He was one vote short (Meaning, there were some cowardly Republicans who got cold feet).
Republicans Cochran, Collins, and Johanns had all already committed to voting yes so the only mystery was whether Reid could find two more GOPers to cross the aisle. He found one: As expected, Murkowski ended up erring on the side of bipartisanship. Orrin Hatch voted present, which may or may not be his way of signaling that he’ll vote for Hagel when they try this again in a few weeks but not right now.
RAND PAUL VOTES NO (Wonder what his father would say to that ... ).
Hagel is no more painfully incompetent than other cabinet nominees. In the words of VP Cheney he is certainly more competent than his new boss.
I was so wanting to give McConnell an “attaboy”....but I suppose that I’ll be denied that small pleasure.
McConnell is almost as imposing as Boehner is.
/sarc
NOBODY should be confirmed as Secretary of Defense unless they can get at least 90 Senators to vote in favor of their confirmation. NOBODY.
The Secretary of Defense should not be a partisan office appointed by partisan hacks and affirmed by partisan hacks. If you can’t get the Senate to agree almost unanimously on the person to fill this position, then that is not the person who should fill that position.
The Sun is hot.
The mighty seas are salty.
Each of us will be present at our own death.
The GOP will eventually fold.
Does nobody remember the really rough treatment of George Bush-41’s pick for secretary of defense, ex-Texas senator John Tower, in 1989?
The Democrats have repeatedly set the rules of engagement over time. They should not be surprised that sometimes, this rises and bites them in the gluteus maximus.
From the compost:
“Democrats, however, have suggested that Republicans are only focusing Benghazi to slow the confirmation process so that Hagel — known for a mercurial temperament and as an impulsive decision-maker in the past — would withdraw his nomination.”
But I guess a ‘mercurial temperament and impulsive decision maker is ok to be SOD in a democrat’s opinion. These people, including the WP, are treacherous.