Posted on 06/18/2005 10:07:10 PM PDT by Sir Valentino
Nebraska Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel is angry. He's upset about the more than 1,700 U.S. soldiers killed and nearly 13,000 wounded in Iraq. He's also aggravated by the continued string of sunny assessments from the Bush administration, such as Vice President Dick Cheney's recent remark that the insurgency is in its "last throes." "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."
That's strikingly blunt talk from a member of the president's party, even one cast as something of a pariah in the GOP because of his early skepticism about the war. "I got beat up pretty good by my own party and the White House that I was not a loyal Republican," he says. Today, he notes, things are changing: "More and more of my colleagues up here are concerned."
Indeed, there are signs that the politics of the Iraq war are being reshaped by the continuing tide of bad news. Take this month in Iraq, with 47 U.S. troops killed in the first 15 days. That's already five more than the toll for the entire month of June last year. With the rate of insurgent attacks near an all-time high and the war's cost set to top $230 billion, more politicians on both sides of the aisle are responding to opinion polls that show a growing number of Americans favoring a withdrawal from Iraq. Republican Sens. Lincoln Chafee and Lindsey Graham have voiced their concerns. And two Republicans, including the congressman who brought "freedom fries" to the Capitol, even joined a pair of Democratic colleagues in sponsoring a bill calling for a troop withdrawal plan to be drawn up by year's end. "I feel confident that the opposition is going to build," says Rep. Ron Paul, the other Republican sponsor and a longtime opponent of the war.
Sagging polls. The measure is not likely to go anywhere, but Hagel calls it "a major crack in the dike." Whether or not that's so, the White House has reason to worry that the assortment of critiques of Bush's wartime performance may be approaching a tipping point. Only 41 percent of Americans now support Bush's handling of the Iraq war, the lowest mark ever in the Associated Press-Ipsos poll. And the Iraq news has combined with a lethargic economy and doubts about the president's Social Security proposals to push Bush's overall approval ratings near all-time lows. For now, most Republicans remain publicly loyal to the White House. "Why would you give your enemies a timetable?" asks House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. "[Bush] doesn't fight the war on news articles or television or on polls."
Still, the Bush administration is planning to hit back, starting this week, with a renewed public-relations push by the president. Bush will host Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jafari and has scheduled a major speech for June 28, the anniversary of the handover of power to an Iraqi government from U.S. authorities. But Congress's patience could wear very thin going into an election year. "If things don't start to turn around in six months, then it may be too late," says Hagel. "I think it's that serious."
Bush's exit strategy--which depends on a successful Iraqi political process--got a boost last week when Sunni and Shiite politicians ended weeks of wrangling over how to increase Sunni representation on the constitution-writing committee. Now, however, committee members have less than two months before their mid-August deadline. And given how long it took to resolve who gets to draft the document, it's hard to imagine a quick accord on the politically explosive issues they face.
It just might after his statement. I know a lot of people that can not use email at work but they sure can fax things. Now that I not work I'll just call and enlighten him.
Senator Chuck Hagel
248 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone 202-224-4224
Fax 202-224-5213Senator Hagel
Have you registered as an al Qaeda lobbyist yet?
Get in line in the fifth column.
LoL...
Oh, I "want" him to run in our GOP primaries. What better way to let him know our opinion?
Hagel is a blowhard.
There has got to be a new word for traitor RINO. BUTRINO,SUCKRINO?
WHINE-O
SPINE-NO
Hopefully, "former Senator."
It certainly is astonishing, made even fresher to me since I have been reading Chernow's Hamilton biography.
Statement of Judith Lee Stone, President
Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety
on the release of the
2004 Projections for Motor Vehicle Traffic Crash Fatalities and Injuries
April 21, 2005
Today's release of projected 2004 highway fatalities is bad news for the American public. SUV rollover fatalities are up, motorcyclists are dying in record numbers and truck deaths continue to grow. It's time for action and American families are dying for solutions.
Overall, 157 more people are estimated to have died on the nation's highways in 2004, compared to 2003 (42,800 vs. 42,643.)
Despite major efforts to increase seat belt use across the nation, the number of people dying unrestrained in crashes in 2004 remains the same as 2003 (more than half of those killed.)
SUV deaths are up again, by 4.9% (an additional 220 deaths, totaling 4,666). SUV rollover deaths increased by 6.9%, and SUV driver alcohol-related fatalities went up by 8.5%.
Deaths in large truck crashes also rose for the second year in a row, to 5,169 (2003 fatalities were 4,986.) There was a large jump (13%) in truck occupant deaths in multiple vehicle crashes. Still, the great majority of truck-related deaths occur among occupants of other-than-truck vehicles, pedestrians and bicyclists.
Motorcycle fatalities continue to increase, with an additional 391 motorcyclists projected to have died in 2004 over 2003. Nearly 4000 motorcycling deaths occurred in 2004, a more than 85% increase since 1997. Yet anti-helmet forces continue to push their motorcycle helmet use law repeal agenda in state legislatures, with some success.
111 more people were killed in crashes involving young drivers ages 16-20: 8,566 in 2004 vs. 8,455 in 2003.
I'm e-mailing this to the putz.
Hagel's running for Veep.
On Hillary's ticket...
So, it's going to be an all-female ticket, huh?
There has got to be a new word for traitor
Personally I like the word "Toast"
Compare this to how many times Democrat Senators not in leadersdhip positions who are guests on the Sunday morning talk shows. Zell Miller is just as much a "Maverick" in his party as McCain or Hagel in the Republican party, but he was hardly ever asked to be on their shows.
Hagel and McCain are quite aware of what gets the media's attention and they're more than willing to say what it takes to get the cameras focused on them. They both need to be voted out.
ANOTHER TRAITOR!!
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