This Is Suppprting The Troops?

Republicans killed an amendment submitted by Senator Jim Webb (D-Virginia) which would force the Pentagon to match the length of a solider's leave with the length of his or her deployment.

Basically Republicans told the nation that troops do not deserve to be at home with their family and friends for the same amount of time they're spending politicing a civil war.

There is no excuse for this and Republicans who voted against cloture should be thrown out of the Senate.

The following members of the GOP are not included in this;

Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minnesota)
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine)
Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Nebraska)
Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Oregon)
Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine)
Sen. John Sununu (R-New Hampshire)
Sen. John Warner (R-Virginia)

Yes, it is true that all but Snowe are facing tough reelections next year. Here's the list of those who are ALSO up for reelection next year, but voted not to move the amendment to a vote;

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tennessee)
Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyoming)
Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Georgia)
Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Mississippi)
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas)
Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-North Carolina)
Sen. Pete Domenici (R-New Mexico)
Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyoming)
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina)
Sen. James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma)
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky)
Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kansas)
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama)
Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska)

That's a long list of possible pickups is you ask me

Hagel: Not Happy With the GOP

Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Nebraska) added to the speculation that he may run for President in 2008 as a conservative anti-war Independent;

"I am not happy with the Republican Party today, It's been hijacked by a group
of single-minded almost isolationists, insulationists, power-projectors."

Hagel also praised Mayor Bloomberg, who is having his name thrown around as a potential Independent candidate for President.

Hagel/Bloomberg '08?

Hagel's Declaration of Independence.

Question

If Senator Chuck Hagel (R-Nebraska) runs as a conservative anti-war Independent, who does it hurt, the Republicans or the Democrats?

Wouldn't be interesting to see a three-way race that ends with no electoral majority that throws the election to the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives who elected Hillary Clinton President.

And you thought 2000 was bad?

Senate Passes Iraq Funding Bill With Timetable

The vote was 51-46 with 3 Senators not voting; The still ill Tim Johnson (D-South Dakota), and Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and of course John McCain (R-Arizona)

Two Republicans voted with the Democrats;
Chuck Hagel (R-Nebraska)
Gordon Smith (R-Oregon)

Lieberman sided with the Republicans

NE-Sen: Hagel Trails In Primary!

Nebraska Attorney General Joe Bruning is running in the Republican primary for US Senate against Chuck Hagel

This poll shows him winning.

Bruning leads Hagel 47%-38%.

Perhaps Democrats should hurry a candidate, Scott Kleeb or Mike Fahey, to win over the 38% and defeat Bruning.

Or maybe Hagel will pull a Lieberman and go independent.

Or maybe he won't run at all.

Nevertheless, Republicans are going to love this news. It's not surprising. Nebraska Republicans are still very supportive of the President and the Iraq war.

Does Thou Speak The “I” Word?

The left wing and the people who most despise George W. Bush have been saying it for almost four years or more now. It has been dismissed as a stupid idea with no reason to do it except that they just plain don't like the man, but with scandal after scandal erupting out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and its offshoot offices, could that "I" word politicians dare not speak actually be something that may come to be in the near future?

Impeachment; only the left wing of the Democratic party, politicians like Maxine Waters of California or Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, have spoken about it, but today one very important member of Congress talk about the "I" word…Republican Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska;

"Any president who says, I don't care, or I will not respond to what the people of this country are saying about Iraq or anything else, or I don't care what the Congress does, I am going to proceed — if a president really believes that, then there are — what I was pointing out, there are ways to deal with that,"

Impeachment is only possible when it became clear the President had broken the law, or abused his power (which is also breaking the law.) Currently, there is no concrete evidence the President has broken the law, but, as Hagel said, if he continues on a path where he ignores Congress and everyone else, he will be seen as a man who abuses power and what he is admitting is…impeachment is a possibility, and he can't really count on his own party for support. Many of them have beef with him as well.

Take the recent imprisonment of several border control agents in Texas. After shooting an illegal immigrant drug smuggler, they were sent to prison for 10 years for lying about it, while the smuggler was set free, as he was given immunity. Many border-area Republicans calling for the agents to be pardoned, such as Dana Rohrabacher of California, have openly said if anything was to happen to the border control agents in prison, they would seek to impeach him. Even those in his party are beginning to distance themselves from the President.

While an impeachment is highly unlikely, even with a Democratic Congress (Bill Clinton was impeached, but not removed from office by a Republican Senate), it is still possible and if the President has does something that REALLY warrants impeachment, with his unpopularity, upcoming elections and depending on the seriousness of the situation, I'm not even sure the Republicans would defend the man.

Still, I'd kind of rather see President Bush just serve out his term that deal with even ONE day with a President Dick Cheney.

*shudders*

Hagel Waits

Senator Chuck Hagel (R-Nebraska) was expected to announce if he would run for the Presidency today...he's announced he's waiting a little while longer.

Hagel would be the only major anti-war Republican in the running (sans a run by Congressman Ron Paul of Texas.)

Meanwhile, Hagel is raising money for a reelection campaign for the Senate. Not that he'd need it. He won 85% of the vote last night and unless he faces a pro-war Republican in the primary (which probably would've happened already,) he's pretty much a shoo-in.

The GOP Eugene McCarthy?

Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska is expected to announce Monday if he's running for President or not...my guess is, he is.

Hagel is among the sharpest Republican critics of the Iraq war and supports many of the Democrats' proposals to withdraw troops and end the war.

Hagel has been compared to Senator Eugene McCarthy (D-Minnesota), who led opposition to the Vietnam War during Lyndon Johnson's presidency. McCarthy was one of the first major Democrats to oppose Vietnam and ran against fellow Minnesotan Hubert Humphrey for the 1968 Democratic Presidential Nomination, before losing his anti-war monopoly to New York Senator Bobby Kennedy.

Hagel is pretty much alone in his staunch anti-war position in the Senate. Although there are other Republicans, such as Gordon Smith of Oregon and Olympia Snowe of Maine, who are becoming frustrated and have lost faith in the Iraq policy, they aren't planning on running for President. (Smith is going to have a hard enough time keeping his Senate seat.)

Although most Republicans are still behind the war, Hagel could pick up enough frustrated Republicans, mostly moderates, to cost the moderate Rudy Giuliani the nomination, throwing to McCain or Romney (who I am still convinced will get the nomination.)

I do have to say though, in the rare event Hagel does end up getting the GOP nod, Democrats should probably be more worried about him than Giuliani. He's likeable.