B U S T E D
Donna Summer Disco
Posted on 09/07/2007 10:54:26 PM PDT by LdSentinal
WASHINGTON - Chuck Hagel will announce Monday that he is retiring from the U.S. Senate and will not run for president next year, people close to the Nebraska Republican said Friday.
Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel plans to leave the Senate after two terms as a Republican Party maverick, people close to him say.Hagel plans to announce that "he will not run for re-election and that he does not intend to be a candidate for any office in 2008," said one person, who asked not to be named.
Hagel has scheduled a press conference for 10 a.m. Monday at the Omaha Press Club.
According to one person interviewed, Hagel told Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky on Friday morning that he had decided to retire. Hagel's staff learned of his decision that afternoon.
The North Platte native earned national recognition as perhaps the most vocal, at times angry, GOP critic of the Bush administration's Iraq policies.
His outspokenness on Iraq and other key issues, including Social Security and foreign policy, fueled national interest in Hagel as he flirted with a possible presidential bid.
His national profile reached its zenith in March, when he headed to Omaha to hold a press conference on his political future.
But amid wide speculation that he was leaning toward a White House run, Hagel announced that he would disclose his plans later in the year.
His pending retirement leaves another GOP Senate seat without an incumbent at a time when the Republican Party is struggling to stem potential losses and must defend more seats than Democrats.
In Nebraska, the news will trigger a scramble among possible successors.
Attorney General Jon Bruning has been campaigning for the GOP Senate nomination since spring. A second Republican, financial adviser Pat Flynn of Schuyler, also already announced his candidacy.
Other Republicans who could enter the race are former Gov. Mike Johanns, now the U.S. agriculture secretary; former Omaha Mayor Hal Daub; and Columbus businessman Tony Raimondo.
Former Democratic Sen. Bob Kerrey, president of the New School University in New York City, has voiced interest in returning to the Senate.
Also mentioned by Nebraska Democrats are Scott Kleeb, who lost a race to Republican Adrian Smith in the 3rd Congressional District last year, and Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey.
Hagel, 60, would leave office after two terms, ending a career in which he was a frequently reliable Republican vote - but unafraid to show a maverick streak.
Armed with a deep voice and somber demeanor, Hagel rose quickly in the Senate, developing an international reputation perhaps faster than any previous Nebraska lawmaker.
He has become a leading Senate voice on foreign policy, promoting a pragmatic approach of reaching out to allies and adversaries alike to build economic, social and political relationships.
A decorated Vietnam combat veteran, Hagel drew the most attention for his break with the Republican president on Iraq.
Early this year, his frustration erupted after Bush announced plans for a troop buildup to try to curb violence in Iraq. Hagel labeled it "the worst foreign policy blunder since Vietnam - if it's carried out."
That and other criticism triggered a backlash from some conservatives, who viewed him as disloyal to the Republican president and potentially jeopardizing troops abroad.
Hagel didn't relish the attacks. He explained how Vietnam had a big impact on his view of this war. He recalled Congress' silence during much of Vietnam, as well as the 58,000 Americans who died. He said he didn't want that history to repeat itself.
"I'll be damned if I'm going to stand there and accept the status quo and let it all happen again," he said.
Chuck Hagel never just stood there.
Born in 1946, he was the oldest of four sons raised by Charles and Betty Hagel. He grew up in North Platte and in Rushville, Ainsworth and Columbus.
Life changed abruptly when his father died of a heart attack on Christmas Eve in 1962. It thrust Hagel, then 16, into the role of a father figure for his younger brothers, one of whom would die a few years later in a car accident.
Sent to Vietnam in 1968, he served for a time with his brother Tom, seeing the violence of war up close. The brothers saved each other's lives, they saw friends die, they lived in fear.
Chuck Hagel supported the war then, but changed his view later after hearing tape recordings of former President Lyndon Johnson saying he knew the United States couldn't win but didn't want to be saddled in history with defeat.
In 1971, Hagel landed a job on Capitol Hill as an aide to Republican Rep. John Y. McCollister, who promoted him within two years to chief of staff.
From the late 1970s to the 1990s, he worked as a lobbyist, Veterans Administration official, cellular telephone industry pioneer, USO official and investment banker.
In the 1996 Senate race, he upset then-Gov. Ben Nelson.
In 1997, he teamed with Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., to lead the Senate to a 95-0 vote opposing the Kyoto Protocol, a global warming treaty that was intended to curb the effects of greenhouse gases from developing nations.
He played a key role in reauthorizing the International Monetary Fund, which helps emerging economies worldwide.
Hagel-authored provisions to allow more easily traceable political contributions were included in major campaign finance reform legislation that Congress passed.
During Hagel's first year in the Senate, Washington Post columnist David Broder referred to him as "the freshman who probably has made the deepest impression on his colleagues."
He won re-election in 2002 with 83 percent of the vote.
Among second-term achievements were energy bill provisions promoting the development of clean-air technology to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
He worked on a number of Nebraska issues, including community banking, air service to rural areas and health care.
