Video: Hagel says the Republican Party needs to change
posted at 7:19 pm on January 21, 2007 by Allahpundit
We need to become who we used to be. The party of right-wing conservatives like Ronald Reagan. Or the party of centrist conservatives like Nelson Rockefeller. It’s not entirely clear.
Presumably, whichever positions Chuck Hagel holds, we need to “get back” to those positions. Which I guess means we need to become an anti-war party.
N.B.: I had to edit out the beginning of his answer for the sake of brevity.
Blowback
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If he’s not going to adhere to the philosophy of Reagan, then by all means Hagel leave the party. That goes for McCain, Collins, Specter, Snowe, Smith, and any other RINO’s. Chaffee is gone, so the rest of you don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out…….
ritethinker on January 21, 2007 at 7:25 PM
The party he voted for in 1968 went on to massively expand the welfare and managerial state, and was willing to “escalate” a war if judged necessary to win.
So he’s also saying we should get back to expanding government and sticking to our guns in a war.
Alex K on January 21, 2007 at 7:26 PM
Maybe the RINOs oughta just join the dino’s and be done with it already.
Tony737 on January 21, 2007 at 7:30 PM
This guy and his ego really scare me. Which side is he on?
d1carter on January 21, 2007 at 7:35 PM
Hackel! Now that’s brevity.
Buck Turgidson on January 21, 2007 at 7:36 PM
I smell donkey.
Limerick on January 21, 2007 at 7:37 PM
Last summer in an interview, Cindy Sheehan was asked to list some of the people in D.C. that she admired. Hagel made the list. He must feel great knowing that he’s on an even larger list with Soros, Ahmawackjob, Chavez, Morales, Castro….
TugboatPhil on January 21, 2007 at 8:03 PM
I just can’t take him too seriously..the man looks live a raging alcoholic! He and Clark have those same drunk eyes…
Pam on January 21, 2007 at 8:03 PM
He’s been in the Senate for 10 years and he wants to make this about the Republican Party? I’ve got my issues with the RNC but whats going on in congress isn’t about the people who vote with the Republican Party, it’s about the Senators and Representatives in Congress now, it’s about asshole politicians like himself.
lowandslow on January 21, 2007 at 8:10 PM
That says it all.
Zorro on January 21, 2007 at 8:13 PM
Hagel is a preening schmoo.
MCPO Airdale on January 21, 2007 at 8:21 PM
And pro-illegal-immigration also.
tommy1 on January 21, 2007 at 8:25 PM
Ya think?
Wade on January 21, 2007 at 8:28 PM
Presumably, Hagel’s idea of getting back to the old days is sending the Republican Party back to being a permanent minority after allowing tens of millions of Hispanic immigrants into our country.
Hispanics have a 50% illegitimacy rate, over three times the white incarceration rate for serious crimes, high rates of government dependency, and low rates of educational achievement. They come from countries where individualism has never been a popular philosophy – even among Latin America’s “conservatives.” Try making “values voters” from that kind of demographic soup.
tommy1 on January 21, 2007 at 8:31 PM
The Republican Party needs to throw this incompetent jerk out on his butt and let him join his leftist Democrat buddies.
rplat on January 21, 2007 at 8:35 PM
I know, cuz winning most of the presidential elections since the 70′s isn’t good enough. Right? 1 crappy midterm and its the “name” that needs a change. Getting rid of RINO’s is what needs to happen.
lorien1973 on January 21, 2007 at 8:35 PM
Hagel says the Republican Party needs to change
Step one: purge those in its ranks that Democrats feel behoves them to invite onto their propaganda broadcasts and promote their views.
Perchant on January 21, 2007 at 8:36 PM
He’s not as scary or screwy as the biggest RINO, Ahnold.
kevcad on January 21, 2007 at 8:37 PM
Maybe he’s saying we need to get back to the myopic isolationism of Wendell Willkie…
armylawyer on January 21, 2007 at 8:43 PM
Like the party in the minority for over 40 years, and then when they achieved the majority, cow-towed to the Dems in fear of not being invited to the next Washington Elite/Media cocktail party.
RINO, RINO, RINO…… maybe there should be a Conservative Party, and leave these dinasours behind…….
PinkyBigglesworth on January 21, 2007 at 8:44 PM
He’s right, but for all the wrong reasons.
SouthernGent on January 21, 2007 at 8:49 PM
What a great guy. Hagel is nice enough to write his website in spanish for those American’ish’ people who want to vote for him, but can’t speak our language.
I thought Snowe and McCain were our bad apples. Live and learn, I guess.
Kevin M on January 21, 2007 at 8:56 PM
I’d defintely go for oldschool politics. Republicans were isolationist, libertarians. Democrats were what we believe the Republican party to be, I’d go for that.
Theworldisnotenough on January 21, 2007 at 9:02 PM
Asshat.
