"Hagel has what it takes: Integrity"

Here's a nice piece from Daniel Klimek that was in The Depaulia a while back.

Hagel has what it takes: Integrity
by Daniel Klimek
Staff Writer

After Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made her appearance before a bipartisan Senate committee last week, a day after George Bush presented his idiotic plan for war escalation in a nationally televised address, she ended up experiencing a lot of resistance in her attempts to purvey the president's newest foreign policy wishes.

The ubiquitous resistance against a plan that would send over 20,000 more American lives to the contemporary, war-infected tragedy that is Iraq was fervently dismantled, with the greatest opposition produced by no one other than fellow Republican Chuck Hagel.

An independent-thinking Maverick Senator from Nebraska, Hagel is one of those rare creatures in the American political world: an individualist who refuses to be corrupted by the blindness of partisanship in order to influence decision-making efforts.

Never one to shy away from criticizing his own party when necessary, Hagel once famously remarked, "I took an oath of office to the Constitution. I didn't take an oath of office to my party or my president."

That is why when one of the president's top officials made an appearance before him, Hagel did not fail to disappoint with his natural rhetoric, blasting away at an ill-fated policy and at the pawn sent to sell it.

"To ask our young men and women to sacrifice their lives, to be put in the middle of a civil war, is wrong," Hagel told Rice. "It's, first of all, in my opinion, morally wrong. It's tactically, strategically, militarily wrong."

Hagel, a decorated Vietnam Veteran who (unlike certain Republican leaders) knows what war means firsthand, went on to say, "Some of us remember 1970, Madam Secretary, and that was Cambodia, when our government lied to the American people. I happen to know something about that, as do some on this committee."

The two-time Purple Heart winner continued: "So Madam Secretary, when you set in motion the kind of policy the president is talking about here, it's very, very dangerous." Then, in one of those poignant moments that sees integrity challenging the authoritarian forces of power, Hagel followed with a set of words that would be repeated all week throughout the national networks around the country.

"As a matter of fact, I have to say, Madam Secretary, that I think this speech given last night by this president represents the most dangerous foreign policy blunder in this country since Vietnam, if it's carried out. I will resist it."

Seldom does one hear the cheers of public applause at an American Congressional hearing televised on C-SPAN. But the moment could not have come at a more urgent time. Historically, Hagel's dissidence has caused him undeserving criticism. Members of his own party have gone as far as to comparing him to a Democrat. Which is not fair for such a comparison defames the good senator.

Far from a Democrat, Hagel's political liberalism is balanced with the proper amount of social conservatism. Unlike the ideological hypocrites on the Left who advocate the end to killing abroad in the name of peace, yet possess absolutely no shame in supporting similarly heinous actions on the domestic front in the name of "choice," Hagel's record shows a perfect recognition for the dignity of human life, opposing various forms of violence. When it comes to the great abortion debate, the senator shows equal respect for both mother and child with his pro-life stance. The Christian Coalition has given him a rating of 100%, representing a pro-family voting record.

Without question a prominent name considered for the 2008 Presidential Race, Hagel's supporters have developed a grassroots movement backing his candidacy. Though he has not officially announced it yet, the desire to recruit the senator for the '08 race has been established. Numerous unassociated online blogs and sites have been formed organizing efforts for a possible run.

The reason to support Hagel does lie in his individualistic integrity, embodied not only in the man as a politician but also as a human being. Perhaps yet the best example of this free-thinking independence exists in Hagel's response to the Israeli-Lebanese conflict which took place last summer.

While all mainstream politicians from each end of the political aisle�the Bush administration as well as self-proclaimed "progressives" like Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi�supported Israel unequivocally as its military forces invaded Lebanon, killing over 1000 innocent civilians and displacing over one million people while labeling these atrocities as acts of "defense," only one high-profile senator spoke out.

Flirting with the possibility of breaking the unspoken, golden rule of American politics: do not ever cross the overly power Israel Lobby, exemplified so artfully in AIPAC (since doing so can result in political suicide), Hagel came before the senate floor in July, 2006, and declared that "The sickening slaughter on both sides must end and it must end now. This madness must stop." The latter point referring not only to the violence in the Middle East but also to the unequivocal support offered by both major U.S. parties.

Now that took some chutzpah�the kind necessary in 2008.

"Bill Wineke: Hagel would make the best president"

Here's an article that's worth taking a look at: Bill Wineke: Hagel would make the best president. Here's an excerpt:

I've pretty much come to the conclusion that Hagel is the best person to run this country for the next few years.
...
Hagel is one of the most conservative members of the Senate and I disagree with him on virtually every issue. I even disagree with him on the war in Iraq. I don't think we can just walk away from the mess we created.

