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Sen. Hagel Says GOP Has Lost Its Way
AP ^ | 8/20/6 | WILL LESTER

Posted on 08/20/2006 9:02:08 AM PDT by SmithL

Republicans have lost their way when it comes to many core GOP principles and may be in jeopardy heading into the fall elections, Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb. says.

Hagel, a possible presidential candidate in 2008, said Sunday that the GOP today is very different party from the one when he first voted Republican.

"First time I voted was in 1968 on top of a tank in the Mekong Delta," said Hagel, a Vietnam veteran. "I voted a straight Republican ticket. The reason I did is because I believe in the Republican philosophy of governance. It's not what it used to be. I don't think it's the same today."

Hagel asked: "Where is the fiscal responsibility of the party I joined in '68? Where is the international engagement of the party I joined — fair, free trade, individual responsibility, not building a bigger government, but building a smaller government?"

His frustration does not lead him to think Democrats offer a better alternative. But Hagel wants to see the GOP return to its basic beliefs.

"I think we've lost our way," Hagel said. "And I think the Republicans are going to be in some jeopardy for that and will be held accountable."

Hagel has not decided whether he will run for president in 2008. But he respects his wife's reservations about being first lady — cited in a book about Hagel.

"I think it just shows the immense good judgment of my wife and how sane she is. I don't know of any spouse who would wish the job of president on their husband or wife," Hagel said on Fox News Sunday. "It's a big job. It's a tough job."

(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Nebraska
KEYWORDS: 109th; election2006; hagel
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To: MAD-AS-HELL

Reading your post here I got a great insight into you. You are a bleeding heart liberal. This is a site for conservative ideas. You should saunter over to Kos or Huffington. They will welcome you with open arms.


141 posted on 08/20/2006 1:56:08 PM PDT by jrooney ( Hold your cards close.)
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To: jrooney
Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting
142 posted on 08/20/2006 2:10:49 PM PDT by MAD-AS-HELL (Put a mirror to the face of the republican party and all you'll see is a Donkey.)
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To: truth_seeker

I'm not a Republican. That bunch of RINOs left me a few years back. I'm a re-registerd Independent Conservative.


143 posted on 08/20/2006 2:11:56 PM PDT by butternut_squash_bisque (The recipe's at my FR HomePage. Try it!)
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To: SmithL

The one that has lost his way is Hagel. He has done nothing other than bitch and complain. He won't get anywhere taking that approach.


144 posted on 08/20/2006 2:14:22 PM PDT by hgro
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To: SmithL
Republicans have lost their way when it comes to many core GOP principles and may be in jeopardy heading into the fall elections, Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb. says.

Yeah, because of backstabbers like YOU, Hagel!!

I'd like to see Hagel write me and ask for $$.

145 posted on 08/20/2006 2:19:22 PM PDT by Recovering_Democrat (I am SO glad to no longer be associated with the party of "dependence on government"!)
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To: conservative blonde
"First time I voted was in 1968 on top of a tank in the Mekong Delta," said Hagel, a Vietnam veteran.

Oh, dear Lord. I guess Hagel wants me to vote for him 'cause he served in 'nam???? Gee. Who does that sound like?

146 posted on 08/20/2006 2:22:48 PM PDT by Recovering_Democrat (I am SO glad to no longer be associated with the party of "dependence on government"!)
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To: GoBucks2002
Nixon imposed wage and price controls which screwed up the economy thoroughly. Ford (another RINO) did the same thing and we had shortages of everything. I remember stores running out of sugar, potatoes, and rice. I remember beans going up to nearly $2 a lb. and then they dissapeared from the shelf. Chemicals like clorine could not be had such that untreated sewage had to be dumped in rivers and lakes. About this time the price of gasoline doubled literally overnight and then service stations started running out.

Compared to Nixon, Ford, and I'd say even Goldwater, GWB is very conservative. As far as I'm concerned Bush is far more like Reagan than any of those were. Hagel must think we are all either stupid or have short memories.
147 posted on 08/20/2006 2:27:30 PM PDT by attiladhun2 (Islam is a despotism so vile that it would warm the heart of Orwell's Big Brother)
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To: attiladhun2

At what point is Hagel going to flirt with switching parties? I have little doubt it the Senate ends up 50-50 on Nov 7 he will threaten to do so. I hope Nebraska throws him out in 2 years, one way or the other.


