Now before you go rampaging down to the comments to rip me a new one you may try reading the diary first. Read it fully because although I might have a lot of decent things to say about Hagel you should know I reside firmly in the land of the reality-based.
Lately there has been a proliferation of comments, diaries and press stories highlighting Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) as if he’s the second political coming.
Robert Scheer, former columnist for the Los Angeles Times opinion pages has even jumped on the bandwagon.
Chuck Hagel for president! If it ever narrows down to a choice between him and some Democratic hack who hasn’t the guts to fundamentally challenge the president on Iraq, then the conservative Republican from Nebraska will have my vote. Yes, the war is that important, and the fact that Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York, the leading Democratic candidate, still can’t or won’t take a clear stand on the occupation is insulting to the vast majority of voters who have. Source
This guy is a Liberal! With a capital "L". He was fired from the LA Times for telling the truth about Iraq and he was replaced with a snot-nosed, know-nothing, administration-pandering bottom dweller.
Arianna Huffington also has taken notice of Hagel and The Huffington Post currently has him above the fold.
Indeed, Hagel's withering criticisms of the president's handling of Iraq have been far bolder than anything most Democrats have been willing to say. Source
She’s not voting for him though. She merely wonders if it will come down to McCain and the anti-McCain for the republicans. (Yes, I’m deliberately not capitalizing the "r". Wanna make something of it?)
I’ll admit Hagel has appeal. He’s blunt. He’s honest. He has the self-righteous thing down and it’s real. He’s on point. And, heavens to Betsy, he is a politically fearless beast in a party who chews up and spits out those who offer even a little dissent. (See Specter) No quiet mouse is he. Going against the overwhelming criticism of the republican unwashed he doesn’t back down. He doesn’t temper his comments. He doesn’t "explain" them. He owns them.
The ability to speak his mind without the help of consultants crafting his every word is a refreshing change of pace. From what I’ve read he sees the big picture and puts the good of America above party and political aspirations. OMG! He’s a freaking patriot!
Hat tip to Russ Feingold, Ted Kennedy, Barbara Boxer and a select few others who can also wear that mantle proudly before you all think I’ve jumped off the party bus.
Hagel is not clueless. He doesn’t take positions because they benefit him, he takes them because that is what he believes. To. The. Core. Because of that he has tons of surface appeal for those unwilling to dig a little deeper. AKA-the typical American voter.
His backstory is also interesting. He has fought through much adversity to get where he is; family strife, poverty, alcoholic father, a stint in Vietnam, untimely deaths. He’s seen many facets of life and unlike Chimpy was not born in a bubble with a silver spoon in his mouth.
Interesting tidbit: Hagel's brother, who was on the ground with him in Vietnam is a flaming liberal who worked to get Kerry elected.
If Hagel runs for POTUS, especially as an Independent, (no way he wins his party’s nomination – they are too stupid for that) he could be trouble.
He’s the real McCain. Or at least the McCain that McCain pretended to be before he sold his soul to the Religious Wrong Right and permanently super-glued his little red wagon to an incompetent President with plunging poll numbers and credibility.
Remember that fake maverick appeal McCain had for voters across the board before Bush buried him in the primaries? Hagel is the real deal, and unlike McCain he’s not hiding the fact that he votes with Republicans 96-98% percent of the time.
He supported the president on "96 to 98 percent" of Senate votes. But the few votes he cast against Bush included the president's three biggest domestic initiatives: the 2002 farm bill, the No Child Left Behind education bill, and the reform of Medicare including creation of a drug benefit to begin in 2006. He calls the Medicare bill "a sham and a rip-off for nearly everybody . . . and actually, it's going to make our problems worse." Source
Even though he bucks the trends and says the right things on the occasional important issue, he is still a conservative’s conservative, make no mistake about it.
So those of you lulled by his forceful anti-war remarks should keep that fact in mind before you go rushing off to sign on with the Hagel for President camp if (insert name of Democratic candidate one finds personally noxious here) should win the Democratic nomination.
Check out On The Issues. It lists Hagel’s position on every policy issue.
Caveat emptor, baby, caveat emptor.
Hagel is your Dad’s Republican. He’s going to be mighty appealing to the fiscal conservatives as long as they can look past where he stands on social issues.
Where do you think the Republican Party needs to go?
