E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSThe possibility of President Barack Obama nominating former Nebraska senator Chuck Hagel as defense secretary seemed to suffer some deflation Sunday when in an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press, Sen. Charles Schumer, D- N.Y., passed up the chance to support Hagel.
Asked by NBC’s David Gregory whether President Barack Obama should nominate Hagel to replace departing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, Schumer said, “Well, that’s his choice. I think once he makes it, his record will be studied carefully. But until that point, I think we’re not going to know what’s going to happen.”
When Gregory asked directly whether he could support Hagel’s nomination, Schumer replied, “I’d have to study his record. I’m not going to comment until the president makes a nomination.”
NBC’s Andrea Mitchell said during the round-table panel discussion on Meet the Press that Schumer’s non-committal stance on Hagel was “very revealing” because “if a Democratic senator is not going to come to Chuck Hagel’s defense, then I think there are serious problems there.”
Alluding to the rumored nomination of UN envoy Susan Rice to be secretary of state – which ultimately ended with Rice withdrawing from contention – Mitchell added, “This White House cannot continue to float trial balloons and then have them shot down.” If this happens, she said, Obama is “perceived to be rolled by opponents.”
Appearing on Meet the Press with Schumer was Sen. Lindsey Graham, R- S.C., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee which will hold confirmation hearings on whoever Obama nominates to be defense secretary.
“A lot of Republicans are going to ask him (Hagel) hard questions,” Graham predicted. “And I don't think he's going to get many Republican votes. I like Chuck. But his positions, I didn't really frankly know all of them, are really out of the mainstream, and well to the left of the president. I think it'll be a challenging nomination. But the (confirmation) hearings will matter.”
He added that, “I've got questions about Chuck's view of Iran, the situation with Hamas and Hezbollah, his position toward Israel, just Afghanistan. I want to hear what he has to say.” But Graham said Hagel had made “very troubling comments by a future secretary of defense.”
Last week the Washington Post, which usually supports Obama on its editorial page, ran an editorial opposing the rumored Hagel nomination.
The editorial called Hagel “isolated in his views about Iran during his time in the Senate. He repeatedly voted against sanctions, opposing even those aimed at the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, which at the time was orchestrating devastating bomb attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq. Mr. Hagel argued that direct negotiations, rather than sanctions, were the best means to alter Iran’s behavior.”
The editorial added that if Obama decides to use force to try to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear arsenal, it would be doubtful whether Hagel would be “ready to support and effectively implement such a decision” if he were defense secretary.
Conservative Wall Street Journal columnist Bret Stephens has assailed Hagel for saying "the Jewish lobby intimidates a lot of people up here (on Capitol Hill)."
Rep. Elliot Engel, D- N.Y. who will be the senior Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee next year, said in an interview on C-Span Sunday that in Hagel’s case “it seems that there is some kind of an endemic hostility toward Israel. And that’s troublesome for me and for a lot of other people. Obviously he served in the Senate for a number of years and he has done many good things. But I think in the sensitive post of secretary of defense those are warning bells, those are red lights. And I think that it’s potentially troublesome.”
Last week Hagel apologized for his 1998 opposition to President Bill Clinton’s nomination of James Hormel to be ambassador to Luxembourg because Hormel was "openly, aggressively gay."
"My comments 14 years ago in 1998 were insensitive," Hagel said in a written statement. "They do not reflect my views or the totality of my public record, and I apologize to Ambassador Hormel and any LGBT Americans who may question my commitment to their civil rights. I am fully supportive of ‘open service’ and committed to LGBT military families.”
Leave a Comment:
Schumer is the Democratic attack dog. He has never seen a Republican idea he liked.
Why would he support Hagel?
Schumer's response is natural. It don't mean he will not support the nomination. He is going to study Chuck Bagel a bit. That's all.
It's not like Schumer is Mitch McChicken, filibustering his own bill.
Neither have I.
