Chuck Hagel calling it quits

[MonkeyFunk]

Will announce that he's not running for President, and is retiring from the Senate.

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2835&u_sid=10126829

[Divine Discontent]

1. I don't like to see the most sensible person on the other side of the aisle

step down... means there's a high probability that a right wing fanatic will take his seat. here's to hoping a strong Dem candidate steps up now.

[jamesinca]

2. Sen Kerry (D) Ret.

he has been having his name thrown around as getting back into the Senate from there

[ConsAreLiars]

3. Well, he is a RW fanatic.

See http://www.ontheissues.org/senate/Chuck_Hagel.htm

Maybe Nebraska will go sane. Or not. In any case they will be hard pressed to find a more viciously reactionary senator than Hagel.

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

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[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[TwilightGardener]

8. A decorated combat vet who ended his political career by opposing

the war is slime? He knew it would kill him politically, and yet he stuck up for the troops (like my husband), spoke out repeatedly against the war position of his party and Chimpy, and VOTED to end the war. Yeah, how slimy of him. Get a fucking clue.

[ConsAreLiars]

17. Talk about a narrow focus!

Pat Crazy Buchanan and Ron Crazy Paul also opposed the war. Can you find one other issue on which this viciously anti human rights and pro-corporate thug voted in support of the common good? Go through the whole list, and tell me which votes shows him to be a decent human being. Can't find one? Of course not. Slick, but still slimy.

[ConsAreLiars]

10. deleted, wrong place (nt)

[TwilightGardener]

16. He represents NEBRASKA!! You think he's going to vote pro-choice

and pro-gay-marriage and pro-labor? He's a CONSERVATIVE, voting in the interests of a VERY RED STATE, genius! You're the one with a narrow focus, because all you see is votes, and not the human being. By the way, he stuck up for Al Gore in 2000, he stuck up for Max Cleland in 2004, he tried to limit the reaches of the Patriot Act, he voted for Medicare price negotiation this spring, he is co-sponsoring an upcoming bill to close Gitmo, he co-sponsored a global warming bill recently with Dick Durbin and a troop-rest bill with Jim Webb. He also co-sponsored the Levin Reed amendment in July to end the war. He advocates diplomacy in foreign policy, and he is one of the FEW Senators who actually read the entire NIE before the IWR. In fact, he and Joe Biden LIMITED the Iraq War Resolution to just Iraq, or we'd have been in Iran by now. But, I guess none of that matters.

[ConsAreLiars]

19. Apologies, I moved the post you are replying to after realizing I had

missed the target. (It is reposted as #17.) I don't see anything in the "ontheissues" link worthy of respect. 87% pro-corporate, 0% abortion rights, 0% environment, 12% health care, etcetera. You may approve of such positions. That is your right. And if so, he can be your hero. But not mine.

[Suich]

20. Go Big Red!

You play Wake Forest tomorrow...we've got Boise State!

imho, we're not going to bomb or invade Iran unless, or until, the Green Zone is evacuated.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

22. Bob Kerrey Represented Nebraska And Was Pro Gay Rights And Pro Labor

eom

[TwilightGardener]

27. Yeah--he's a Democrat. Your point is....????

[DemocratSinceBirth]

29. Chuck Hagel Is Wrong On Every Issue And Last Time I Checked He Supported The Iraq War Resolution

eom

[TwilightGardener]

34. He wasn't wrong on EVERY issue, even as a conservative Repub.

Besides, Hillary, Edwards, Biden and Dodd supported the IWR. Had Hagel opposed it, he would have been toast in Nebraska in 2002. You can't hold a higher standard for a Repub than for our Dems, who SHOULD have opposed it and didn't--if THEY were afraid of the political fallout for opposing the war, why is it fair to accuse Hagel of the same thing, as a red-state Repub? Anyway, I'm just grateful for voice and recent votes against the war. Sad to see him go. He's been a good Senator, not because he has progressive beliefs, of course, but because he puts his country above his party, and that's rare.

[pnwmom]

9. I wouldn't be surprised to see him wind up somewhere

in the next Democratic administration.

Depending on the job, his Senate votes wouldn't be important.

[Divine Discontent]

12. well, time to shut it down tonight...

I agree with you! lol

[Divine Discontent]

14. I agree with you.

He's definitely misguided on lots of stuff, but for right winger, he wasn't so bad and lambasted bushy on the war when none of his colleagues had started to from what I recall. Now Warner does his job for him. Hopefully, the rethugs will be out of power soon, and I mean TOTAL power... the senators are getting really old (Warner, McCain, etc) and they have capitulated to b*sh's nefariousness for far too long - I will DANCE for joy if we get back the presidency and take a 60-40 senate lead and another 20 seats in the House. hey, it could happen, as long as we don't have any shenanigans that we can't stop.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

23. He Might Be A Nice Fella But He Has A Reactionary Voting Record

eom

[Divine Discontent]

11. lol..

in general, but he was one of the few saying really negative things against el bushco when I heard nothing but chirps from the other right wing crowd the past couple years on the war. I'd love it if former Senator Kerrey got back as another DU'er mentioned.

[ConsAreLiars]

15. Bob Kerrey supported the invasion and supports the occupation.

You may agree with his position, but I'd like to think Nebraska has some sane people who could run for office.

[pnwmom]

18. Yeah, but could they win?

That is the real question.

[never_get_over_it]

25. Good lord

Hagel might have talked some sense on the invasion but he is a right wing fanatic - his voting record SUCKS!!!!!

