Posted on 07/04/2005 9:04:08 AM PDT by ovrtaxt
GOP's Sen. Chuck Hagel: 'We're a Bunch of Democrats'
Thanks to GOP-backed spending policies, Republicans have transformed themselves into the Party across the aisle, an often dissident Republican senator says. "In terms of the deficit, we have blown the top right off," charged Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb). "We're a bunch of Democrats." In a wide-ranging interview with the New York Times, he responded to Deborah Solomon's remark that she had never heard anyone call President Bush a Democrat. Hagel said "That's my point. We're less honest about it. We built the biggest government history has ever seen under a Republican government. The Democrats are better because they are honest about it. They don't pretend. I admire that. They'll say: "We want more money. We need more money."
Hagel added that he wants to take the GOP "back to the party of Eisenhower, Goldwater and Reagan. It was a pretty simple party in those days. It was all about limited government, fiscal responsibility, strong national defense and pro-trade foreign policy."
Hagel also didn't spare his artillery against the administration's Iraq war policies, stating that "If someone says I am a disloyal Republican because I am not supporting my party, let them say it. War is bigger than politics."
Citing his service in Vietnam, where he was twice wounded and lost some of his ability to hear, he recalled that "Congress was absent during the Vietnam War, and they didn't ask the tough questions, and consequently we lost 58,000 Americans and lost a war and humiliated this nation. It took a generation to get over it. As long as I am here as a U.S. senator, I am going to do whatever I can to make sure that isn't going to happen."
The Nebraska Republican complained that the U.S. doesn't "have enough troops. But I don't think the answer to increasing manpower is to pursue some of the things the Pentagon is doing, such as doubling and tripling bonuses for those in the military. Kids do not serve their country because they are in it to make money."
He danced around the question of whether he will run for President in 2008. "I haven't said I am running," he told Solomon. Reprinted from NewsMax.com
Monday, July 4, 2005 10:48 a.m. EDT
"What part of what he said isn't true?!?!? Like it or not, Bush has been a fiscal disaster, a big government man (despite all his talk) a part-time free trader (only when free trade benefits the U.S.) and a most of the time protectionist in the pocket of the U.S. steel and timber industries."
If Hagel has a problem with these policies, he should start by working with the Republican caucus in the Senate to change the policies. His musing to the MSM are for his own benefit, and not for the party's.
Therefore basically everything he said cause if he told me the sun came up in the east every day, I would have to check it.
He is right about the money, but I have never heard he stand in the well and castigate his fellow demo rats, only the people across the aisle the pubbies.
Yes.. you are part of a bunch of Rats!
Hagel is right on the government growing part, but is dead wrong about the war. Someone inside the military needs to set him straight.
Being a big mouth all but antiwar dissedent within the senate is emboldening our enemies abroad, not improving the combat readiness of our forces. He, being a vietnam vet, should know and understand what bad press does.
Well, Hagle is correct. HE is a Democrat.
Would someone please tell the Senator that the "I served in Vietnam" campaign platform didn't work for McCain. It didn't work for Kerry. And it won't work for him. People that are true heros generally don't go prancing about stating they served every other sentence. Reference Bob Dole for a true war hero.
ANY Senator that is a friend of moveon.org and al Jazeera is NOT going to win the RNC platform.
He's moving ever closer to becoming a Pat Buchanan clone.
The Congress has the sole power to change the budget in any way and form! The President then signs it after that unless he vetoes it.
Then by law, the President has, repeat, has to spend every penny of the budget. He cannot withhold any of it.
This guy just keeps giving the Dems more quotes to use against us. Even he is really concerned, he could be working more behind the secenes to stop the big spending prokers like Stevens of Alaska. He is a media-whore like Mccain, and doesn't care if he hurts the Pubbies.
The Republicans turned into Democrats when they approved: (a) federalizing the public school system; (b) hundreds of billions of dollars in new entitlements; (c) a 'nation-building' foreign policy.
The Democrats are just anti-Bush, regardless of the issue or the lack of consistency with what they once were (which is what the Republican Party is now, except for tax-cutting and faith-based policy).
True, which is why it's a joke Hegal is trying to blame the President for spending when he's a member of the body that could lower that spending. If he's serious about cutting spending let's see him lead the effort in the Senate body to do so. If he thinks he can LEAD a country, let's see him lead cuts in spending. Build the support to do so.
He won't, he can't and this is nothing but rhetoric to score points but it won't work since the nitwit is being quoted on al Jazeera.
Federalizing Education: Carteresque (and Clintonian)
New Entitlements: FDR's 'New Deal' & LBJ's 'Great Society'
Nation-Building: Wilsonian (and Clintonian)
I would love to see someone with an ounce of credibility make some of these points. To bad its not happening.