The Zionist lobby here controlling so much of America doesn't want Hagel, obviously, because Chuck Hagel is a man placing the USA first, a USA firster, as opposed to an Israeli-firster such as Schumer. It is no more of a mystery than this.
Miss Piggy - Nice hedge. Never take a position until your messiah tells you what to think.
Sure, Schumer doesn't need to take a position on a ghost of speculation...it isn't his job. It sounds like Hagel will have more of problem finding Republican support if he is the nominee.
Congressional advice and consent should be informative to the public but not used as a tool to deny Presidential choice of legitimate selections. The preemptive Senate attack" on Susan Rice was a gross abuse of political threat (as the filibuster currently allows) and the current attitude by Congress to not allow consideration or vote on appointments is disgusting. Abnormally high vacancy rates may force recess appointments to become the required norm.
There was no 'attack" on Susan Rice. She flat lied and the report that followed has shown that so did Hilary and probably Obama although he threw them out their to protect himself. Get a clue!
Hi dogs80, I see your point of view. I don't think much of it, but I see it.
If Hagel would have had his way we DEFINITELY would NOT have had the Iraq war; that certainly would have been a good thing.
While Hagel seems to be very focused on protecting America, is a war vet and is very experienced and knowledgeable in foreign affairs, he also seems to be very financially conservative with military spending and very cautious and careful on initiating attacks, so the neocons and the industrial-military complex advocates are probably dead-set against him, and that is probably the heart of most of his opposition.
Merry Christmas to all and a happy new year, Salute !!!!!!!!!!!
Why should any Democrat appoint or approve a Republican in a Democrat administration at a time when all they do is obstruct almost everything?
Jessigrrl; that is how politics works, so no one party gets their way; it is also calle the democratic process.
Pig- better head to the trough. You sound hungry. Bagel, Mc Chicken? Always with the name calling. How 3rd grade of you.
Forget all these hearings. Nothing else should be done until the fiscal cliff government spending cuts are implemented.
Yeah, that'll never happen.
C.Man/Stop runing this country until your Rep/T.P. gives us permission to do so? Get Real!
Why is it that all nominations have to pass a Israel litmus test. One would think that fidelity to the U.S. would trump fidelity to Israel. Now all of the AIPAC gang wants to lambast Sen. Hagel because he is not a pro-Israel ass kisser. For God's sake he spilled blood as a combat vet in Vietnam. I, and other vets will never understand why someone like Ari Fliecher, Chuck Shumer, Dan Señor, Congressman Engle, Abraham Foxman et. al who have never served in the military should try to kill this appointment. Sad, Sad, Sad.
From another Viet Nam vet,well said. Most of the chicken hawks in Washington have never had a shot fired at them and yet they have no problem siding with a thought of putting our troops and resources at risk for the benefit of Israel,who has proven time and again that it cares for itself only.Remeber the Liberty.
For a reason that I can't understand this country's Representative have always made it a part of their policy that we have to put the welfare of Israel before our own. It has arrived at the ridiculous point that the Israeli government no longer hopes but expects and even demands that we continue to do so.Until that country returns the occupied Palestine territories and negotiates sincerely with that country we should not unconditionally support them.I pay my government my taxes,and expect my Employees to put the welfare and safety of us before any foreign country.
I think the left wing litmus test is worse.
There are many reasons to oppose Chuck Hagel besides Israel, anti-semitism and Iran.
To me he is the stereotypical Archie Bunker type bigot. His policies have been anti gay (even now after his late and self serving apology he doesn't support equal benefits for gay military families. He is anti-African American (with a 17/100 rating from NAACP and admires Strom Thurmond as a great role model. anti Woman (vs choice and contraception)andHagel has drawn additional heat from insiders who claim he lacks the credentials needed to manage a department as large and essential as the Pentagon.
“Yes, Hagel has crazy positions on several key issues. Yes, Hagel has said things that are borderline anti-Semitism. Yes, Hagel wants to gut the Pentagon’s budget. But above all, he’s not a nice person and he’s bad to his staff,” said a senior Republican Senate aide who has close ties to former Hagel staffers.