So why would I suggest Hagel is the best person to run our country?

Because this country has a lot of big problems to solve and it is doing precious little to solve any of them.

I'm not at all sure it makes any difference whether our leaders follow liberal policies to solve those problems or follow conservative policies. There are different paths to solving problems. But for the past 16 years, at least, we haven't followed any path; we've just spent all our time fighting.

Hagel, I think, has the opportunity to pull the country together. He is a war hero who was wounded in Vietnam. That should mollify the hawks. He opposes the war in Iraq. That should mollify the doves.

He built a business from scratch. I have never heard any scandal associated with his name. He's not running around the country trying to convince fruitcakes that he's one of them.

In short, Chuck Hagel is the conservative Republican everyone thought George W. Bush would be - but wasn't.

Hagel gets a great deal of respect due to his competence.

Leadership, Vision, and Experience - that's why I support Hagel for '08.

Also, please donate today.

Your reasons for a Hagel Presidency (Part 8)

Josh (from Kansas City, MO) has given his answer to our question: "Why do you want Chuck Hagel to be our next President?"

Chuck Hagel represents the utopian Republican right now. He's firm on Repubican morals, and accountability, but he's also willing to hold firm to his beliefs that America can do better in the area of Foreign Policy. No one is satisfied with the current situation in Iraq. What happened in the past is past. Chuck Hagel looks to the future. Instead of the typical Congressman's response of "If we knew then what we know now," Chuck has come up with a viable workable, and more importantly a bi-partisan solution. What more could you ask for? He's a great choice, because he truly represents Republican values, and is a viable option for those moderate Republicans and Independents that aren't yet willing to concede the White House to the Democrats. I hope that Chuck decides to run, if so it's going to be up to us to help him out, and I'm willing to take that step.

Thanks, Josh!

Guest Post

Today we have a guest contribution. The following is from William Reid Dalton III. He articulates his views on conservatives and why Chuck Hagel is the conservative that he wants to see elected in 2008.

I am a conservative Republican. I became a conservative Republican at the age of 10 when I heard Ronald Reagan give "the speech" on behalf of Barry Goldwater on he eve of the 1964 election. In 1970 I appeared on NBC News holding a sign reading, "Sensible Students Support Spiro". In 1972 I was a College Republican helping Jesse Helms win his first election to the U.S. Senate. In 1974 I was a Republican election judge in the Woolen Gym precinct on the campus of UNC Chapel Hill, a lonely place to be a Republican that night. In 1976, I was helping Ronald Reagan come back from an unbroken string of primary defeats to win the North Carolina Presidential Primary, saving his candidacy not only for that year, but giving him the credibility to
come back and win in 1980. In 1980, I was actually on the ballot as a Republican legislative candidate running on the same ticket that sent Ronald Reagan to the White House, gave the U.S. Senate to the GOP for the first time since I had been in diapers, and helped Greensboro elect its first Republican Congressman in history. In 1982 I was parliamentarian to the North Carolina State Convention and served as Co-Chairman of the Committee that that year rewrote the Party's Plan of Organization. In 1983 I went to work as an attorney in the Reagan Administration, where I remained for three years until leaving politics and government service to enter seminary and ministry in the Presbyterian Church. In the debates that have gone on in the Presbyterian Church for these twenty years, I am known as a conservative.

George W. Bush is not a conservative. A conservative would not have exploited the nation's fear and loathing in the wake of the 9/11 tragedy to launch the specious "War on Terror", the ill-conceived and still unresolved war in Afghanistan, and the disastrous war in Iraq. This was the work of radical zealots. A real conservative would not have worked with Teddy Kennedy to muscle the "No Child Left Behind"
legislation through Congress, the worst Federal intrusion into the public schools since the 1960's, and this after two decades of running on a platform calling for the abolition of the Federal Department of Education. A real conservative would not have pushed through, by illegally breaking the rules of the Congress, an expansion of the Medicare program into prescription drug benefits, the biggest single boondoggle and entitlement program added to the government's budget since Lyndon Johnson's Great Society.

A real conservative would not arrogate powers to himself as President that have no basis in the Constitution. A real conservative would not suspend the writ of habeas corpus, arrest and hold people without warrant, without sufficient evidence of criminal activity to bring charges in Court, and search their possessions and records, their correspondence and telephone conversations without a warrant or probable cause. A real conservative would not countenance members of his Government conducting interrogations by torture of its prisoners, and then try to obscure what he is doing with tendentious opinions from a corrupt Justice Department, and attempts to avoid the jurisdiction of the Federal Courts.