That's the winning ticket. Serving in Viet Nam!
Well Senator, then you MUST be for the DRAFT?
Hagel is a JOKE. He goes around the nation crying about the IRAQ quagmire, bad mouthing the POTUS and the WAR at every turn. He states OPENLY and OFTEN that we NEED more TROOPS and then dissapproves of the way in which we try to get more troops.
Another RINO who wants it BOTH ways...who offers NOTHING but criticism of policy and ideas........a complete ZERO.
That's my suspicion too-- a McCain type.
What he SAYS is great, as far as the Goldwater thing.
What he DOES is something else again. I'm not familiar with his voting record, but I'll bet any money that it's typically flaccid.
The President Bush won't be going to Bitburg to honor the SS either. He wouldn't even speak to Arafat!
This president would not cut and run as Reagan did in Lebanon when our Marine Barracks was bombed.
-- Chuck Hagel
This is the epitaph on his presidential hopes.
In this case he's trying to swing to the right.
"We are Democrats" ?? Speak for yourself, senator Hagel!
An article on his Presidential ambitions says that Hagel will need to do a few things ... "-- Look for him to notch up his visibility on the national stage."
Well, that is what he is doing. It's the old McCain playbook, bash other republicans and the media will be fawning all over you. He'd be a nobody if he wasn't such a loose cannon on Iraq and other issues. Now he's a media darling, expressing the media's wish for defeatist rhetoric in Iraq.
" What part of what he said isn't true?!?!? "
Hagel has been IN the Senate for years, and HE is the one blowing the spending. He has been undercutting tax cuts, he has supported IMF. He is one of them voting for more spending. He's a master of 'destructive' criticism; he'd be better off working with colleagues to put a STOP to it.
I'll give him props on one thing - he voted against the prescription drug bill ... "The only bright spot was nine courageous Republican Senators and 25 House members voted in favor of fiscal sanity and a rational health policy for seniors by voting 'NO' on this 2003 version of HillaryCare. They deserve the thanks of all Americans. The Republican Senatorial heroes voting against this irresponsible bill were: John Ensign (NV), Lindsey Graham (SC), Trent Lott (MS), Judd Gregg (NH), John McCain (AZ), Lincoln Chafee (RI), John Sununu (NH), Chuck Hagel (NE), and Don Nickles (OK) Their principled colleagues in the House were: Todd Akin (MO), J. Gresham Barrett (SC), Dan Burton (IN), Steve Chabot (OH), John Culberson (TX), Jim DeMint (SC), Jo Ann Emerson (MO), Tom Feeney (FL), Jeff Flake (AZ), Scott Garrett (NJ), Gil Gutknecht (MN), John Hostettler (IN), Walter Jones (NC), Jeff Miller (FL), Jerry Moran (KS), Marilyn Musgrave (CO), Charlie Norwood (GA), Ron Paul (TX), Mike Pence (IN), Jim Ryun (KS), John Shadegg, (AZ), Nick Smith (MI), Tom Tancredo (CO), Pat Toomey (PA), and Zach Wamp (TN). We salute their courage and pledge our support against the strong-arm tactics of the Republican leadership for whatever they decide to do in the future."
But before you break out champagne, realize that Hagel had a n alternative drug bill of his own:
"Community retail pharmacy sent a strong letter of opposition to U.S. Senators regarding Senator Chuck Hagel’s (R-NE) Medicare Prescription Drug Discount and Security Act of 2002 (S. 2736). The bill would establish a Medicare-endorsed prescription drug discount card program, similar to that proposed by the Bush Administration, which is also opposed by community pharmacy. The bill language is likely to be offered as an amendment during Senate consideration of Medicare prescription drug legislation during the week of July 22nd.
Both the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) and the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) said that the bill would create a program that would give unprecedented power to pharmacy benefit middlemen (PBMs), which would produce little prescription savings for seniors, would severely limit the ability of seniors to choose the pharmacy of their choice, and would shift patients to mail order. "
http://www.nacds.org/wmspage.cfm?parm1=2989
When a SITTING Senator *IN* the party in power tries to run against the party in power, be wary. My Gosh, do people *really* fall for this that easily?
If Hagel wanted to REALLY do something about fiscal discipline, he could WORK WITH OTHERS in the manner that Phil Gramm did, and MAKE IT HAPPEN, not whine about it not happening but doing little to stop it.
Hagel's mis-leadership on Iraq is a case in point as well - he could be advising in a positive way, but is in fact behaving in a ways destructive to our ends. he offers defeatist comments rather than constructive suggetions on how we can win.
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