Viper1 on January 21, 2007 at 9:08 PM
Sure its clear. They moved to the center during the last two years and got their clocks cleaned. When they ran as true conservatives, they took over. The remaining republicans need to keep their campaign promises that got them elected and they will be OK.
jman on January 21, 2007 at 9:26 PM
I badly misspoke when I accused Willkie of isolationism. Rather Willkie was attempting to combat the isolationism that was prevalent within the Republican party at the time. My error.
armylawyer on January 21, 2007 at 9:48 PM
If we’re going to be a minority party, we might as well be one with a consistent philosophy. Let the lefty rinosaurs cross the DMZ. Good riddance.
spmat on January 21, 2007 at 10:13 PM
I agree. The GOP does need to change. They need to quit showing the world how much they hate the American way. My god! The Republicans did better when they, at least, pretended to believe in truth, justice, and the American way.
shackler on January 21, 2007 at 10:56 PM
I believe we have a winner.
Jaibones on January 21, 2007 at 10:56 PM
Do you mean Schwarzenkennedy?
Some people don’t need to be taken seriously, or listened to: Howard Dean, Mr. Hagel, shackler, etc.
Entelechy on January 21, 2007 at 11:47 PM
Please call Senator Hagel’s office and tell him what you think or write a letter.
Washington, D.C. Office
248 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Tel: (202) 224-4224
Fax: (202) 224-5213
Omaha Office
9900 Nicholas St.
Suite 325
Omaha, NE 68114
Tel: (402) 758-8981
Fax: (402) 758-9165
Here is a contact form for Hagel:
http://hagel.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Home
angryamerican on January 22, 2007 at 1:49 AM
The Republicans need to kick this traitor-ass out of the party.
georgej on January 22, 2007 at 4:29 AM
PinkyBig,
You are correct. There needs to be a conservative party, it is RINOS like this little lord Fauntleroy that cost the Repubs both houses of congress. The Senate is full of RINOS, conservative Senators are the exception.
mountainmanbob on January 22, 2007 at 7:04 AM
Why can’t we learn from the past? The congress who cut funding for the war in Vietnam NEVER paid a political price for the slaughter that resulted in Cambodia.
WHY isn’t Bush making that comparison for Iraq? He needs to grow a pair and tell these cowardly traitors that if they do take foriegn policy out of his hands THEY will be responsible for the result.
The congress does not know how to lead and only take positions to position themselves for re-election.
csdeven on January 22, 2007 at 7:12 AM
It is unfortunate that politics is causing so many lives to be lost. I believe well over half of the deaths in Iraq came from it. These are the same people that are patting themselves on the back because they care.
The problem is too many people THINK they care.
tomas on January 22, 2007 at 8:19 AM
Bing.
Jaibones on January 22, 2007 at 9:04 AM
Thanks for the post, I fell asleep listening to this boring idiot trying to make a point.
right2bright on January 22, 2007 at 9:11 AM
I hate that man Hagel.
Hilts on January 22, 2007 at 9:11 AM
The Party has already changed. That is why we lost.
Valiant on January 22, 2007 at 9:12 AM
Hagel, along with Specter, Snowe, Chafee alomg with a few others are the reason that the Republican Party needs to change…we need to kick their collective asses to the curb and come up with people that REPRESENT US in stead of themselves. Reminds you of “Damn Yankees”, seeems they all sell their souls once they get to Washington.
The Answer……….TERM LIMITS !
DoctorDentons on January 22, 2007 at 9:25 AM
You guys have a great strategy for winning in ’08 and growing the Republican party.
Please, get rid of all the moderate, traditional conservatives and replace them with crazy neocons and backward-thinking theocon Christianists. I’d say a 2 to 1 neocon to theocon ratio should serve you well.
Then you can run them on the Ann Coulter platform: we’ll invade every Arab country by 2010, kill their leaders, and convert them all to Christianity. While the neocons are busy with that, the theocons can get to work on the home front; they can work on banning abortion, contraceptives, cable TV, gays, alcohol, science, and hybrid cars.
You’ll have Republican majorities for the next 100 years!
JaHerer22 on January 22, 2007 at 9:35 AM
JaHerer22, every time we run to the left, we only embolden an strengthen the Democrats. Giving amnesty to 12-20 million illegals will not yield but a handful of votes for the Republicans. It will result in a cataclysmic shift in our political system which will resemble Latin America socialism. Our Constitution is too precious to flush away to the moderates who haven’t even read it.
Valiant on January 22, 2007 at 10:03 AM
JaHerer22, are you allowed to post on this site from your office in the DNC? Anyway, we should get rid of this loser Hagel. I notice that you all mention others like snowe, etc., but don’t forget John Warner, the senior senator from Virginia. Getting ready to do a reso;ution against the troop increase, voted the wrong way for the illegal alien amnesty. I have had enough of these losers.