With a telegenic personality, Hagel has become a fixture on the Sunday TV talk show circuit, racking up more than 100 appearances. The topic often was foreign policy, Hagel's strongest passion.
As a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he has traveled widely overseas, building relationships with foreign leaders that have given him a personal and independent view of foreign policy matters.
Hagel always freely expressed his opinions, often in a provocative manner. His temper can flare as it frequently has against the Bush administration over Iraq. Friends say that passion, coupled with his intelligence, have made him unusual in Washington.
"Chuck is one of those political leaders who marches to a drummer of his own," Colin Powell, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and former secretary of state, said several years ago. "He decides what he believes, then he speaks out."
a conservative Dem...we have the same problem in KS, though it is in the House, so it is much less serious of an issue since the Senate matters much more.
Darn, I was so looking forward to the Hagel/Paul ticket.
The only person I can think of who could defeat Bob Kerry would be ex-Governor Mike Johanns.
You don’t think Bruning can do it?
Heineman can do it and so can Shane Osborne.
Probably not. During the 1990’s, he was a Reagan-bashing liberal.
another RINO bites the dust... excellent!
The RINOs are jumping while they can. They know that come Nov 08 that anyone who voted for the immigration bill is history.
The RINOs are jumping while they can. They know that come Nov 08 that anyone who voted for the immigration bill is history.
“another RINO bites the dust... excellent!”
But who will his replacement be?
“Hoohah! Two RINOs - Warner and Hagel GONE! Things are looking up. “
Exactly! If a majority is based on those two, I’d rather stay a minority .. this is just clearing brush to allow new and hopefully more wholesome growth.
Isn’t there a constitutional restriction against cruel and unusual punishment?
The Petraeus Report claims it’s first political casualty, and good riddance!
You might also check when the last time that NE went Democrat in a Prez election son.
BEN NELSON
Cooperation with Republicans
He was the only Democrat to vote in favor of Brown; he was later the first Democratic senator to support Samuel Alito’s confirmation to the USSC. Nelson also has voted twice, with three other Democrats, to end Senate debate over President Bush’s UN Ambassador nominee John Bolton.
Views on abortion
Nelson is one of few Democrats in the Senate with a pro-life voting record. Nelson is a member of the Democrats for Life of America, a national organization for pro-life members of the Democratic party that advocates a 95% reduction in the number of abortions performed over the next 10 years. In the 2006 election, Nelson was endorsed by Nebraska Right to Life[2] and Nebraskans United for Life[3] — the two largest pro-life organizations in the state.
.
Norman Hsu will defeat Bob Kerrey
Maybe what - 30 years ago? Sorry. The color codes for red being conservative and blue being dem have been well established now for decades -- without your permission.
Adios, Chuck!
How about Lindsey Graham?
Nelson say it’s time to change policy in Iraq
By DON WALTON / Lincoln Journal Star
Wednesday, Sep 05, 2007 - 03:56:00 pm CDT
Sen. Ben Nelson said Wednesday he’ll push for a change in the military mission when the Senate next week resumes consideration of U.S. policy in Iraq.
U.S. troops should be phased out of sectarian conflict in Baghdad, Nelson said, and redeployed to pursue and destroy al-Qaida elements in Iraq.
That transition over a six-month period would lead to reduced troop levels without any artificial deadlines for U.S. withdrawal, he said.
While the Bush administration may argue its surge of additional combat troops is showing some military success, Nelson said, it is not leading to the political accommodation required for peace and stability.
“It’s very difficult to see what reducing violence in Baghdad has achieved,” he told his weekly telephone news conference from Washington.
Without Iraqi progress in achieving a political settlement and national stability, Nelson said, it’s hard to argue that U.S. policy is succeeding.
“In that context,” the Democratic senator said, “I don’t think the surge has worked.”
Gen. David Petraeus, U.S. commander in Iraq, and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker will deliver a report to Congress next week measuring progress in meeting benchmarks for Iraqi success.
Nelson co-authored the congressional benchmark provision contained in legislation providing supplemental appropriations to continue to fund the war.
Early assessments, including a Government Accountability Office report, suggest there has been “little or no progress” in achieving those benchmarks, Nelson said.
Among the key missing pieces, Nelson said, are sharing of oil revenue, restoration of experienced Baath Party civil servants and bureaucrats, and provincial elections.
Those, he said, are elements required for “a lasting peace.”
Nelson, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he will visit Iraq later this month for his own on-the-ground assessment.
During his time in Nebraska during the August congressional recess, Nelson said, “Iraq certainly dominated the conversation almost everywhere.”
Most Americans, he said, are asking “when will our troops come home.”
On other matters, Nelson said:
— no progress appears likely in the Senate this month on a new farm bill.
— he hopes former Democratic Sen. Bob Kerrey will return to Nebraska and enter the 2008 Senate race if Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel decides not to seek re-election.
Decades? No, just the last 2 Presidential elections. The MSm didn’t want to identify themselves as “Reds”, since it was too obvious.
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