“Hagel was known for turning over staff every few weeks—within a year’s time he could have an entirely new office because nobody wanted to work for him,” said the source. “You have to wonder how a man who couldn’t run a Senate office is going to be able to run an entire bureaucracy.”
Others familiar with Hagel’s 12 year tenure in the Senate said he routinely intimidated staff and experienced frequent turnover.
“Chuck Hagel may have been collegial to his Senate colleagues but he was the Cornhusker wears Prada to his staff, some of whom describe their former boss as perhaps the most paranoid and abusive in the Senate, one who would rifle through staffers desks and berate them for imagined disloyalty,” said Michael Rubin, a former Pentagon adviser on Iran and Iraq. “He might get away with that when it comes to staffers in their 20s, but that sort of personality is going to go over like a ton of bricks at the Pentagon.”
Multiple sources corroborated this view of Hagel.
“As a manager, he was angry, accusatory, petulant,” said one source familiar with his work on Capitol Hill. “He couldn’t keep his staff.”
“I remember him accusing one of his staffers of being ‘f—ing stupid’ to his face,” recalled the source who added that Hagel typically surrounded himself with those “who basically hate Republicans.”
Sources expressed concern about such behavior should Hagel be nominated for the defense post. With competing military and civilian interests vying for supremacy, the department requires a skilled manager, sources said.
“The Pentagon requires strong civilian control,” a senior aide to former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld told the Free Beacon. “It’s already swung back in favor of the military over the past five years. A new secretary of defense should push it back in its rightful place, but it’s doubtful Hagel would be that guy.”
“It’s not clear that [Hagel] has the standing, the managerial prowess, or the willingness to gore some oxen,” said the source.
One senior Bush administration official warned that Hagel is ill informed about many critical foreign policy matters.
“He’s not someone who’s shown a lot of expertise on these issues,” said the source, referencing a recent Washington Post editorial excoriating Hagel’s record. “That [op-ed] was extraordinary.”
“Only in Washington,” the official added, “can someone like [Hagel] be seen as a heavy weight. He’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer.”
Hagel is likely viewed positively by the administration mainly because he is a Republican who often criticizes his own party, the source said.
“He’ll dance to a tune played by the White House,” said the former official. “That I think is the real problem.”
As lawmakers consider a deal to avoid sweeping budgets cuts and tax hikes, Hagel’s support for slashing spending at the Pentagon has irked many defense hawks.
“This is a time when a secretary of defense needs to be raising hell about the sequestration cuts,” said the Rumsfeld aide. “It’s not clear that Hagel has any interest in picking that fight.”
Hagel’s reluctance to chastise Iran also remains a central concern.
As chief of the Pentagon it is expected he would avoid planning for a military intervention should Tehran refuse to end its clandestine nuclear enrichment program.
“The military brass is already reluctant to offer up any military options on Iran even though it’s their job to have something on the books and to leave the options of the commander in chief open,” said the Rumsfeld aide. “Hagel will only reinforce these worrisome tendencies.”
“Chances are he’ll view any legitimate effort to talk about military options with Iran as some plot by the ‘Israel Lobby’ to box him in,” the source said.
Mr Katz, to you, any criticism of Israel is anti semitism. The comment that any military options with Iran is an Israeli plot, is true. It absolutely is an Israeli plot for the US to attack Iran, a country that has not started a war in almost 200 years, just as it was an Israeli plot for the US to attack Iraq.
No more wars for Israel, Mr Katz. Screw Israel, a nation of war mongering parasites. Stop all US support to Israel and boycott their goods. America has donated a minimum of $500.00 to each man, woman and child each year, every year for decades to the Israeli parasites. It is long past time to end the welfare to the ungrateful leaches.
“To learn who rules over you simply find out who you are not
allowed to criticize”
—–Voltaire
Schumer, a Jew, is getting heat from Zionists over Hagel no doubt, so he has to play it cool, on the fence.