I'd take it back to the party of Eisenhower, Goldwater and Reagan. It was a pretty simple party in those days. It was all about limited government, fiscal responsibility, strong national defense and pro-trade foreign policy. July 3, 2005 Source
I have to admit I guffawed at the thought of Reagan being anywhere within spitting distance of the words "fiscal responsibility". Short memory they have of their deficit-happy patron saint.
But this diary isn’t strictly about Hagel and his presidential run or the gullibility of people who are looking for a hero to get America out of this quagmire.
Note: Of all the people vying for the spot of POTUS, IMHO Clark, Hagel and perhaps Gore seem the most capable of handling it. And they will be blamed for it, good or bad. But only two of those listed have any chance of getting my vote.
Besides trying to temper the Hagel-worship based solely on his recent rhetoric and giving a heads-up to Democrats that he could be a major player in ’08, there is another reason I’m writing this diary:
I am getting tired of reading countless comments about how Hagel is striking an anti-war stand just because he’s considering a run for POTUS. Sorry folks, it’s bullshit.
Chuck is not Hillary. He is not triangulating. He’s a republican for f*ck’s sake! Being an anti-war republican isn’t exactly a growth industry in the current republican party in case you haven’t noticed. The base despises him and the Administration ain’t exactly doing cartwheels over his defection and how it might affect their thus-far successful attempts to keep any other wayward lapdogs from handing in their rubberstamps.
The reality is Hagel expressed caution before he voted for the Authorization for Use of Military Force. And yes, like a good little republican he did vote for it so please spare me the argument. Democrats who voted for the AUMF unfortunately don’t have that convenient excuse to fall back on.
When he rose on the Senate floor that October to explain his vote in favor of the resolution authorizing force — he'd persuaded himself that his vote might strengthen Powell's hand — he gave a speech that would have required no editing had he decided to vote against it. What sounded then to the venture's true believers like the scolding of a Cassandra sounds fairly obvious three and a half years later, which is to say that Hagel's words can reasonably be read as prescient: "How many of us really know and understand Iraq, its country, history, people and role in the Arab world?. . . Source
It gets even more prescient:
How many of us really know and understand much about Iraq, the country, the history, the people, the role in the Arab world? I approach the issue of post-Saddam Iraq and the future of democracy and stability in the Middle East with more caution, realism, and a bit more humility. While the people of the Arab world need no education from America about Saddam's record of deceit, aggression, and brutality, and while many of them may respect and desire the freedoms the American model offers, imposing democracy through force in Iraq is a roll of the dice. A democratic effort cannot be maintained without building durable Iraqi political institutions and developing a regional and international commitment to Iraq's reconstruction. No small task. Floor Speech
Also from his floor speech:
The American people must be told of the long-term commitment, risk and cost of this undertaking. We should not be seduced by the expectations of dancing in the streets." The president had said "precious little" about post-Saddam Iraq, which could prove costly, Hagel warned, "in both American blood and treasure."
And yet he still voted for it. But unlike some others whom I won’t mention, he was one of the first ones to admit it was a mistake and he didn’t wait for it to be politically expedient to do so.
Here are some of Hagel quotes throughout the war:
America must steer away from actions that could produce the unintended results of fracturing those very institutions that have helped keep peace since World War II. Allowing a rush to war in Iraq to create divisions in those institutions and alliances that will help sustain American security and world stability is a short-sighted and dangerous course of action. February 20, 2003 Source
Of the $18.4 billion Congress approved last year for Iraqi reconstruction, $1.14 billion has been spent because of violence and other problems. Hagel called that record "beyond pitiful and embarrassing; it is now in the zone of dangerous." October 6, 2004 Source
It’s a amusing to note that John Kerry used the "beyond pitiful" quote against Bush in the 2004 debates and Hagel caught holy hell from his party because of it.
"Things aren't getting better; they're getting worse. The White House is completely disconnected from reality," Hagel tells U.S. News. "It's like they're just making it up as they go along. The reality is that we're losing in Iraq." June 27, 2005 Source
If someone says I am a disloyal Republican because I am not supporting my party, let them say it. War is bigger than politics. July 3, 2005 Source
The United States needs to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq within the next six months, Sen. Chuck Hagel said Thursday, rather than ratcheting up its military commitment now.
snip
If Iraqis themselves do not assume control of their country’s fate, he said, the nation may dissolve into a civil war that splits it into three countries.
It’s also possible Iraq may evolve into some kind of Islamic republic, he said.
