Former Sen. Chuck Hagel: GOP is being ‘irresponsible’ in the health care debate.
Former Sen. Chuck Hagel: GOP is being ‘irresponsible’ in the health care debate.
The Hill reports today that Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) criticized the Republican Party’s approach to the health care debate during a speech at the University of Michigan earlier this month. Hagel chided his former Republican colleagues for using the health care debate to “destroy the other party” rather than engage in thoughtful conversation; he also said that such an approach is “irresponsible“:
“If your attitude is wrong, if your intention is to use healthcare to destroy the other party, or to destroy the presidency of Barack Obama, then it’s very unlikely you’re going to find much consensus from people who want to use healthcare,” Hagel said earlier this month in a speech at the University of Michigan, video of which was only made available recently.
“As some Republican senators have said publicly — that if we kill Obama on this, and we destroy this, and we defeat his, that will drive a stake through his political heart on this administration,” the former senator, who retired at the end of his term in January, added. “I just find that about as irresponsible of a thing as I can think of.”
Watch Hagel’s full remarks here:
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Well its not as if we thought this group of Republicans had any decency anyway
October 23rd, 2009 at 2:40 pmCongratulations to Chuck Hagel for this. Republicans have lost their reason and succumbed to the weird distortions of Fox news, I guess.
October 23rd, 2009 at 2:41 pmUh oh…looks like he’ll be the next one on the Lunatic Fringe’s hit list.
October 23rd, 2009 at 2:42 pmExpect another statement from Michele Bachmann before the end of the day to say Hagel is non-pro-American, or some such garbage.
October 23rd, 2009 at 2:42 pmAnother Republican about to get kicked out of the party.
October 23rd, 2009 at 2:43 pmAargh. Couldn’t get past the unbearably long introduction.
October 23rd, 2009 at 2:46 pmthey better wear a cup if they go after hagel. he don’t play.
October 23rd, 2009 at 2:49 pmToo bad the only Republicans to say these sorts of things are ‘former’ Senators (Hagel, Dole, Frist) and the like.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad they’ve all left the Senate, but it sure seems that current Senators or Representatives can’t/wouldn’t hold this view.
October 23rd, 2009 at 2:50 pmI think I’m gettin’ a BIG bucket o’ popcorn if they go after him…
October 23rd, 2009 at 2:50 pmGerald Ford school of Public Policy? Ironic isn’t it. Reasonable Republicans? They will probably kick them out.
October 23rd, 2009 at 2:51 pmI disagree with his politics, but Hagel is a class act. He had the tenacity to stand up to Bush when the rest of his party was falling in lock-step. He’s not an ideologue and he will never back down from what he believes is in the best interest of the country. Plus, the man is a bona-fide war hero (so, yes, by all means…Glenn, Rush, Hannity…feel free to smear the man and call him a “traitor” or “un-American”)
October 23rd, 2009 at 2:52 pmHagel’s comments are lost on the Republicans because they stand for nothing and they don’t care if they do. It is a little late in the health care debate for the Republicans to engage in any bipartisan discussion. They have publicly stated their objective and there is no reason for the Dems to trust the Republicans. The idea that Republicans should be looking for a way to bring down the Obama administration is part of the reason why Republicans are at a low approval rating. The only way for the party to change is for the radicals to put up their candidates and lose seats. Then the people who are left after this election disaster can figure out how to rebuild the party.
October 23rd, 2009 at 2:52 pmWell Chuck, welcome to Repugville.
October 23rd, 2009 at 2:55 pmFunny how the only sane Republicans left are all out of office…
http://www.sunstateactivist.org/ssablog/
October 23rd, 2009 at 3:00 pmI’m old enough to remember when Repubs were actually somewhat reasonable people. Now, if any of them want to avoid being dumped into the black hole that is the Republican Party, they should just declare that they are Independents (as some already have.) Go back later when the anti-Americans pass away.
October 23rd, 2009 at 3:02 pm.
Q U E S T I O N:
Why do members of Congress feel that Americans DO NOT deserve affordable health care options?
.
