Hagel Fight Unwise
And Smears Unfair As Well
Posted: January 9, 2013
The nomination of former Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel to be the next Secretary of Defense has set in motion what promises to be a spirited and emotional confirmation process that will do nothing to benefit the Republican party if they choose to make it a fight.
Mr. Hagel’s nomination gives pause to many, but the unconscionable attacks on the former Republican Senator go beyond the pale. He is not an anti-Semite.
Of course, that doesn’t matter. When politics are at a fever pitch, and the ideological hounds have been loosed, truth doesn’t much matter. Barking and snarling is what you will hear, even at the expense of the reputation of a man who wore the uniform of his country and has the battle scars to prove it.
A typical example of calumny appeared in the Wall Street Journal, wherein a writer claimed he detected the “odor”
of “anti-Semitism” wafting off of Hagel. This “odor,” readers learned, came from Hagel’s having once used the term “Jewish lobby” in an interview. This page doesn't often agree with Washington Post’s liberal columnist Richard Cohen, but he is right in today’s column in noting that the term “Jewish lobby” is bandied about in the Israeli press quite freely. One may presume that Jewish writers in Israel are not anti-Semites. Anyway, another of Hagel’s crimes was the shocking observation that he is a “United States senator not an Israeli senator.”
It’s unlikely, however, that those who oppose Hagel because he is “anti-Semitic” even believe what they are saying. No, the Purple Heart recipient’s real crime is this: He turned against the war in Iraq, and he is not sufficiently pro-Israel. If that is the concern, then say it. But judge the man on his record, not on inflamed rhetoric. It stands to reason that Mr. Obama would appoint a defense secretary in line with his policies. Like it or not, the American people handed him that privilege in November.
It’s one thing to oppose Mr. Hagel because they disagree with his policies. Fair enough. But to ratchet up the rhetoric from opposing his policy prescriptions to accusing him of outright hatred — a tactic perfected in the charge of “racism” hurled at Mr. Obama’s conservative opponents — is despicable.
At this juncture, Republicans must ask themselves if this is a fight they want to engage in- contesting the nomination of one of their own for a cabinet position while likely letting Sen. John Kerry glide to confirmation as Secretary of State.
While Mr. Hagel’s actions have ruffled feathers within the party, a fractured GOP needs a better sense of what is worth a fight. Especially after the fiasco of the fiscal cliff, the GOP needs to stay unified and on message.
Engaging in bombast over this nomination does nothing to move that cause along, and in fact will likely distract from the focus needed to address the upcoming debt ceiling debate (the one the President says won’t happen).
Mr. Hagel’s nomination gives pause to many, but the unconscionable attacks on the former Republican Senator go beyond the pale. He is not an anti-Semite.
Of course, that doesn’t matter. When politics are at a fever pitch, and the ideological hounds have been loosed, truth doesn’t much matter. Barking and snarling is what you will hear, even at the expense of the reputation of a man who wore the uniform of his country and has the battle scars to prove it.
A typical example of calumny appeared in the Wall Street Journal, wherein a writer claimed he detected the “odor”
of “anti-Semitism” wafting off of Hagel. This “odor,” readers learned, came from Hagel’s having once used the term “Jewish lobby” in an interview. This page doesn't often agree with Washington Post’s liberal columnist Richard Cohen, but he is right in today’s column in noting that the term “Jewish lobby” is bandied about in the Israeli press quite freely. One may presume that Jewish writers in Israel are not anti-Semites. Anyway, another of Hagel’s crimes was the shocking observation that he is a “United States senator not an Israeli senator.”
It’s unlikely, however, that those who oppose Hagel because he is “anti-Semitic” even believe what they are saying. No, the Purple Heart recipient’s real crime is this: He turned against the war in Iraq, and he is not sufficiently pro-Israel. If that is the concern, then say it. But judge the man on his record, not on inflamed rhetoric. It stands to reason that Mr. Obama would appoint a defense secretary in line with his policies. Like it or not, the American people handed him that privilege in November.
It’s one thing to oppose Mr. Hagel because they disagree with his policies. Fair enough. But to ratchet up the rhetoric from opposing his policy prescriptions to accusing him of outright hatred — a tactic perfected in the charge of “racism” hurled at Mr. Obama’s conservative opponents — is despicable.
At this juncture, Republicans must ask themselves if this is a fight they want to engage in- contesting the nomination of one of their own for a cabinet position while likely letting Sen. John Kerry glide to confirmation as Secretary of State.
While Mr. Hagel’s actions have ruffled feathers within the party, a fractured GOP needs a better sense of what is worth a fight. Especially after the fiasco of the fiscal cliff, the GOP needs to stay unified and on message.
Engaging in bombast over this nomination does nothing to move that cause along, and in fact will likely distract from the focus needed to address the upcoming debt ceiling debate (the one the President says won’t happen).