Jonesy on January 22, 2007 at 10:04 AM
Hagel has become the Republicans’ version of Cindy Sheeham; someone so in love with the attentions of the MSM that his statements and behavior become more and more erratic and outrageous.
The best thing that can happen would be for Hagel to be defeated in the next Nebraska Republican primary for his Senate seat.
ptolemy on January 22, 2007 at 10:33 AM
Yaheydere,
You wouldn’t know a “moderate, traditional conservative” if one walked up and spit on you, which, now that I think of it, seems like a healthy first move.
Hagel is either drunk or senile, and I’d love to have his re-election vote limited to his fellow Vietnam vets in Nebraska in ’08. His two signature positions are now 1) anti-Iraq, and 2) open borders. He might as well be a MoveOn.org commenter…
PS You’re a schwanzlicking twit; go away.
Jaibones on January 22, 2007 at 10:35 AM
He’s delusional. He doesn’t realize he’s part of the problem with the current Republican party, not part of the solution.
thirteen28 on January 22, 2007 at 11:10 AM
There’s nothing moderate about running from a war that’ll land on your door step.
idiots.
One Angry Christian on January 22, 2007 at 11:15 AM
LOL. (Give a whole new meaning to “I’d rather be right than President!!!”) Bless ‘em.
honora on January 22, 2007 at 11:56 AM
Give a whole new meaning to “I’d rather be dead than pro war/Soldiers and freedom for all”. Bless honora and JaMann; and don’t forget shackler.
Entelechy on January 22, 2007 at 12:45 PM
JaHerer22 and Honora…cut from the same cloth.
Yes we want to convert everyone to be a Christian, or we kill them. Ann Coulter is our goddess, we all think she is our standard bearer, we want to get rid of all moderates, we only listen to extreme right wing. All of us are crazy neocons (nice word, I hear it about 100 times a day…whatever happended to gravitas, that used to be the liberal word of the day, or the good ole “right-wing extremists”?). Us Christians want to ban cable tv, gays, alcohol, science and hybrid cars (we all want to poison the earth). Drink? none of us drink, science, who needs that when all of the answers are in the bible. Gays, we prefer the other cruder words. Our kids are trained to pollute at an early age, we do not accept any tolerance, some of us may even smoke. You both hit it on the head, that is exactly what we want to do…destroy all that is good (and only we define good). How intelligent of you, how smart you both are. I guess if I was a liberal, I would be as smart as you. But I am a conservative, I am too busy destroying the world and killing people who don’t agree with me.
I wish I could be as sensistive and smart and…and…everything you guys are, and you guys are never wrong.
Usually sweeping generalities are wrong, but you liberals nailed us with that blog. You certainly showed us your intellect.
right2bright on January 22, 2007 at 1:00 PM
And one day, us evil christians may even aspire to strap on a vest to take care those won’t agree with us. No virgins in Heaven (sex is evil) but having wings would be pretty cool.
jman on January 22, 2007 at 1:15 PM
We are evil, remember? We strap the vest on to our kids and send them into “harms way”. If you don’t keep thinking evil, we are going to demote you to just being “bad”.
right2bright on January 22, 2007 at 1:19 PM
Why didn’t I think of that? Oh, thats right – evil AND stoopid.
jman on January 22, 2007 at 1:22 PM
I just want to know where the jackass bought the elephant suit.
.
GT on January 22, 2007 at 1:25 PM
Maybe Jaher and Honora weren’t around for the “Gr80′s” when we had a real conservative in the White House. That is the last one we’ve had. We had a conservative congress in 95 until the government shut-down and Bubba blaming them for it turned them back to the left. Conservatism usually wins every time it’s tried and then implemented. The problem is we’ve had too many pretenders the last ten years. They know running as a conservative is a winning formula but seem to forget that formula when they plant their ass in D.C. They spend all their time seeking approval from the NY Slimes, WaPo, and the inside the beltway elites and shun the very people who sent them there. Watching the dems and the GOP operate reminds me of two games we used to play as youngsters. The GOP thinks we’re playing handball while the dems are playing smear the queer(anyone taking offense, too bad…). The GOP is trying to return the ball back to the wall while the dems are just unloading punch after punch upside their head. Get in the game or get your ass waxed, this is the lesson of 06. The dems aren’t interested in being friends and bi-partisanship. Wake up and smell the coffee GOP…or get prepared to stay in the wilderness for another 40 years…..
Get back to Reaganism or lose your base, the GOP has a decision to make……….so in that regard Hagel is right…even the blind squirrel finds an acorn now and again…
ritethinker on January 22, 2007 at 6:40 PM
Hagel, just switch to the other side and stop the smoke screening. Sheesh
Highrise on January 22, 2007 at 6:48 PM