October 23rd, 2009 at 3:06 pm.
Q U E S T I O N:
What kind of Restaurant would let the line cook determine the price of the menu?
.
October 23rd, 2009 at 3:07 pmSince when has any Republican done anything for the American People in the last 40 years?
Nothing, nada, zip, zero…they are for their party no matter who it harms.
Traitors, criminals, and perverts all.
October 23rd, 2009 at 3:09 pmWhen repugs were reasonable they were a minority party with no power. They gained power by appealing to the stupid part of our country (Reagan) and also became liars. This country was hijacked by these clowns.
October 23rd, 2009 at 3:09 pm.
So, in order to drive that proverbial ’stake through the heart’ of the Obama Administration…
… The G(no)P is content in ensuring Americans suffer for it?
Q U E S T I O N:
HOW IS THAT FOR THE WELFARE OF THE NATION?
.
October 23rd, 2009 at 3:10 pm*sigh* This would have been MUCH more helpful in August.
Nice try, Chuck – but really, too little, too late. The damage has been done.
October 23rd, 2009 at 3:12 pm“just” in the health care debate? LOL!
October 23rd, 2009 at 3:14 pmHagel is being terribly kind to the repiggies.
It’s just not his repiggie party any more.
It is a “party” run by idiots, lunatics and paranoids.
The repiggie trolls on this blog are all idiots, lunatics and paranoids, poorly educated and fear-ridden.
October 23rd, 2009 at 3:15 pmTotally agree, ED. Hagel is by no means a progressive, but he IS a throwback to the days of real principled Republicans, the kind who had the best interests of the nation at heart and who acted like grownups.
The fact that he stands out so starkly is a testament to how far afield from truly conservative principles the G-No-P has drifted.
October 23rd, 2009 at 3:18 pm.
Every month an average of 3700 die due to lack of ability to afford health care.
3700 DIE EACH MONTH
JUST AS MANY ON 9/11
E A C H – M O N T H
And Congress is content with that?
Since 9/11, America has experienced 97 such events and members of Congress are content with that? Barely a word.
… Because doing something means their buddy Joe CEO will have to take a pay cut so as to ensure someone lives.
Al-CIA-Duh could do no better!
CONgratulations!
.
October 23rd, 2009 at 3:18 pmhe could have ended that statement after “irresponsible” and succinctly summed up the repukelican party for the [ast 9 years
October 23rd, 2009 at 3:22 pmRab says:
When repugs were reasonable they were a minority party with no power. They gained power by appealing to the stupid part of our country (Reagan) and also became liars. This country was hijacked by these clowns.
The first statement is not quite correct. When the Republicans were in the minority before 1994, the Dems in Congress extended a lot of deference to the Republicans when drafting legislation. In fact, the Dems gave important committee chairmanships and power to some of the Republicans who had been around for a long time.
After Gingrich took over, he did away with the collegiality between the parties and stripped the Dems of any power. The animosity between the parties came to the forefront when Gingrich failed to respect some of the Dems who had been around for a long time. In my opinion, that is when slash and burn politics started and has become worse over the years. This sort of politics has grown exponentially since the Republicans started losing control of the Congress and now Obama’s election.
October 23rd, 2009 at 3:23 pmHagel is, of course, correct. And now that he no longer has to suck up to both the RNC and special interests for campaign money, he can say this. I would love to see a current Republican lawmaker have the guts to speak the truth.
It’s obvious that the ONLY objective the Republicans have is to destroy the Democratic party and destroy the Obama presidency by any means possible. It doesn’t matter to them that they hurt the American people and destroy the country in the process.
There are a number of late Republicans who are no doubt doing wild gyrations in their graves over what the GOP has become. Dwight Eisenhower, Barry Goldwater, Nelson Rockefeller, Gerald Ford, and probably even Richard Nixon — to name just a handful.
October 23rd, 2009 at 3:25 pmIt doesn’t happen much, but every now and then, a repub speaks up and says something that makes sense. If history proves right, he will be hunted down and dealt with.