Wow, lets worry about fidelity to Israel before the U.S. Chuck Shumer, Ari Fleisher, Abraham Foxman, Congressman Engel, Dan Señor and all of the other AIPAC ass-kissers have one thing in common. They never served in the military As a vet myself, I speak for most vets who think Sen. Hagel will make a fine Sec of Def. I'm not anti-semitic by any stretch of the imagination but just can't understand the Israel litmus test that we place on appointments. For Christ's sake this is America not Israel!
ATTN: chas8051 Your posting is OUT-STANDING.
There is a problem within our political class, isn't there? The problem is that too many of our politicians care more about their re-election than the well-being of the United States people and the United States. In advancing their standing with the pro-Israeli lobby to garner support for re-election, they are willing to kowtow to the that lobby.
Hagel is entitled to his personal opinions but as Sec. of Defense he'll be an instrument of the president, unless, like Rumsfeld and Cheney, he creates his own feifdom.
It's his business if he disapproves of someone who is "aggressively gay" (or aggressively anything else), and his use of the word "Jewish" instead of "Israel" was clumsy. As usual, it didn't take long for the media and the opposition to dig up these old but damaging quotes.
The Republicans can be expected to make a crisis of his nomination, in accordance with their rule that nothing Obama tries to accomplish should succeed. They "got" Susan Rice. They're doing their best to "get" Hillary Clinton over Benghazi. They'll do what they can to "get" Chuck Hagel, even if he walked on water.
Kerry's appointment at State is an exception. Why? Because there's something in it for the GOP. Four years ago, Kerry was a flip flopper and a coward who fudged his action reports in Vietnam and wrote the recommendations for his own decorations -- a fraud, through and through.
Now, McCain, Graham, and Ayotte assure us that Kerry's nomination will "sail through," to use their words. The reason is that Kerry will have to resign from the Senate and this will open the door to another run by Republican Scott Brown in Massachusetts. There's method in their madness.
Although some may think that way, the reality is there isn't anyone on the democrats side as qualified as Kerry at this point.
Same is true if Hagel is appointed as SOD. Who else on the democrat side shows moderation? Almost all Democrats want the DOD slashed.
The fact that someone is well-qualified for a position hasn't stopped the irrational opposition before. The are a number of minor diplomatic appointments still being held up. The point has always been to cause Obama to fail.
Kerry and Hagel both seem competent enough. But not all Democrats want the DOD "slashed", a polarizing word. I imagine though that many of them, and Republicans too, wouldn't mind it if Congress kept voting for bigger budgets than the Pentagon has been asking for.
The problem is that cutting the DOD budget means fewer jobs in almost every state and that, in turn, means that legislators must go back to their constituents and explain why they're not bringing home the bacon. This used to be called "the military/industrial complex."
Chuck Hagel is a precious asset, a public figure who recognized that the Iraq War was a horrible mistake, and who also was courageous enough to repudiate the shoot-first-ask-questions-later mindset that led to that misbegotten outrage in the first place. Moreover, at a time when the neo-con and AIPAC yahoos who never saw an Arab or a Muslim they didn't want to kill were screaming for blood in Iran, Hagel was a shining and exceptional voice of reason. His appointment to the job of Secretary of Defense would be a breath of fresh air. I am a New York State resident, and the fact that Schumer is not ready to support Hagel (whose record he knows VERY well, since he served for years with him in the Senate) I find very troubling. You can be sure I will be calling his office to affirm my position on this as his constituent, and I urge all other New Yorkers who feel as I do to do likewise, please; this is an important opportunity to avail ourselves of a wise and independent voice. Hagel is one of those people whose wise counsel we ignored, to our cost, for years. Let's not make that mistake again!
Charles-348701..."Chuck Hagel is a precious asset..." That is so gay (not that there's anything wrong with that), but C'mon...I know you're both Charles, but I mean...you should check in with Chuckie before you put that out there. I personally believe openly gay people should serve in government, but I'm not sure Chuck Hagel wanted to be outed just yet.
