I just spoke on the phone with Virginia Senator George Allen. I began by asking Senator Allen what he thinks of talk that a vote on Bolton could be delayed until right before the Memorial Day recess.

“I think we should get to this next week. First, we do the Highway Bill, then Bolton and then judges.”

“When it comes to Bolton, people are going to talk a lot. But if we let him sit out there for weeks, more false accusations are going to come out there. Even when they are shown to be false, it will hurt him. But once we get to his vote, I think we will have the support.”

Allen notes that Democrat Senators Joe Lieberman, Ben Nelson and Mary Landrieu voted to confirm Bolton last time. “I think we can get at least two of them to support his nomination.”

I then asked Senator Allen what he thinks about Democrat threats to filibuster Bolton’s nomination:

“It is a concern, but I believe if they filibuster, it will be another example of their obstructionist, negative approach. I think there are enough people on their side who are smart enough to know that.”

Finally, I asked Allen about the danger of a successful vote to end judicial filibusters giving Democrats incentive to filibuster Bolton’s nomination if he is not taken care of first, “That’s a very good question. They may. That’s something that ought to be taken into consideration when we sequence these votes.”