October 23rd, 2009 at 3:25 pmThe wingnuts in the current GOP are not going to listen to any of these former Senators. The group that is still standing as allowed the wingnuts with high school educations and loud microphones spew the hate of the party platform. They have allowed the party to be taken over by the far rightwingnut fringe.
October 23rd, 2009 at 3:31 pmChuck Hagel is about the ONLY Repub I have ANY measure of respect for. I don’t always agree with his view, but unlike his Repiggie colleagues, he not only can talk the talk, but he can walk the walk.
October 23rd, 2009 at 3:34 pmA Vietnam combat veteran, not a xowardly chickenhawk like the vast majority of his party members.
xowardly = cowardly.
October 23rd, 2009 at 3:34 pmsorry about that
Chuck, you Republicans created this monster. I think your comments are too little, way too late. Now you have to live with it, and so does the rest of the country. Thanks for nothing!
The old guard is trying to rescue the party. I wish them luck. They will need all they can get.
October 23rd, 2009 at 3:35 pmkansica says:
a high school education? Really?
October 23rd, 2009 at 3:36 pmI thought nearly all Repiggies never got past the third grade if that.
The death throes of the republican party is a horrible thing to watch. Popcorn anyone?
October 23rd, 2009 at 3:40 pmI don’t think “irresponsible” denotes the palpable malevolence of the Republicans’ conduct. People are dying.
October 23rd, 2009 at 3:40 pmRocket sez;
I’ll take my popcorn with extra butter and a dash of salt if you please. thank you very much.
October 23rd, 2009 at 3:43 pmWell. Chucky is going to be banished from the party of Lush and Becky. No straying from the message is allowed.
October 23rd, 2009 at 3:51 pmIf I lived in Georgia I would have voted for Senator Hagel.
October 23rd, 2009 at 3:52 pmRoket says:
The death throes of the republican party is a horrible thing to watch. Popcorn anyone?
Since we haven’t witnessed the death of an American political party, it’s difficult to be certain that’s what we are seeing now. But, it sure is difficult to see how the GOP can recover from their mad plunge to the Reichwing in an effort to discredit the duly elected government of our nation.
Plus, the venom that greets any slightest bit of moderation within the party does make great theater. I have a feeling that the next round of Republican primaries will totally eclipse anything we’ve seen in pure vileness. Their hate of the “left” is old and stale but, the hate they are turning on their own who try to stop the slide is fresh and vital.
Pass the popcorn, indeed. And make sure your doors are locked and, if one is so inclined, your weapons of self defense are close to hand. All kidding aside, this level of hatred can turn into civil violence in a heartbeat.
October 23rd, 2009 at 3:59 pmI think Sarah Palin’s endorsement of a third party candidate instead of the Republican is going to complete the split of the Republican party between the radicals and the moderates. Even if the party does not formally split, there is just no way for the moderates and radicals to bridge the gap. Palin has exacerbated the divisions within the party. I don’t see the current party surviving on a national level, but possibly on the state level.
October 23rd, 2009 at 4:19 pmThat’s what makes them so unpredictable, pags2. There really aren’t any moderate Republicans left in office but there are still a few simple folks who simply can’t accept the truth about their beloved party. Take that condescending little wuss, David Brooks, for example.
When he appears on Newshour and tries to play the moderate voice one can see by his pained expression the contempt he holds for the fringes. But there’s something deep in his makeup that prevents him from admitting the obvious, that the GOP as a party has become a fringe movement, and simply changing affiliations.
Frankly I’m surprised that no one, aside from Spector, has made the obvious choice that identification as a GOoPer is approaching political suicide. But I’m afraid that the closest they have are people like McCain and Snowe who will make occasional noises about supporting “moderate” or “bipartisan” efforts and then quietly vote the party line. Frankly, I don’t see anyone smart or honest enough to actually change the course of the party.
