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Posted by Joel Mathis May 9, 2006 at 9:39 a.m.

Roberts not ready to endorse CIA nominee

![][1]Sen. Pat Roberts likes Gen. Michael Hayden. But that doesn't mean Hayden will get Roberts' support to be the next director of the CIA.[AP][2] reports: "President Bush's nomination of Gen. Michael Hayden as CIA chief ignited a confirmation fight Monday over the intelligence veteran's ties to the controversial eavesdropping program and his ability to be independent from the military establishment."Senate Intelligence Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., stopped short of endorsing Hayden: 'While I am not opposed to his nomination, senators - including myself - will have important questions which they will want addressed.'"Several Republicans, including House Intelligence Chairman Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich., and Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., have called Hayden's military background troublesome in this case. It will fall to Roberts to keep order on the intelligence panel as it considers Hayden's confirmation."[The New York Times][3] adds: "White House officials said they wanted to have confirmation hearings before the Senate Intelligence Committee completed and General Hayden confirmed before Mr. Goss leaves his post on May 26. But Senator Pat Roberts, the Kansas Republican who is chairman of the intelligence committee, said only that he hoped to have the hearings begin before May 26, the last scheduled day of the Congressional session before a weeklong recess after Memorial Day."'I want to do it right, I want to be thorough,' Mr. Roberts said."[In an online chat at WashingtonPost.com,][4] political writer said Roberts' support is critical to Hayden's confirmation: "One key will be Senate Intelligence Committee chairman Pat Roberts of Kansas. If he's firmly on board, Hayden's chances will be much improved. There is GOP opposition to Hayden, but at this early stage, it doesn't have the intensity we saw the day Harriet Miers was announced."Hayden may not have much to worry about, though. [The L.A. Times][5] says: "Roberts said that he expected Hayden to be confirmed nevertheless, and that he planned to schedule Intelligence Committee hearings on the nomination before the end of the month."Other links:Sam Brownback links[(Human Events commentary) Brownback, McCain Harm Chances for '08:][6] The immigration debate within the Senate has severely damaged the presidential chances among conservatives of two key Republican senators: Sam Brownback (R.-Kan.) and John McCain (R.-Ariz.). ... Clearly, Brownback's sympathy for illegal aliens stemmed from his concern about their human rights. The problem is that while most conservatives are willing to acknowledge the human rights of illegal aliens, there is widespread conviction that those "human rights" do not include a right to U.S. citizenship, especially as a reward for having immigrated here illegally in the first place.[(AP) Senate panel approves flag-protection amendment:][7] A Senate panel yesterday advanced a proposed constitutional amendment to ban flag desecration. The amendment reads: "The Congress shall have power to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States." The measure was approved on a 6-3 vote of the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on the Constitution, led by Kansas Republican Sam Brownback.How to contact As always, you can find information to contact members of the Kansas congressional delegation [here.][8] [1]: http://archives.cnn.com/2000/US/04/12/spies.speak/link.hayden.jpg [2]: http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/politics/060509b_wire.asp [3]: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/09/washington/09intel.html [4]: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/05/04/DI2006050401254.html [5]: http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-hayden9may09,1,4778535.story [6]: http://www.humaneventsonline.com/article.php?id=14665 [7]: http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=16859 [8]: http://ljworld.com/extra/where_to_write.html#fed