Asked what the United States could do, Hagel said: "Ask the president. Ask Secretary (of Defense Donald) Rumsfeld. They’re the ones who got us into this." August 3, 2006 Source
In January of 2003, if you recall, the inspectors at the IAEA, who knew more about what Saddam had than anybody, said, "Give us two more months before you go to war, because we don't think there's anything in there." They were the only ones in Iraq. We hadn't been in there. We didn't know what the hell was in there. And the president wouldn't do it! So to answer your question--Do I regret that vote? Yes, I do regret that vote. Source
Words are nice and all but he’s done precious little but talk. But at least he was talking. Perhaps he had to wait for the Democrats to take over the reins of power before taking any action. The near future will determine whether he’s willing to walk the talk.
So please let’s stop with the false accusations of political motivations on Hagel’s part. They are easily disproved. He’s a republican, he’s a scary republican, but we are a fact-based community and the fact is he’s on the right side of this one issue and has been speaking out for far longer than some of those in my own party, despite the effect it has on his political career.
Some interesting tidbits I picked up along the research way.
Hagel is a friend of John McCain’s even though they have different views on the war. Although he had met Bush prior to the primary and seemed to be inclined to back Bush’s candidacy, he changed his mind when McCain threw his hat into the ring. Hagel chose the politician he knew and was there when that campaign got Roved-over:
He was sitting with McCain when the South Carolina primary returns came in following a campaign in which McCain's mental stability was questioned and calls were made to likely Republican voters telling them the former P.O.W. and his wife had a black baby, without mentioning that the little girl had been adopted at an orphanage in Bangladesh. Reached by Don Walton, the respected political reporter of The Lincoln Star Journal, Hagel said Bush had "sold his soul to the right wing." He called it "the filthiest campaign I've ever seen."
"I'd say the same thing today," he said when I asked about South Carolina, nearly six years later. Source
Despite the harsh words, here’s something that really shocked me: Hagel was on the short list for the VP slot in the Bush Administration! Imagine how much better the world might have been without a draft-dodging, war criminal/profiteer in the VP spot.
To this day, he doesn't know whether he was seriously in contention. Possibly there was some thought that the former member of the Texas Air National Guard could benefit by picking, or at least appearing to consider, a twice-wounded Vietnam vet. Hagel says he spent $15,000 on accountant fees assembling the information the campaign demanded. Dick Cheney, the chief talent scout, interviewed him twice and sent his son-in-law around to pick up a box of documents before it was discovered that the talent scout was actually the talent.
"I still have the box," Hagel said. Nothing could be more unanswerable than the question of what might have happened in Iraq had he been picked. It's a testament to the vice president's influence that it even occurs. Source
But here is why Hagel scares me.
Though a staunch anti-abortion, pro-school-prayer, pro-school-voucher conservative who voted to remove Bill Clinton from the White House, Hagel is not easily pigeonholed.
I don’t like politicians who can’t be pigeon-holed. Their complexity ruins all attempts to broadbrush them and can confuse a unwary public.
But far more concerning:
Hagel promises that if he runs for president, he will level. "I happen to believe that by 2008, this country is going to be ready for some people to talk very clearly, plainly -- not frighten them, not demagogue them, but say it straight, say it honest," he says in the interview on the plane. Source
If that’s not a dead-on read of this country, I don’t know what is.
So while Clinton is busy touting her experience and triangulating while answering tough questions about her favorite movie; while Obama and Edwards are busy trying to prove they are experienced enough and finding their way in the steam of the Clinton Expre$$; while the rest of the pack are doing their song and dance in media obscurity, there’s a politician who has the experience and is at this very moment saying the exact things that this country yearns to hear. Btw, in case you haven't noticed, the media loves him.
I can’t tell you how much I wish the politician catching fire with a fed-up public had the label "Democratic nominee".
How about it Mr. Gore? Think you can create some Hagel-like thunder for the Democratic Party? It’s obvious most Americans can handle the truth now – inconvenient or otherwise.
Anyone? Bueller? Anyone?
P.S.
If you needed just one more reason not to hop onto the Hagel Express – Peggy Noonan likes him.
Although, in the same opinion piece she gave props to John Kerry for his recent floor speech. Unfettered by the run for President she said he has found the courage to speak the truth. Huh. Go figure. Wow.
But it’s still Peggy Noonan, for crying out loud!