Webloggin » Senator Hagel Puts The 'R' In "Foot In Mouth"

Whenever I read of “Republicans opposed to President Bush insert_pet_liberal_agenda_item_here” in the mainstream media I can usually count on a few names appearing within that same paragraph. More often than not we are graced with a golden quote from Arlen Specter, Olympia Snowe, former Congressman Lincoln Chafee, John McCain, Lindsey Graham or as in today’s case, Chuck Hagel.

Thanks to Mr. Hagel we can once again lift liberal spirits with the hope that somebody, anybody, will lead the charge to impeach President Bush for the War in Iraq. (h/t Captain’s Quarter’s)

WASHINGTON — Some lawmakers who complain that President Bush is flouting Congress and the public with his Iraq policies are considering impeachment an option, a Republican senator said Sunday.

Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee and a frequent critic of the war, stopped short of calling for Bush’s impeachment.

But he made clear that some lawmakers viewed that as an option should Bush choose to push ahead despite public sentiment against the war.

“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 … ways to deal with that,” Hagel said on ABC’s “This Week.”

The White House had no immediate reaction to Hagel’s comments.

Hagel, who is considering a presidential run, said he was bothered by Bush’s apparent disregard of congressional sentiment on Iraq, such as his decision to send additional troops.

The senator said that lawmakers now were ready to stand up to the president when necessary.

In the April edition of Esquire magazine, Hagel described Bush as someone who didn’t believe he was accountable to anyone.

“You can impeach him, and before this is over, you might see calls for his impeachment,” Hagel told the magazine.

Note to Senator Hagel about that possible Presidential run, are you high?. You are exactly the kind of Republican that this conservative loathes and I am willing to bet that I am not alone. Republicans are looking for people in Congress who are going to lead by looking for ways to win the War in Iraq. That sir includes standing up to the anti-war left who are looking for ways to lose this war at all costs as a political “I told you so” strategy on the road to the White House in 2008.

By feeding the leftist frenzy Mr. Hagel has shown that he has little understanding of conservatives by confusing conservative opposition to the prosecution of the War in Iraq with opposition to the war in Iraq; two entirely different things. Either that or Mr. Hagel has made a strategic move to the left in the hope of gaining momentum from moderates that he perceives have simply given up on the war. Either way I think it is a political blunder built out of arrogance.

Republican politicians got their asses handed to them in 2007 by ignoring the wants and needs of conservatives who adhere to the principles of what it means to be a conservative. So when Senator Hagel says that President Bush does not care or respond to what the people of this country want he is ignoring his own advice by not caring or responding to what conservatives of this country want.

The only reason I see a need for the ‘R’ alongside Senator Hagel’s name is for help in regaining the Republican majority in 2008. Otherwise conservatives can do without a Senator who harms that chance every time he gets in front of a camera. Hagel for President? I highly doubt it.

Others: 7.62MM Justice, The Strata-Sphere, Pirates Cove