148 posted on 08/20/2006 2:33:33 PM PDT by TNCMAXQ
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To: MAD-AS-HELL
To post a picture like that speaking for you shows you are in some very serious need of counseling and maybe medication. Pointing your finger at someone could be a painful lesson because you may get it broken off. P.S. I am proud to be an infidel!

I went through your list just scanning it over because I do not have the time to try and verify everything you posted.

Here I have listed some of the things you think are bad, whereas they were needed:

[source] $100,000 a month to monitor news reports and offer advice on media strategy for the Pentagon
[source] $10 billion military reserve fund for the Pentagon
[source] $10 million upgrade for Amber Alerts
$1 million to upgrade a law enforcement communication system in Placer County, CA
$1.5 million for Maricopa County's AZTech Integrated Emergency and Transportation Communications Network. (pending)
[source] $903 million in grants to spur federal agencies, industry and universities to devote more energy to cyber security research.
[source] $28.9 billion "anti-terror" package. (As if the federal government didn't already spend enough on defense)
[source] Ordered military to begin deploying a missile defense system
[source] $8 million for firearms training for commercial pilots.
$37.5 million in federal funds to Georgia for "homeland security."
[source] Hundreds of millions for a TV ad campaign by the Office of National Drug Policy.
[source] $500 million to build ballistic missile interceptors in Alaska.

Here I have listed some of your complaints that prove you are a liberal:

[source] Over 500 American military personnel killed in Iraq.
[source] Civilian deaths in Iraq due to areal bombardment, undetonated ordinance, and firearms (shooting blindly into crowds and buildings, shooting into cars that don't stop at checkpoints, etc.) estimated at 7,900 to 9,700 according to news reports.
[source 1] [source 2] Civilian deaths in Afghanistan due to areal bombardment estimated at between 3,100 to 3,600.
[source] Thousands of civilians killed, hundreds of thousands displaced by areal bombing in Afghanistan.
[source] Invaded and bombed Afghanistan without Congressional declaration of war. Only Congress can declare war.
$440 million to colombian military to fight drug war. (2002)
[source] $255 million over two years to expand US media influence in predominantly Muslim countries.
[source] U.S. Drug Czar calls for War on Marijuana during visit to Canada.
[source] Threatened Canada with trade sanctions if Canada relaxes its marijuana laws.
[source] $10 million in foreign-aid to the Philippines to "fight terror."
[source] $98 million in new Pentagon training and equipment for Colombian military
[source] $92 million to train Iraqi militia to take on Saddam
[source] 15,000 U.S. troops to be stationed in Australia
[source] $10 billion to Israel (2003).
[source] Trained Colombian troops to hunt down drug dealers in Colombia.
[source] Assisting Kenya with airport security
[source] $3 million in military aid to Azerbaijan which has been criticized by Human Rights Watch for committing torture.
[source] Creation of new federal bureaucracy, Dept. of Homeland Security.
[source] Freezing private assets without due process under the guise of fighting terrorism.
[source] Domestic spying by FBI without evidence of criminal activity.
[source] US to fingerprint Arab and Muslim visitors to the US.
[source] Federalized airport security.
[source] Secret trials, military tribunals, monitoring of conversations between lawyers and suspects, indefinite detention of suspects without due process
[source] Transportation Security Administration to place armed law enforcement officers at ticket counters and other public areas at airports
[source] Federal drug czar John P. Walters denounced a ballot initiative in Arizona that would decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana, calling it a "stupid, insulting con
[source] Antitrust investigation against Village Voice Media LLC.
[source] Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) interrogated more than 5,000 Iraqis living in the United States.
[source] Justice Department and FBI have dramatically increased the use of two little-known powers that allow authorities to tap telephones, seize bank and telephone records and obtain other information in counterterrorism investigations with no immediate court oversight
[source] The Bush administration is secretly trying to expand the investigative powers of the CIA and military, allowing them to demand personal and business records of people in this country
The Bush administration and leading Senate Republicans sought...to give the CIA and the Pentagon far-reaching new powers to demand personal and financial records on people in the U.S.
[source] Thousands of men from Middle Eastern countries questioned, some arrested and detained, allegedly for links to terrorism, only to be let go or deported on immigration violations
[source] Secret deportation hearings for foreigners believed to present a national security threat
[source] A report, by the inspector general of the U.S. DOJ, says some of the foreign nationals detained post 9/11 were held in unduly harsh conditions and were subject to abuse.
149 posted on 08/20/2006 2:45:14 PM PDT by jrooney ( Hold your cards close.)
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To: ClaireSolt
That's right. The % of the deficit to GNP is lower by half than it was during the 1960s. I think the "spending" issue is just a canard resurrected by DU trolls at election time to create dissension. I quit listening to them 2 or three election cycles ago, and I think that's what we all ought to do. When Democrats talk about "spending like drunken sailors" (notice how they all use the same expression at the same time, obviously from reading some article in the NY Slimes), you know they are being insincere, since no Democrat is really in favor of smaller gummint.
150 posted on 08/20/2006 2:45:52 PM PDT by attiladhun2 (Islam is a despotism so vile that it would warm the heart of Orwell's Big Brother)
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To: attiladhun2

