The Mental Midgets

Great article by Juan Cole about the embarrassing display of the mental midgets of the Senate --

Chuck Hagel Mauled in Bizarro World of US Senate

Posted on 02/01/2013 by Juan

 

The confirmation hearing in the Senate for Chuck Hagel, President Obama’s nominee for Secretary of Defense, was painful to watch because it displayed the tomfoolery, pretense, self-righteous know-nothingism, and embarrassing lack of contact with reality that dominate the landscape of America’s broken democracy. It was like watching a Nebraska ordinary Joe set upon by circus freaks– a phalanx of moral midgets, stalking cat-men, vicious lobster boys and ethical werewolves.

 

Ted Cruz, a Texas tea partier who probably won’t be there after Texas turns blue in a few years, tried to carry out a Fox News-style ambush of Hagel.

 

http://www.juancole.com/2013/02/mauled-bizarro-senate.html

 

 

Following the Chicken Hawks

Political pundits believe that the attention span and memory of voters is short.

That's seems of doubtful accuracy.

When the drums were beat to invade the Middle East and create the chaos which we have caused, those who spoke against it were vilified, called 'Unpatriotic,' marginalized. Faux News told you all about the Weapons of Mass Destruction [WMD] and Yellow Cake even as those reports was discredited in international media.

Not one of the 'NeoCons' beating the drums has ever served in the military, has ever been under fire or subjected to military combat. They're called 'Chicken Hawks.'

Check this out for a more complete list:

Chickenhawk Hall of Shame
...a chickenhawk: choosing to “support” war, while also choosing not to serve in the military. His motto becomes: “Let’s you and him go fight; I’ll hold your coat.”

Now that we've squandered our budget surplus fighting oil wars without reason and tax cuts for the wealthy, the NeoCons slink out of the woodwork to oppose Senator Hagel's nomination for Secretary of Defense.

There may be reasons to oppose Chuck Hagel, but when the NeoCons villify him, just maybe he's the right guy.

The Neocons vs. Chuck Hagel

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

If the neocons in the GOP who brought us the Iraqi war and conjured up “weapons of mass destruction” to justify it are against Chuck Hagel for Defense Secretary, Hagel gets bonus points in my book.

They’re the hawkish, bellicose bunch in the Republican Party — William Kristol, Richard Perle, and Ellott Abrams — who shaped DIck Cheney’s and Don Rumsfeld’s disastrous foreign policy.

These are also the people who have supported Israel’s rightward lurch in recent years. They don’t want a two-state solution. They eschew any possibility of talks with Hamas or Iran. They favor building more settlements in the West Bank.

Yes, it was dumb for Hagel to use the term “Jewish lobby” instead of “Israel lobby,” but that alone shouldn’t disqualify him. Everyone in official Washington knows how much power is wielded in that city by the Sheldon Adelsons of American politics who think Israel can do no wrong.

The problem is Washington pays too little attention to the large number of Americans — Jewish and non-Jewish — who think Israel is doing a lot that’s wrong, and worry that the path it’s on threatens its long-term survival.

The real question is what Hagel believes about the appropriate use of American power.

That the neocons hate him is the best sign yet that Chuck Hagel may be the right person for the job.

http://robertreich.org/post/40610140843

When It Comes to War, Bush is an Inaction Figure

I'm with Mike!

When Republicans smear a candidate, there's always a reason.

With Senator Chuck Hagel, much has to do with his refusal to goosestep with Israel, not his credentials or public comments.

Over the years, Senator Hagel has made numerous political statements with which I disagree and taken numerous votes the were problematic from a personal perspective, but that has little to do with the current right-wing smears.


January 4th, 2013 8:16 PM

Six Years Ago, Chuck Hagel Told the Truth About Iraq

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By Michael Moore

You might have seen that on Monday President Obama will likely nominate former Sen. Chuck Hagel, a Nebraska Republican, to be Secretary of Defense.

But what you probably haven't seen – because everyone has forgotten – is that back in 2007, Chuck Hagel went totally crazy and told the truth about our invasion of Iraq. Here's what he said:

"People say we're not fighting for oil. Of course we are. They talk about America's national interest. What the hell do you think they're talking about? We're not there for figs."

Whew! Wouldn't it put a spring in your step to read the news each morning and see Hagel's name? If he's willing to say that about Iraq, who knows what he'll bust out with next! He might mention that the sky is blue, or two plus two equals four…or even that we should change the name of the Department of Defense back to what it was before World War II – the Department of War.

Now, I'm not saying Hagel is the best qualified choice for Secretary of Defense. (That would be Andrew Bacevich.) I'm not even saying he's the best qualified Senator or ex-Senator. (There are 19 of those – the surviving senators who voted against invading Iraq in the fall of 2002. Hagel voted yes.)

But what I am saying is: thank you, Chuck Hagel. We may not agree on much, but we agree that politicians should tell the truth about war and peace and life and death. We're all in your debt for that – especially since, when it comes to Iraq and oil, President Obama's first Republican Secretary of
Defense, Robert Gates, couldn't manage it.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/mike-friends-blog/six-years-ago-chuck-hagel-told-truth-about-iraq