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Purveyor

(29,876 posts) Fri Jan 11, 2013, 06:53 PM Jan 2013

Chuck Hagel's Nomination Is Worth Fighting For

By Dana Milbank, Published: January 7

--CLIP
This is not a man who is going to shrink from a fight with the chicken hawks of the Senate.

President Obama hit the right theme in nominating Hagel on Monday to be secretary of defense — the first enlisted man and the first Vietnam veteran to be so honored. “To this day, Chuck bears the scars — and the shrapnel —from the battles he fought in our name,” Obama said during an appearance with Hagel and other officials in the East Room.

“Maybe most importantly,” Obama added, “Chuck knows that war is not an abstraction. He understands that sending young Americans to fight and bleed in the dirt and mud, that’s something we only do when it’s absolutely necessary.”

--CLIP
And Hagel is worth fighting for. The Republican former senator from Nebraska should and probably will be confirmed by the Senate, despite irresponsible claims that he is anti-Semitic, anti-Israel, anti-gay and a coddler of Iran. Most of that is false and the rest is irrelevant: As head of the Pentagon, Hagel would not determine foreign policy.

MORE...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/dana-milbank-battle-tested-for-a-fight/2013/01/07/5fa3825a-591f-11e2-88d0-c4cf65c3ad15_story.html

5 replies

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Chuck Hagel's Nomination Is Worth Fighting For (Original Post) Purveyor Jan 2013 OP

All this talk about Chuck being anti-Isreal Hutzpa Jan 2013 #1

Post removed Post removed Jan 2013 #2

As long as one isn't gay or for women's rights' because that also isn't American, as is still_one Jan 2013 #3

This sentence demeans every legitimate critic of Hagel's position on gays dsc Jan 2013 #4

Jeez, look at us... Bonobo Jan 2013 #5

Hutzpa

(11,461 posts)

1. All this talk about Chuck being anti-Isreal

Reply to Purveyor (Original post)

Fri Jan 11, 2013, 07:18 PM

Jan 2013

is another way to influence his thinking.

Response to Purveyor (Original post)

Post removed

still_one

(92,219 posts)

3. As long as one isn't gay or for women's rights' because that also isn't American, as is

Reply to Post removed (Reply #2)

Sat Jan 12, 2013, 01:06 AM

Jan 2013

Characterizing someone's religion, instead of a policy you disagree with

dsc

(52,162 posts)

4. This sentence demeans every legitimate critic of Hagel's position on gays

Reply to Purveyor (Original post)

Sat Jan 12, 2013, 01:11 AM

Jan 2013

The Republican former senator from Nebraska should and probably will be confirmed by the Senate, despite irresponsible claims that he is anti-Semitic, anti-Israel, anti-gay and a coddler of Iran.

Every charge save one in that sentence is false. Only the anti gay one is true. I presume the writer of the piece knows that. He chose to smear Hagel's legitimate critics by lumping them with the right wing crack pots.

Bonobo

(29,257 posts)

5. Jeez, look at us...

Reply to Purveyor (Original post)

Sat Jan 12, 2013, 01:18 AM

Jan 2013

2 Presidential wins and here we are, a dozen years after the start of the Iraq War... with a push for a Republican Sec. of Defense and a torturer and secret assassin for CIA Chief.

How in living fuck did we get here after electing the first black man as president? We were mobilized. We were strong. We were determined...

It was supposed to be a historic in-your-face repudiation of the George Bush years...

Holy fuck. Look at us.

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