October 23rd, 2009 at 4:37 pmThere are moderates on state level in many states. They are going to be the people who will pick up the pieces after the radicals have wrecked the party and bring the party to near extinction. Until the radicals face an electorate with their ridiculous platform and lose, the moderates will stay with state organizations. Lindsey Graham is trying to stay somewhat moderate but it is becoming difficult. When the Republican party is reduced to governing mostly states in the South and a few out west, then the moderates may have a chance to redeem the leadership positions.
October 23rd, 2009 at 6:09 pmDole, Frist, Buchannan, and now Hagel. How funny is it that the former batsh*t crazies of the republican party are the sane ones now. Who’s next to call the new breed of batsh*t crazies out for what they are?
Anyone care to make a prediction?
October 23rd, 2009 at 6:18 pmI’m not so sure that there are even many moderate Republicans left at the state level and those who make the news tend to be facing strong challenges from inside the party. And nationally they are even worse.
Strange things happen but I find it hard to see the Grahams and Hagels, or even McCains, reclaiming the party. As others have brought up, the Palin nomination was a watershed. A LOT of Republicans realized that their party was doomed by the third wink.
At this point I think it’s just as likely to see a new moderate party achieve viability before the GOP becomes that. Such a party would most likely contain as many disaffected Democrats as Republicans and would be far more libertarian on social issues than the GOP can even pretend to.
October 23rd, 2009 at 6:29 pmRepublicans like Hagel need to re-claim the Republican party or leave it to the wing-nuts and form thier own Party.
This guy is a good man.
What Hagel and his ilk should never do is to condone the wing-nuts.
They need to drive out the wing-nuts or form a new party.
October 23rd, 2009 at 7:02 pmpete says:
I’m not so sure that there are even many moderate Republicans left at the state level……
Graham, McCain, and the other moderates will not have much influence. Local leaders are going to work to keep their state organization viable. From those ranks will be the new moderates that will either take control of the party or form their own. But there will have to be a few more election losses for the impetus to do either.
October 23rd, 2009 at 7:12 pmRE: har5125 @ 39:
Ummmmmm…….Hagel is from _Nebraska_.
October 24th, 2009 at 12:31 amThe ‘No Child Left Behind’ party should immediately begin to campaign for the appreciation and understanding of new health insurance legislation! The Administration has predicted a ‘lag’ time of some years, during allocations of new health insurance products. A few answers we would need are: what will life will be like, without transcendent defecits? What will a work-day become like, with universal work-place health insurance? How will families cope with lower overall health care costs, and rules which must provide coverage for all pre-existing conditions?
October 24th, 2009 at 9:43 pmA good comparison would be the republican party and the titanic estetik, unregulated capitalism (trust me capitalism) would be the iceberg estetik burun ameliyati. Any republican with any independence from the strangle hold of corporate dominance in US policy decisions would be stupid to go gögüs büyütme so against the grain with the will of the people, he’s not jumping ship but he’s sure got his life preserver on estetik gögüs ameliyatlari. Trust me capitalism (just like trust me governing) turned out horribly gögüs küçültme. Because they DID trust you and you took advantage of that trust, you got one tough row to hoe vajina daraltma. One day republicsns are gonna get tired of beating a dead horse and come up with solutions to problems, not trying to keep staus quo lazer epilasyon fiyatlari. Some of the most right-wing slanted and completely biased places to go for anything information of any sort karin germe ameliyatlari. Think Progress and the Heritage Foundation are on the same page for me plastik cerrahi. Biased foundations, biased websites, biased definitions, biased people, biased format, biased viewpoints, etc karin estetigi. Grow up. All of you live in a dreamworld on the right because you never cross platforms saç nakli. You just squat at Heritage and believe everything they say instead of contrast and compare gögüs büyütme; like everyone intelligent is doing gögüs diklestirme. Then you get upset when anyone doesn’t repeat the Heritage Foundation BS on the matter, because you hate the truth gögüs küçültme. Well, the Left got global warming wrong, the Kyoto actually encourages us to cut down forests and burn the wood for fuel vajina daraltma ameliyati. Dogs are more harmful to the environment than an SUV. I’m just saying that asking for some credibility isn’t that much to ask at this point gögüs estetigi.
October 30th, 2009 at 9:38 am