Drunk Talk
Chuck Hagel is a sweet politician. I could see him being to many conservatives what Howard Dean was to me in the last election: The candidate who SHOULD be there because he's that damn good and is/was a fairly straight shooter who will call a spade a spade.
And more importantly, he sticks to his principles -- not to his POSITIONS (ahem, President Dubya) but to his principles. There are few on either side who actually have any principles. At all.
I'd vote for Hagel over at least half the Democratic field in 2008, and I like -- OK, not "like" them... it's more that I don't really, really hate them -- most of the Democrats this time around. Considering how "liberal" I am, that says something. But in an era of douche bags, you kind of have to vote for a principled, intelligent man who calls people out when they screw up.
Hegel's Elements of the Philosophy of Right. Rang a bell, but I did have to look it up to make sure. We read it in Honors 
What do I win? heh
Its this classic but long forgotten art of being a fucking man and standing yer ground. Sticking up for what you believe in. I think he's trying to get some more peeps behind him using this, "you fucking pussies" tactic. Hopefully more people will subscribe to this 'ballsy' form of politics. This just might get ME interested in politics.....doubtful.
Courageous, ballsy, my fucking ass. These days there is nothing courageous or ballsy about expressing misgivings about or opposition to the war. It's the majority position in the halls of Congress and among the people. Hagel is one of the pricks who voted to send us there in the first place, and now he sees the political writing on the wall and says, "whoops, sorry." Here's something truly courageous: let's see him take responsibility for the outcome of this conflict either by offering an alternative plan or by offering a bill to defund the war effort. Let's see him either contribute substantively to the foreign policy, or alternatively, seize from the President the authority to conduct war, and therefore, the responsibility of the outcome. There is nothing courageous about lobbing pot shots from the sidelines with no consequences stemming from it.
Courageous, ballsy, my fucking ass. These days there is nothing courageous about expressing misgivings about or opposition to the war. It's the majority position in the halls of Congress and among the people. Hagel is one of the pricks who voted to send us there in the first place, and now he sees the political writing on the wall and says, "whoops, sorry." If things were going well, he'd be one of the first mugging for the camera saying, "see? I told you so."
Here's something truly courageous: let's see him take responsibility for the outcome of this conflict either by offering an alternative plan or by offering a bill to defund the war effort. Let's see him either contribute substantively to the foreign policy, or alternatively, seize from the President the authority to conduct war, and therefore, the responsibility for the outcome. There is nothing courageous about lobbing pot shots from the sidelines with no consequences stemming from it. That's not courage; that's posturing. That makes him no better or worse than any other politician polluting Washington.
Meh. I don't know how my rant ended up double-posted. But the second of my two rants is the final edited version.
I appreciate both yer rants. Just goes to show how little I follow politics....Regardless, I enjoyed the tone and content of what he had to say. Evidently, I'm easily amused. But, because of my skepticism of politics and politicians, that is exactly why I typed "doubtful" at the end of my posting. Cheers!
Interesting article about a Senator who is taking the actual courageous step that Hagel has not taken:
http://www.opinionjournal.com/co...w/?
id=110009613
As much as I generally can't stand Russ Feingold's politics, here's a guy who has opposed the war from the start and who has actually put forth a bill that places responsibility for the war in the hands of the Senate. As the column rightly points out, the derth of support it has received from his colleagues underscores how the Hagels of the Senate are doing little more than not-so-courageous posturing.
I saw what Feingold was doing, and I can only applaud him for it, though as you say, his politics are generally loathsome. Hagel might feel more constrained because he's a Republican, or he might be a fraudulent poser, I don't know. 2008's a long way from here, and I'm sure I'll lose interest again by then anyway.
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