A real conservative is someone like Sam Ervin, who stood up to Richard Nixon, that pseudo-conservative who corrupted the White House in the 1970's (if anyone is interested, I voted for Schmitz in 1972), and stopped that President from trampling upon the rights of the people guaranteed by the Constitution. A real conservative is someone who stands up to George W. Bush, today's pseudo-conservative, when he tries to do the same and even worse.

Senator Chuck Hagel is a real conservative. He voted against expanding the powers of the U.S. Department of Education. He voted against the unconscionable unfunded expansion of the Medicare program. He has been an early and constant critic of this President's war policies, from his reckless military adventures abroad to his contemptuous disregard of the Constitutional rights of Americans at home.

Chuck Hagel and Ron Paul are the two men who are stepping up today to save the nation from the calamitous policies of the Bush Administration and to save the Republican Party from its corrupt pseudo-conservative leadership. While Representative Paul has stood valiently for his principles for thirty years inside and outside the Congress, he has been relegated to the fringe of the Party. Senator Hagel, while remaining true to himself and his conservative principles, has always maintained the reputation of a mainstream Republican, certainly much more of a mainstream Republican than John McCain, Rudy Giuliani or Mitt Romney. If it were not for his stand against the war noone would question either his Republican or conservative credentials. And those who oppose him on the war issue are no true conservatives. As the Republican Party wakes up to the truth of the subterfuge, fraud, and even criminal warfare that has been carried out in its name, it will turn to Chuck Hagel to save it and even carry it to victory in 2008, an achievement that would be impossible except that the Party repudiates the policy of warmongering and war profiteering with which it has been saddled for more than five years.

Your reasons for a Hagel Presidency (Part 7)

This is another in our continuing series on why people would like to see Chuck Hagel as the next U.S. President. This post is from Nathan and was originally posted over at Students for Hagel.

At a time when Republicans have lost the Senate and the House, many see our chances of retaining the Presidency in 2008 as slim to none. I, however, remain confident, due to one man: Senator Chuck Hagel. When I say the name, "Senator Chuck Hagel," many people respond, "who?" And that is the biggest problem that we face. As of now, the front Republican runner is considered to be Senator McCain (AZ); however, I remain confident. Senator McCain lacks the support of a major portion of the Republican Party, the hard core social conservatives. With a mediocre (at best) conservative stance on social issues like abortion and gay marriage, Senator McCain will have a hard time winning the nomination from these voters. Senator Hagel, however, can get the support of the social conservatives, while still being supported by the centrist voters. Senator Hagel is a perfect mix: he is able to get religious and centrist Republicans, something Senator McCain will wish he would have been able to do. The only thing left to do is to spread the word about Senator Hagel. His problem as of now is recognition, as I indicated in my example. At a time when it is looking grim for Republicans, we cannot fail to do all that we can to get Senator Hagel the nomination, so that we can retain the Presidency to keep America a great country.

Please let us know why you support Chuck Hagel.

Your reasons for a Hagel Presidency (Part 6)

Today we continue in the series on "Why do you want Chuck Hagel to be our next President?" Please feel free email in your responses to this question. This is another of the answers posted over at the Chuck Hagel Google Group.

I concur with mbbar, particularly in regard to foreign policy. Senator Hagel, like his friend Colin Powell, is an internationalist and does not view organisations like the UN and NATO as being a hinderance at best, but rather as institutions, vital not only to the well being of our friends and allies, but integral to world order, peace and stability.

In regards to Citizen rights/privacy, Senator Hagel recently came at loggerheads with the President over a unilateral decision to abrogate a 1978 law prohibiting wiretapping, which the President has declared outdated and irrelevant. This represents a dangerous trend that students of Constitutional Law call Unitary Executive Theory, meaning that the Legislative and Judicial branches have limited ability to counteract the powers of the presidency.

Furthermore, Senator Hagel is one of the few voices of true Jeffersonian democracy, and by that I mean that Government should be open to criticism and scrutiny, and to participate in this is not unpatriotic. Perhaps the best example of how he embodies this is when he remarked, "I made an oath to my country and the constitution, I did not make an oath to my party or my president."

Despite the New York Times naming Senator Hagel as a Republican Loner, this is very much not the case. He has a pro business, pro free trade, and pro life voting record, and has drawn favorable ratings from the chamber of commerce and pro life groups. Perhaps he is far more in tune with the principles of the party of Teddy Roosevelt and Abe Lincoln than most of his peers.

Thanks for the post!