Gay marriage shouldn't be an issue, neither should being gay, lesbian, transgender or a Jet's fan. In fact, the only thing wrong in that last sentence was being a Jet's fan (I'm not saying I'm a Jet's fan myself, I "experimented" a little back in college, you know what I mean, but we were pretty drunk and I only watched that one game, and never again).
But back to Chuck Hagel... outing him like that was just wrong man, just wrong.
Have you been hitting the egg nog too hard? How does my statement, "Chuck Hagel is a precious asset," state, or even imply, that Hagel is gay? Are you feeling unwell?
Why yes Charles I am unwell, but I suspect you're really overly concerned about my health. But C'mon man.."Chuck Hagel is a precious asset.." you can type that and not expect to get some flak...think about it...who uses "precious" to describe anything other than small children and animals (Okay, forget Gollum, that's just a fictional story)? Seriously, who uses "precious" to describe an adult male...except where someone is attempting to imply a relationship. Then to top it off..."precious asset". I mean seriously dude...don't you see the very Freudian slip...asset...say it slowly...ass..et; "precious asset" now itsounds a lot funnier doesn't it? C'mon even you have to see it by now.
Don't sweat it Charles...making a pun is a time honored tradition in the English laguage (think "Punch and Judy"), Shakespeare had them all of his plays. The Romans, Greeks, even Persians made puns. So, we're (I think of us, you and me, as a team) just paying homage to a long tradition.
Charles is absolutely correct. Hagel was one senator (and republican at that) who was strong enough to speak up against Bush and company against the Iraq war, and all the negative effects Hagel said would occur from the Iraq war did.
If he were to say negative things of blacks or Jews, he would be dead in the water. Put this bigot on the unemployment list.
Schumer gets his orders from the pro-Israel lobby. The best he can do without incurring their wrath is a neutral position.
Here is an article from the Jerusalem Post on Kerry and Hagel. I think Congress and AIPAC would really like to have Netanyahu as our Defense Secretary or perhaps Paul Wolfowitz.
http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?ID=296204&R=R1
as a tea party conservative and a fellow viet nam veteran (as well as an ex-swifty), i can support both hagel for defence and kerry for state. let's stop wasting our military strength on non-strategic nation building failures. as a bonus, a little more balance in our attitude toward israel wouldn't hurt either.
Reading the headline. All one can say is "WOW, what a SURPRISE! My only Christmas wish, is to let everyone learn how to take care of their family
and when they see someone in need, HELP! Other than that - don't expect much out of gov't
Funny, hard for a demonrat to fight for a REpubican that believes the same identical things you do, but is in trouble! hypocrits.
It is truly sad that our Secretary of Defense must also be an apologist for Israel. Hagel's views on Israel should have no bearing on his qualifications for the job. Hagel has been for America, first last and always, which is why he opposed the Iraq ware for Israel. That alone, should be reason enough to give him the position.
The Zionists want pro Israel sympathizers in any sensitive positions in our government, especially those involving defense and foreign policies. Take a look at the number of Jews Bush had in his administration on this list. The ones in the Pentagon were instrumental in our march to war with Iraq, a war that will cost the American people in excess of 3.5 trillion dollars.
Take America back from those that would have us fighting more wars.
American
/ Israeli Dual Citizens in the American Government
Attorney
General - Michael Mukasey
Head
of Homeland Security - Michael Chertoff
Chairman
Pentagon’s Defense Policy Board - Richard Perle
Deputy
Defense Secretary (Former) - Paul Wolfowitz
Under
Secretary of Defense - Douglas Feith
National
Security Council Advisor - Elliott Abrams
Vice
President Dick Cheney’s Chief of Staff (Former) - “Scooter” Libby
White
House Deputy Chief of Staff - Joshua Bolten
Under
Secretary of State for Political Affairs - Marc Grossman
Director
of Policy Planning at the State Department - Richard Haass
U.S.
