I spoke with Chris Dodd's blogger-outreach people a little while ago, and he's even more mightily pissed off about this than Kerry is (if that's possible). Here's what they wanted me to pass along to you guys:

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Statement of Senator Chris Dodd on the recess appointment of Sam Fox:

"It is outrageous that the President has sought to stealthily appoint Sam Fox to the position of ambassador to Belgium when the President formally requested that the Fox nomination be withdrawn from the Senate because it was facing certain defeat in the Foreign Relations Committee last week. I seriously question the legality of the President's use of the recess appointment authority in this instance. I intend to seek an opinion on the legality of this appointment from the General Accountability Office and invite other Senators to join with me in that request. This is underhanded and an abuse of Executive authority — sadly this behavior has become the hallmark of this administration."

Sam Fox is part of the infamous "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth," having contributed $50,000 to the group infamous for their ads attacking Senator John Kerry's service during the Vietnam War.

"U.S. ambassadors need to be both responsible and credible, and Mr. Fox's support for an organization known to have spread falsehoods illustrates neither. The fact that Mr. Fox refused to apologize for his behavior during his nomination hearing reinforces my belief that he would not be an acceptable representative for the position of U.S. ambassador."

Join Senator Dodd by signing the petition urging opposing this recess appointment then ask your family friends and personal networks to do the same:

http://chrisdodd.com/opposefox

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impeach these friggin bastids NOW,
M. Loutre