Your reasons for a Hagel Presidency (Part 5)

Last month I did a series on the reasons people gave why they want Chuck Hagel as the next President of the United States. Today and tomorrow we will have a continuation of that series.
Here is one reader's reason:

I have always voted for Republican candidates, but am dismayed by the course the current administration has taken with respect to fiscal policy, citizen rights/privacy, and foreign policy. I believe that Chuck Hagel is one of the few politicians that has the experience and perspective that can bring the country back on course. He will have a difficult time with the far right wing of the Republican Party, which seems to believe that government should dictate how people live their lives, and that their religious beliefs are the only ones that matter. We need to somehow overcome the resistance of that wing to his candidacy so that he can defeat their lap dogs during the primaries.

Thanks, mbbar!

Here are the previous posts in the series: post 1, post 2, post 3, post 4, post 5.

Your reasons for a Hagel Presidency (Part 4)

Thank you to those people who responded to my question, "Why do you want Chuck Hagel to be our next President?" Please continue to email in your responses to this question. This is another of the answers I received.

Chip states his reason very succinctly:

He’s not crazy.

Thanks Chip!

Your reasons for a Hagel Presidency (Part 3)

In our continuing series on "Why do you want Chuck Hagel to be our next President?" , we look today at the theme of leadership. Many people have said that his excellent leadership is one of the reasons that they support Chuck Hagel.

The Chuck Hagel Myspace Group has as its tagline:

"A leader we can be proud of."

Ed from Virginia wrote:

"We need Hagel's kind of leadership."

Linda from Connecticut writes:

"A lot of people are looking now for someone to lead us out of this mideast catastrophe. Your words about the origins of the problem are dead on and give me hope that you are that leader . Please run for president."

Please continue to email in your responses to the question.

Your reasons for a Hagel Presidency (Part 2)

Thank you to those people who responded to my question, "Why do you want Chuck Hagel to be our next President?" Please continue to email in your responses to this question. This is another of the answers I received.

Mark writes:

Our foreign policy is taking us into a horrific war against Islam and the East, a war our actions provoked. Hagel has the most perceptive world view and knows the lessons of VietNam and Iraq. He can prevent the coming military draft and expand our influence peacefully instead of shrinking our influence, and population, with a WMD laced VietNam.

So I don't have to move to Costa Rica, I'm voting for Chuck Hagel.

Thanks Mark!

Your reasons for a Hagel Presidency (Part 1)

Thank you to those people who responded to last week's question, "Why do you want Chuck Hagel to be our next President?" Please continue to email in your responses to this question. This is the first of the answers I received.

Edward writes:

It took courage for Sen. Hagel to speak out against the "sickening slaughter" in the Middle East. May he continue to demonstrate such clarity of understanding even against great odds and the insidious idiocy that seems to rule the day. Hagel for President!!

Thanks Ed!

My reasons for a Hagel Presidency

Last week the question was posed: Why do you want Chuck Hagel to be our next President? This week we will be sharing people's opinions as to why they would like to see Chuck Hagel as the next U.S. President. First up are the five primary reasons why I want to see Chuck Hagel in the White House.

1.) Foreign Policy - Chuck Hagel's foreign policy views are well thought out and guided by a long term view of what is best for America. He has proven to be right many times and the Republican party and the country need a new direction for foreign policy. Hagel can restore the standing of the United States on the international stage.
2.) Social Conservative - Senator Hagel has a consistent voting record as a social conservative.
3.) Deficit Hawk - One of the greatest issues facing our nation today is the national debt and the increasing bugdet deficits. Chuck Hagel has long been focused on balancing the budget.
4.) Civility - One thing that I don't like about politics today is the divisive and harsh tone that it has taken. Chuck Hagel, while conservative, can still work with those that he disagrees with and disagrees with people in a respectful tone.
5.) Electable - His personal story is dynamic and he is a conservative with a cross-over appeal that would make him dynamite in an election. He is truly "a leader we can be proud of."

If you haven't responded already, why do you want Chuck Hagel to be our next President? If you have a couple of minutes write out why you think Chuck Hagel should be elected in 2008 and email it to me and it may be posted shortly.

Technorati tags: Senator Chuck Hagel, President, 2008 Election

Why do you want Chuck Hagel to be our next President?

Today I have a question for you, particularly for our returning visitors. Why do you want Chuck Hagel to be our next President? If you have a couple of minutes write out why you think Chuck Hagel should be elected in 2008 and email it to me.

I'll post the best answers (or all of them) over the next couple of weeks (assuming anyone is up to the challenge). My goal is to allow for more guest contributions and this seems like a perfect place to start.