I agree. Either trolls or people whom have another agenda. Either way "the sky is falling" posters will always have a complaint.


151 posted on 08/20/2006 2:48:57 PM PDT by jrooney ( Hold your cards close.)
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To: jrooney
Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting
152 posted on 08/20/2006 2:51:31 PM PDT by MAD-AS-HELL (Put a mirror to the face of the republican party and all you'll see is a Donkey.)
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To: MAD-AS-HELL

Sorry do not listed to Army drill instructors. I am a proud former marine.


153 posted on 08/20/2006 2:53:03 PM PDT by jrooney ( Hold your cards close.)
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To: butternut_squash_bisque

"I'm not a Republican. That bunch of RINOs left me a few years back. I'm a re-registerd Independent Conservative."

Let me know when the Independent Conservative(s) elect anybody.

Two facts:

1. The overwhelming majority of state/national elections will be won by either the democrat or the republican. Not by any flavor of independent.

2. The republican will usually be preferable to the democrat.





154 posted on 08/20/2006 2:58:38 PM PDT by truth_seeker
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To: MAD-AS-HELL; All
To the guy who posted a list of Bush's accomplishments, yes, Bush has been a godsend for social conservatives.

He has been a huge dissapointment to fiscal conservatives and those who care about smaller government and less government interference in our personal lives. As such, the GOP has been following his lead.

Bush is a Christian Socialist. He is NOT a Jeffersonian conservative, which is what I thought the Republican party was supposed to be based on.

Conservatism is about upholding ideals and principals, not worshipping the man in the White House. Unfortunately the Bushbots have forgotten this, or they are CINOs (Conservative In Name Only).

155 posted on 08/20/2006 3:02:56 PM PDT by WestVirginiaRebel (Common sense will do to liberalism what the atomic bomb did to Nagasaki-Rush Limbaugh)
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To: truth_seeker

Oh, I'll still be voting GOP, but selectively instead of straight ticket, from now on.

I re-registered 'Independent' so as to get off the GOP-RINO fund-raising lists, where I'd traditionally given $1,000 to the RNC each year. Now, they've stopped calling. In their fund-raising letter replies, I always send one of these with the pledge card:

http://www.sacredcowburgers.com/fresh/showpics.cgi?heres_my_donation
or
http://www.strangepolitics.com/content/item/110960.html


156 posted on 08/20/2006 3:05:55 PM PDT by butternut_squash_bisque (The recipe's at my FR HomePage. Try it!)
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To: jrooney
Happy now?

Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

157 posted on 08/20/2006 3:09:14 PM PDT by MAD-AS-HELL (Put a mirror to the face of the republican party and all you'll see is a Donkey.)
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To: MAD-AS-HELL
Nah, I'm not chicken :)

No, I don't support reckless spending and I hold the Republican Congress as much responsible for that as the President. So, yes, if you want to isolate one aspect of the right's agenda, he has not been a great steward. But I think you ask an unfair question. It should be asked within the context of the political realities and priorities he has faced, just as he should be measured by his entire record (national security, economy, judicial appointments, etc.).
158 posted on 08/20/2006 3:48:51 PM PDT by Dolphy
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To: SmithL

Is Hagel still alive?


159 posted on 08/20/2006 3:50:06 PM PDT by bmwcyle (Only stupid people would vote for McCain, Warner, Hagle, Snowe, Graham, or any RINO)
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To: bmwcyle
Chuck Hagel is an un-American self serving ass.

Anyone who defends Hagel should join him at Arlington National Cemetery. A place Senator Hagel uses as his personal toilet.
160 posted on 08/20/2006 4:11:31 PM PDT by new yorker 77 (FAKE POLLS DO NOT TRANSLATE INTO REAL VOTERS!)
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