[TwilightGardener]

4. Yes--that article has a very sad photo accompanying it--almost

like they had it cued up and ready to go...anyway, read what they're saying at Free Republic (I will never understand this hostility towards a good man):

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1892978/posts?q=1&;page=1

To: LdSentinal
thank GOD and good riddance you HORSES ASS!



2 posted on 09/07/2007 10:55:49 PM PDT by steel_resolve (Club the wicked.)
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To: LdSentinal
The relief I feel is like passing a kidney stone. The excruciating pain suddenly ends and that’s that.



3 posted on 09/07/2007 10:56:14 PM PDT by cyborg (Long Island Half Marathon finisher!)
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To: LdSentinal
Hoohah! Two RINOs - Warner and Hagel GONE! Things are looking up.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus



5 posted on 09/07/2007 10:56:35 PM PDT by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives In My Heart Forever)
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[valerief]

5. There's only room for wild chimpanzees in the Senate nowadays, it seems.

"They're flinging feces today." "They're not flinging feces today." "Will the Senate endure feces-flinging much longer?" "President Bush signed a signing statement today stating that feces-flinging will never be outlawed."

Feces.

[autorank]

13. He's the one guy that assumed the appropriate tone on Iraq expansion..

He f'ing yelled at them like they were a bunch of bums, I'm talking about his comments at the Senate hearing on increasing funding. He was awesome. I'm leery of him because of his association with the parent of ESS, the big e-voting machine company (which was under him when he got elected;) But he told the truth that day as no one has in the Senate for years. Hope he writes a tell-all.

[aquart]

21. No sane Republican will run in 2008.

They don't want the mess dumped on them.

[AspenRose]

24. Another fed-up republican

eom

[TheUniverse]

26. Why would he leave the Senate when this country needs him the most?

watch as he gets replaces by a huge neo-con.

[trashcanistanista]

28. They drove him out. Too bad.

I thought like a few here, he was somewhat salvageable.

[mod mom]

30. What could they possibly have on Hagel:

historic malfeasance perhaps?

Something probably little-known to his fellow Nebraskans, is the deep connection their own Senator Chuck Hagel has to this industry. So in the interest of fair elections, let's review some facts:

Hagel was and is a current shareholder in McCarthy Group Inc. of Omaha, whose portfolio includes Election Systems and Software Inc. Before his 1996 election to the Senate, Hagel was president of McCarthy and Co. (Lincoln Journal Star, 5/9/05)

As late as 1995, Hagel was the chairman of a Nebraska electronic voting machine maker, American Information Systems, which was renamed Election Systems and Software in 1997. It was reported that Hagel failed to mention his financial ties to ES&S on his Senate disclosure form, an omission that drew interest from the Senate Ethics Committee. (Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 9/28/03)

Hagels 1996 run for the Senate left him with not one, but two underdog victories, defeating Don Stenberg in the primary and Democratic Gov. Ben Nelson. Both of his opponents had solid, consistent leads in the polls up until Election Day. (University Wire, 7/14/05) That year, Hagel became the first Republican in 24 years to win a Senate seat in Nebraska, winning easily and even carrying black districts that never had voted Republican. (Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 9/28/03) Of note, the companys machines counted 85 percent of the votes in the Nebraska election. (Morning Call, 9/22/04)

ES&S claims to have counted 56% of the vote in the last four presidential elections. Bob and Todd Urosevich founded its predecessor, AIS, in the 1980's. Bob is now president of Diebold-Global, while brother Todd is a vice president at ES&S. Business Records Corp., which was merged with AIS to become ES&S, was partially owned by Cronus, a company that seems to have a lot of connections to the infamous Hunt brothers from Texas, as well as other individuals and entities, including Rothschild, Inc. Right wing Republicans Howard Ahmanson (who financed AIS) and Nelson Bunker Hunt have both heavily contributed to The Chalcedon Institute, an organization that mandates Christian "dominion" over the world. (PR Newswire, 10/30/02)

-snip

http://www.senatemajority.com/chuck_hagels_voting_machines

[NEDem]

31. That whole conspiracy would be an interesting novel

The only problem with using it in the reality based community is that it is utter and complete bullshit.

[mod mom]

32. Are you saying Hagel did not have ties to a voting machine co that counted votes

in his state?

[NEDem]

33. .

I'm saying that he had ties, period. It ends there.

I love how the conspiracy theorists have completely ignored the obvious, that Ben nelson wasn't as popular as people thought he was and more importantly, ran the worst campaign I've ever been a part of in my 40+ years working in Nebraska politics. It was sooo bad, and Hagel was so good, that I'll admit publicly, that even as a daily volunteer (7 days a week from day 1) working directly with his campaign staff I voted for Hagel that year. I can assure you that many people did what I did. That campaign made Nelson look like a pompus and arrogant weenie, and Hagel came off 100 times more statesman-like and frankly far better prepared for the job of Senator and Nelson did. So for people to go and cast some conspiracy over the whole race because he was connected to ES&S ignores the simple facts from the ground. Hagel out worked and out campaigned Nelson and won fair and square.

I know I can't convince anyone to change their mind and I not trying to, but I'm telling you what I know to be true. And yeah I do think there have been problems with the machines, I just don't believe it had anything to do with Hagel being elected the first time.

[LiberalAndProud]

35. You said it so well.

I agree 100% (especially the part about not changing minds here on DU).

Stenberg, for crying out loud! The only thing this article makes me wonder is, who was fixing the pre-election polls?