry had failed.

DONNA CASSATA, Associated Press contributed to this story