Trade
Representative (Cabinet-level Position) - Robert Zoellick
Pentagon’s
Defense Policy Board - James Schlesinger
UN
Representative (Former) - John Bolton
Under
Secretary for Arms Control - David Wurmser
Pentagon’s
Defense Policy Board - Eliot Cohen
Senior
Advisor to the President - Steve Goldsmith
Principal
Deputy Assistant Secretary - Christopher Gersten
Assistant
Secretary of State - Lincoln Bloomfield
Deputy
Assistant to the President - Jay Lefkowitz
White
House Political Director - Ken Melman
National
Security Study Group - Edward Luttwak
Pentagon’s
Defense Policy Board - Kenneth Adelman
Defense
Intelligence Agency Analyst (Former) - Lawrence (Larry) Franklin
National
Security Council Advisor - Robert Satloff
President
Export-Import Bank U.S.
-
Mel Semble
Deputy
Assistant Secretary, Administration for Children and Families -
Christopher Gersten
Assistant
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for Public Affairs
-
Mark Weinberger
White
House Speechwriter - David Frum
White
House Spokesman (Former) - Ari Fleischer
Pentagon’s
Defense Policy Board - Henry Kissinger
Deputy
Secretary of Commerce - Samuel Bodman
Under
Secretary of State for Management - Bonnie Cohen
Director
of Foreign Service Institute - Ruth Davis
John Bolton is not Jewish, though his head is screwed on straight concerning Islamist ambitions towards Israel, Europe and America--none of them good.
Bolton happens to have his gaze fixed at the wrong end of the telescope, ignoring the real enemy for the fabricated one.
Since a Jew anywhere is a citizen of Israel, you could have expanded the list greatly. How about Schumer, Leiberman, nearly every person in Hollywood and the rest of American Media, and every other Jew in America? Frankly, it is not a good thing for America to have so many people with dubious loyalties in positions of power and influence.
Pretty good list, even though we can't get into some of your @!$%#ing Jesus freaks' country clubs, eh?
In addition to which, Henry Kissinger admitted he was not a practicing Jew, and gave up his right to be a Jew when he got down on his knees with Richard Nixxon during The Crook's last few days in office.
Furthermore, according to the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, Joe Lieberman has long been excommunicated.
I know of no one on the list but I would hope that you would not be merely opposing them because of their jewish names,which would be a dangerous precedent to follow.
Does one every think "who cares!, here are my taxes - go away and leave me alone."
Don't know Hagel but, he must be a pretty good guy if Schumer doesn't like him.
With Chuck Hagel in at Sec at Defense there will be no war on Iran - with no war on Iran - Israeli Apartheid is LOST
Just witness the Neocon desperation over the Hagel appointment - it speaks volumes and is the same desperation exhibited by Netanyahu last fall as he was being thwarted from pushing the US into Iran -
And see what happened after Netanyahu was stopped.....
Miracle of all Miracles - a Palestinian state was born
Why? - precisely BECAUSE Israel could not stop it by having had pulled off a major regional war engulfing the US - does everybody see that?
The progress at the UN with creation of the Palestinian 'good enough for the ICC state' - the tremendous pressure now being exerted on Israel currently with Fortress Apartheid beginning to collapse - all of this is BECAUSE we prevented Israel from pushing us into a war with Iran. Does everybody really see that?
The Israeli/Netanyahu plan on Iran GONE AWRY is what is making all the changes possible - and here he have the Neocons with their last ditch efforts to get the plan back on track.
They literally have nothing to lose - if they fail with stopping this nomination they won't get Iran, and if they don't get Iran they will LOSE Apartheid
The Hagel appointment means 'no war on Iran' and 'no war on Iran' means the END of Israeli Apartheid - this is the secret - this is why the Neocons are on rampage
Let's be serious. Schumer is keeping his head down Chuck Hagel, a genuine war hero, understands the great costs and nonexistant benefits to the USA of jewish rule in Palestine. Schumer believes jews are entitled to Palestine. Schumer wants zionism to remain the tail that wags the U.S. dog.
