Posted on 05/05/2005 5:52:33 AM PDT by crushkerry
I would like to start off by thanking the proprietors of this site for including me. As NH Insider becomes an increasingly indispensable source for news and comment on the New Hampshire political scene, I am thrilled to be part of its expansion. I look forward to many good fights over the key issues of the day.
I would like to use my first post to discuss Sen. Chuck Hagel’s (R-NE) recent visit to the Granite State, as John DiStaso describes in some detail in this morning’s Granite Status. I did not have the pleasure of seeing Sen. Hagel yesterday, but I have met him before. I must say he doesn’t look nearly as sleep-deprived in person as he does in almost every picture. Rather, he struck me as a bright, alert and personable guy, willing to discuss almost any issue you might bring up at length and with genuine interest. This feature of his personality will no doubt come in handy as he traipses across New Hampshire exploring a run for the presidency.
But his positions on many issues will not.
Sen. Hagel is a self-describes “maverick,” which means (a little inside-the-beltway translation for you here) he is a self-loathing Republican.
His position on Iraq (both the war and the aftermath) has been nearly as tortured as Sen. John Kerry’s. A favorite guest of the Sunday morning talk show hosts, Hagel is always ready to claim credit when Americans have a good week in Iraq, but just as ready to criticize the Bush administration during the bad weeks. This, of course, makes him the darling of the national press corps, but will it endear him to politically conservative primary voters?
On the domestic front, Hagel must be praised for offering a bold plan to reform Social Security. Hagel’s plan would allow younger workers voluntarily to divert 4 percent of their payroll taxes into personal retirement accounts over which they would maintain ownership and control. But Hagel would offset some of the costs to the government of such a plan in part by increasing the retirement age. Bold, yes. But politically wise?
And finally, his tergiversations on judicial nominees will win him no friends on either the political left or the right. Supporting a fair up-or-down vote but opposing the so-called “nuclear option” is an untenable position, given Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid’s obstinate filibuster. Hagel’s position on judicial nominees is rather like John Kerry’s position on the $87 billion Iraq/Afghanistan appropriation. He supports it after he opposes it.
But heck, the GOP isn’t the exclusive property of the Religious Right. I support a wide representation of worldviews in the New Hampshire primary. I’m just unconvinced that Sen. Hagel’s world view will get him very far in 2008.
He is on leave from his job as a national GOP campaign consultant, and is the former Political Director for the New Hampshire State Republican Caucus.
He is also the proprietor of www.anklebitingpundits.com
Ping
Hagel's biggest fault is his support for the Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST). LOST will place this country in a straitjacket of UN sponsored land use regulations, primarily destructive to property rights. IMO, that makes him a traitor to this country.
He probably brings home the bacon to Nebraska which is why he was elected.
Of course almost ALL Senators see themselves as President.
I think he is a huge proponent of our ridiculous farm subsidies and of the even more ridiculous gasohol subsidies.
He is also a huge fan of illegal immigration and never misses a chance to quash enforcement or support an amnesty.
I find Hagel to be a RINOs RINO. I would be just as happy if we threw him and John McCain out of the Republican Party
If I've got anything to say about it, it will get him dis-elected as senator. The motto for conservatives in Nebraska in 2008:
"Chuck" Hagel.
"Chuck" is a verb.
hagel is wasting his time. He can suck up to the mcpain wing up there and get a few rino votes but that's it. He will be another guy who is looked back on and people will ask what was he thinking? A real jerk for my money.
It might be clearer if it was "Up-Chuck Hagel," a bit more fitting too. ;-)
Chuck Hagel can take some very good advice from PRIMARY VOTERS like me. It will be a cold day in hell before I would vote for him. He is a RINO light, hates conservatives, the Bush Administration and people like me. He is a member of the "elite" and the most damning case against Hagel is he is one of the "media darlings". Nuff Said.
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