Quote :

"Maher segues into Iran: "In the speech President Bush gave last night, I noticed that he slipped Iran into the middle of it. He said 'we have to defeat al Qaeda, counter Iran, and help the Afghan government.'" Citing a Times of London article that shows preliminary plans to attack over a thousand targets in Iran, Maher implores the Senator: "Please tell me that Congress does have the power to stop President Godzilla if he decides to stomp on one more country, and that he could not get away with that." "As you all know we are at war in two countries, and not doing particularly well in either war, and I'm not sure the American people are about ready to go to a third war." "If the President is inching toward a military confrontation with Iran, then I do think that is where the Congress of the United States draws the line."

Quote :

"I've heard a lot of Republicans in the last year or so say 'I want my party back,'" says Maher. "I imagine you're somewhat in the same camp. Do you think the Republican party has been hijacked by incompetents and religious fanatics?" "Oh, I think it's been hijacked by incompetency," Hagel concedes. "I think that's what has driven the Republican Party right off the cliff, and we are not who we say we are." "We've run up the biggest budget debt since FDR, and he had an excuse, and that was the World War and a depression."

http://rawstory.com//news/2007/Sen_Chuck_Hagel_Republicans_are_NOT_0915.html

On the one hand, I appreciate his saying what he is. On the other hand, why hasn't he been saying this publicly for quite some time? What is it with all these GOP people reserving their criticisms for the day their ass is out the door?

9/16/2007 12:03:48 PM

ntlb

9/16/2007 12:15:45 PM

NEPOTISM

9/16/2007 12:34:44 PM

politiics is complicated, and can rarely be boiled down to one pat answer... but i'm inclined to think a lot of it has to do with pure and simple denial

many Repubs are deeply invested at so many levels in their party, and it's just damn hard to admit that they've fundamentally fucked themselves seven ways to Sunday.

it takes people like Hagel who are retiring who can say shit publicly that many of them privately think, but are afraid to admit.

FWIW, i think the Dems are in denial about their own incompetence. they're not spectacularly self-destructing in a flaming crash and burn, but are sort of deteriorating from the inside outward, like an atrophic rot.

9/16/2007 3:47:42 PM

^^^^Politics is a team sport. You don't throw your team under the bus to the press or your teammates will rape you in the locker room (probably one of Larry Craig's duties).

I'm sure Hagel (and many other repubs) have been saying things like this behind closed doors for quite a while now. But trashing your own party to the press while you are a congressman is just not a good idea, for numerous reasons.

[Edited on September 16, 2007 at 4:15 PM. Reason : 2]

9/16/2007 4:15:10 PM

its not like hagel is running for anything in the coming elections

9/16/2007 5:11:36 PM

Quote :

" I noticed that he slipped Iran into the middle of it. He said 'we have to defeat al Qaeda, counter Iran, and help the Afghan government.'" Citing a Times of London article that shows preliminary plans to attack over a thousand targets in Iran"

i know this isn't the focus of this thread, but i felt the need to clarify this:

1. I'm pretty sure he meant combat Iran by proxy in Iraq, not an insinuation that he has any sort of intention to directly militarily engage Iran.

2. We have plans to attack all kinds of countries. We have all kinds of plans already figured out for all varieties of scenarios. Of course we have one for Iran. We probably have several for Iran. I haven't seen those particular ones, but that they exist is just common sense, not any indication that we're gearing up to execute them.

9/16/2007 5:14:16 PM

OH YOU KNOW WHO I VOTED FOR!

MY BUMPER STICKERS RULE!

9/17/2007 12:27:09 AM

Yeah, and Chuck Hagel's a fucking brain surgeon.



Here's a speech of his from March 2007--around the time of his BIG ANNOUNCEMENT that he was not going to run for president:

Chuck Hagel's Very Strange Speech
By Joel Achenbach

Quote :