What is it with Dem Presidents selecting Republicans for SecDef?
Pure show. Hyper-partisan King Hussein would not do anything that he didn't think would gain him something. He must expect this to gain him some favor somewhere. He sure as heck isn't doing it for some sort of conviction. King Hussein has no conviction other than his deep-felt desire to ruin America as we know it.
That's why the GOP would have hard time convincing normal and reasonable Americans to vote for them. Your just split B.S all the times. Don't you guys learn from your mistakes? I'm a conservative but trust me that's not the way we'll win national election in the future. Calling people names, we are not in high school or maybe you are.
Woodbutcher,
Sometimes, as in this case, they are truly putting America first and looking for the best candidate.
This is nonsence - pure show. If King Hussein said the sky is made of poop, his lapdog Schumer would say, "Absolutely Boss. An sher do taste good, Boss." Schumer has no mind of his own, only what his Master tells him.
Uh catlover - Schumer's boss is not President Obama, it is Netanyahu, AIPAC and the ADL. The same goes for just about every other man and woman in our Congress, who is of Jewish extraction, whether they are practicing Jews or not. They serve Israel first and America last.
Lyndon Johnson was Jewish on his maternal grandparents side, was not a practicing Jew, but was an ardent Zionist, who put the interests of Israel above those of the US. He hid his Jewish roots. Here are 2 links, which show some of his contributiuons to Israel at American expense.
http://lennybendavid.com/2008/05/lyndon-johnsons-historical-connection.html
http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/36262/friend-ally-savior-revealing-lbj-s-jewish-ties/
Ralph, I'll accept your point, but the fact is if Schumer doesn't play the lackey, he'll have a harder time of it; he has to play the game. The thing I don't understand is why the Jews tend overwhelmingly liberal. The libs don't give a rat's arse about Israel. Is it that they think they'll be able to come in after the Fall Of America and take control? They're already in control so that doesn't make sense. Is it that they just want to see any great nation fail, so they feel like less of a failure themselves? I don't understand. I do understand, though, why there have been numerous pograms, or attempts to remove Jews from the population, throughout history. That is a truth that is "self-evident."
It is real simple. Until the right wing Jewish lobby weighs in, no decision can be made. It is not up to President Obama to get the people he wants for Secretary of State. It is up to the Jewish lobby to get a person that is acceptable to them.
In the Middle East, Hamas is a reality, and every day the actions of Israel strengthen their support. That cannot be ignored. They may not be pleasant, but they are in power.
Chuck Hagel is an idiot, plain and simple. He's dumber than the dirt in Nebraska. I happen to like most of the people I've ever met from Nebraska, and being stupid alone shouldn't disqualify a person serving in the government (we'd have to close Congress), but we need to have some kind of stupid standard. Like the Metric in Paris, we could put Chuck Hagel in the Smithsonian to serve as a standard against which we could judge all other stupids. Now, there's a good use for Chuck Hagel.
Our politicians should tell Israel to go pound sand. I think it is time to be a little less supportive of Israel.
Schumer is a wothless, hypocritical piece of SH!T that should be strung up.
Did you catch his comment on MTP today about how something as "important" as the fiscal cliff solution shouldn't be "...railroaded through congress on partisan lines..."???
BUT IT WAS OK TO DO IT WITH OBAMACARE, EH CHUCK???
Must not have been as important as the Fiscal Cliff I guess.
What a TOOL!
Bibi said he approves of John Kerry. That means the senate hearing will be a formality and a waste of everyones time and tax $$$. Chuck Hagel said his only loyalty was to the US not Israel. He does not pass the Israel test and for that reason he will not be secretary of state. It does not matter that he is a decorated war vet. There should be no daylight between the US and Israel according to the senate.
Schumer is a Jew - he does the Israeli lobby bidding first - America second - same with the outgoing Senator from CT. I don't know about you, but I am tired of Americans getting killed for a mistake the Brits made almost 100 years ago!