"The other day I went to that firefighter gig at the Hyatt Regency where something like 235 presidential candidates showed up. I would have blogged about the event sooner, but I'm worried that this blog could become 'timely,' and then, who knows, 'relevant,' which would then create expectations of quality -- I guess the word I'm searching for is 'standards' -- that I could not possibly meet without exerting effort (what I privately refer to as the e-word). In any case, I feel compelled to post one minor aspect of the day-long panderthon (Ana Marie Cox's term): Chuck Hagel, who many people admire for his maverick stance on the war, delivered one of the stranger speeches in recent Washington history. It featured multiple layers of pointlessness. He's not running for president and thus shouldn't have been there to begin with (as he noted at the outset). He's known for opposing the war, but barely mentioned it. And as noted by The Post's Dan Balz and Zachary Goldfarb, Hagel decided that this would be a good venue for praising the virtues of volunteer firefighters. But perhaps a staffer could have tapped him on the shoulder and pointed out that the International Association of Fire Fighters is a union group. These people have actual paying jobs. They don't like volunteer firefighters. This was like rhapsodizing about juicy steaks and the many fun uses of bacon at a PETA convention. I kept expecting him to say: 'Who am I? Why am I here? And who the hell are you people?' But maybe I'm being ungenerous, obstreperous, crabby, etc.. Here are some excerpts. You make the call. Sen. Chuck Hagel: 'I am grateful to Harold and to the international firefighters for an opportunity to address you today. I know I am unworthy, of course, to do that for many reasons, probably most specifically that I am not an announced candidate for anything yet; I have no intention of announcing anything today... I tried that once this week. 'There seems to be some confusion over that, so we'll try again at a later date. 'So I am particularly grateful for allowing me to be an interloper here and not with the credentials that my colleagues who have appeared before me have and those who will appear later also possess, and that is their defined interest in leading this country. 'And to those individuals who have spoken today and those who will come after me, I first commend them and thank them for their service to our country and their willingness to put themselves -- again -- on the line for beliefs and ideals that are important to them; and their vision for our country. 'That is the strength of a democracy. That is the very fiber of a society. 'So I wish them well. [skipping ahead a bit] 'What America will be looking for, probably more than at any time in modern history, is a government led by leaders who are honest, competent and accountable; who will focus on fixing America's problems in a dignified and focused and responsible way. 'Now, that statement probably, in some way, is included in almost every civics book in our schools across America and should not be a particularly profound statement. It is not. [LET ME BE THE CRITIC, SENATOR.] 'But it cuts to the heart of what your president was referring to. Americans deserve a country, a government, a worthy of them, their sacrifices and our society. 'The firefighters, those who serve our nation in a very selfless way, whose interests are far greater than their own -- your interests are, first, your community's interests. The sacrifices made by firefighters, by policemen, by teachers, and certainly our armed forces and many others, is all about interests greater than their own self-interests. 'That is who we are. 'That does set America apart from every other nation, every society. It doesn't mean that we're better, it doesn't mean we're smarter, it doesn't mean we're more moral. 'De Tocqueville wrote about it in the 1830s, this strange land called America, when communities would come together and address the challenges, the threats, the issues in their communities. 'It worked because the people made it work. They came together a spirit conducive to making the town work, the community work. 'And I know of no better example of that than voluntary fire departments across this country. I know about volunteer fire departments in Nebraska; of the 400 and, I believe, 78 fire departments in Nebraska, 456 of them are volunteer fire departments. 'That is the essence, the core of contributing to your democracy. [HECKLER] 'Well, you can have your moment up here. He's a volunteer fireman. [NO, A UNION GUY WITH A JOB] But we thank you. 'These are the people who give so much for so many. These are the people we rely on.. 'I think we have an opportunity in this country, in the world, to bring a convergence of interests together like few times in our history. I think maybe the last time we had such an opportunity was right after World War II when the world was adrift and it looked to the United States for leadership. 'That leadership came not just from America, but it came through a consensus of our international allies and our friends. And why was that? Why were we so successful over the last 60 years? 'Because we build an international frame of reference. [I KNEW THAT WAS THE ANSWER.] Coalitions of common interest brought people together for common purpose, just as you do in your communities, just as you do in your communities every day. And again, the firefighters embody that, as well as any group of individuals that we have in America. [SKIPPING...] 'You make your communities better. You make our country better. You deserve a government worthy of your efforts, just like our brave young men fighting in Iraq [FINALLY MENTIONS WAR] deserve a policy worthy of their sacrifices. 'Ladies and gentlemen, thank you. Thank you very much.'"

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/achenblog/2007/03/chuck_hagel_worst_speech_of_al.html

[Edited on September 17, 2007 at 12:47 AM. Reason : ]

9/17/2007 12:30:30 AM

^^ ?

[Edited on September 17, 2007 at 1:38 AM. Reason : asdfasdfa]

9/17/2007 1:38:05 AM

^^

9/17/2007 9:20:45 AM

Quote :

"I'm sure Hagel (and many other repubs) have been saying things like this behind closed doors for quite a while now. But trashing your own party to the press while you are a congressman is just not a good idea, for numerous reasons."

Completely agreed. Even with the years that he's been in there, his life wouldnt've been easy if he came out with that while holding office. From what I've heard, he's been saying this for a while about the President, and he's finally come to the realization that he's not making progress. On a similar note, one could concede that its part of the reason that Warner is resigning. Granted he's 80, I'm sure he'd still have a few good years in him... It's the worst time for a republican to announce that they aren't running. Democrats could take a lot of seats away from the republicans in 08

9/17/2007 12:53:08 PM

Quote :

"Granted he's 80, I'm sure he'd still have a few good years in him... "

[Edited on September 17, 2007 at 1:12 PM. Reason : .]

9/17/2007 1:12:34 PM