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When Senate Republicans blocked an up-or-down confirmation vote on Chuck Hagel's Defense Secretary nomination -- an unprecedented move -- GOP officials said it wasn't about killing the nomination so much as it was giving the process more time. Republicans wanted another week -- specifically, last week -- to come up with something to derail him.
Now that the delay is just about over, I'm not altogether sure what the point was. The only interesting Hagel-related news of the last week is that Republican media outlets went berserk over an organization that doesn't exist. Well, that and the fact that Sen. Lindsey Graham apparently wants to make Hagel his pen pal.
Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina has written a letter to Chuck Hagel to ask that he open his Senate archive at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Graham, who also asks Hagel to authorize the release of past speeches organized by the Washington Speakers Bureau, believes interested parties should have access to the former Nebraska senator's record.
For the record, Graham sent Hagel three different letters over the course of a week -- some more ridiculous than others. In this case, the South Carolinian doesn't want something specific from the University of Nebraska-Omaha archive, but he thinks it'd be nice if researchers could go look for stuff, just in case.
While Graham waits for a response to his latest letter, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), making his fifth Sunday show appearance in eight weeks, said yesterday that Hagel "should" get an "up-or-down vote," and will probably be confirmed this week. McCain added that Democrats have filibustered cabinet nominees before -- he pointed to John Bolton and John Tower -- but as is often the case, McCain is confused. Tower wasn't filibustered; his nomination was defeated on an up-or-down vote when a bipartisan majority of the Senate rejected him. Bolton was filibustered, but wasn't up for a cabinet-level post.
And finally, it also appears the "No to Chuck" initiative appears to be failing miserably.
What's the "No to Chuck" initiative? I'm glad you asked. Rick Santorum's super PAC, Patriot Voices, launched the effort to defeat Hagel, but it doesn't appear to be going well. The New York Times had this report on Friday.
Mr. Santorum himself took to passing the hat, writing in an e-mail to supporters this week that the group needed to raise an additional $10,000 or it would have to abandon its efforts to oppose Mr. Hagel.
"My staff tells me that if we don't get on pace to raise $10,000 by this Friday, we'll have to shut down our 'No to Chuck' effort early," Mr. Santorum wrote in the e-mail. "So please, don't delay. Make the most generous emergency contribution you can right away. We appreciate your dedication and support. Thank you and God Bless."
Taken together, it appears Republicans demanded an extra week for no apparent reason, other than trying to raise money and write pointless letters.
Expect a final vote on Hagel as early as tomorrow.
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President Obama, if you're open to suggestion, I think you should take every opportunity to say on camera what a swell guy Lindsey Graham is and how everybody in South Carolina should be proud of him and how no sane Republican should even think about running against him in a primary next year.
That would definitely be the kiss of death for Graham!! Even more so than a photo of him in a lip-lock with another man would be!
Oh, and some timely Obama praise for Mitch McConnell would be useful, too.
They just wanted another episode of the Republicans go Hollywood. No more drama, please we've been patient enough. The cats out of the bag, we need the full exposure.(The full Monty, if you prefer.)
Nobody wants to see Graham's Monty...
"Nobody wants to see Graham's Monty..."
I second that.
i know this is the Maddow blog and all but i just needed to point out (after another excellent weekend of broadcasts) that Up with Chris Hayes is THE cure for the Sunday political talk show blues. if you haven't tuned in you're doing yourself a disservice.
that is all.
I watch UP every weekend possible! Great show!
You said it! Also please note that if you are not able to see UP at its original broadcast time, you can watch the whole show at tv.msnbc.com.
Now, now. Let's not be hasty about this Hagel nomination thing. Unless he can absolutely PROVE that he's not a member of "Friends of Hamas," he shouldn't be confirmed. :) (/snark off)
That Rick Santorum would close his correspondence with the words "God Bless" is deeply offensive to Christians and non-Christians alike.
This introduced the world to Ben Shapiro and Ted Cruz, so there is something worthwhile that came out. The more ink these post-2010 Tea Turds get, the more folks they turn off. It's these late to the game wingnuts that have the most to prove, so they are the most crazy.
Yes...I was gonna say WAITING an additional week showed the country just how heinous these nimrods are.
Nice to see that Santorum hasn't lost his winning touch.
Lindsay Graham should stop fishing on the American Taxpayer dime (in this case, probably more than a simple dime)!
Lindsay is a sad, tragic figure in modern American politics -Kevo
No, he's just one in a long line of morons, scum and traitors to come out of South Carolina, the capital of American treason.
Let's see now; Chuck Hagel is a former GOP Senator with military experience, who can't get support from much of the GOP now. Graham wants to see his speeches, letters, whatever records would assure Graham that Chuck is okay.
Does that mean if Obama nominated Mitt Romney for, say, Treasury Secretary, Graham and others would demand to see Mitt's tax returns?
Big Ole Yes.
It's not their job to find fault with everyone, the hypocracy is amazing, they should be the last people on this Earth to throw stones.
The reason for Sen. Graham to request that Mr. Hagel's archive be opened should be clear to all. As a Republican, Sen. Graham knows Republicans cannot be trusted, so he does not trust Mr. Hagel. Kind of the old "takes one to know one" rule. Definitely like Just-John's idea though.
McCain never referred to a filibuster in the CNN interview. He said that he believes when the questions are answered the President deserves an up or down vote. And that is exactly what the Democrats did to Tower as reported by NBC News. They delayed an up or down vote from Dec. 1988 until March of 1989 until they got the questions answered they wanted...McCain in that interview NEVER said the Democrats had filibustered a cabinet nomination.
You can often see when this blog is stretching the truth, making implications that are not accurate, etc. because they do not provide links to the source...otherwise they would have linked to the CNN interview where he made his statement.
Rob: You use McCain to decipher fact? Wow, you are more far gone than we had ever imagined. I'll take Steve Benen over John McCain any day if honesty is the issue, as would the vast majority of Americans.
Hm. Sort of.
McCain actually said "Now, Democrats will say, well, we've never done that before. Well, they had. And they did with Bolton and with John Towner (ph) and with others, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't give Chuck Hagel an up or down vote. And I think we should."
As far as I know, in terms of what Dems have said they'd "never done" before, was to filibuster a cabinet nominee. So although McCain didn't use the term "filibuster" you could make the case that's what he was intimating.
Lebowsky, I was relying on the video of the show. I actually watched it. It is not a matter of taking Benen honesty over McCain. And, Dave, you didn't put the entire quote, you pulled only the last 1/3...here is McCain's quote (with added emphasis to note what Sen. McCain was talking about, the fact that the vote was held up until additional questions could be examined):
It is very clear that he was referring to delaying a vote until more questions could be answered...which is exactly what the Democrats did in the Tower nomination.
Rob: Harry Reid called for a vote, and you guys fillibustered it. Just because a group of liars, Senate Republicans, claim it was not a fillibuster, does not change fact. It actually is funny to watch or read about you folks squirming to not take ownership of what you have done. Questions are questions, but sixty vote thresholds are sixty vote thresholds to people who value the truth. Harry Reid flushed you folks out by calling for that vote, and you folks don't have the guts to own it. How sad...
Lebowsky, you are so misrepresenting what I said. Just so you are clear on my view - it was a filibuster.
But the point McCain made is that the filibuster was done to delay the vote so other questions could be examined. He further asserted that Democrats have used tactics to achieve the same results. Do you agree with these two sentences?
I actually see RobDon's point. Don't get me wrong -- I'm ashamed to have McCain as my senator, but the full quote indicates it isn't as clear as Steve is trying to make it.
He stole the "and God Bless" idea from the handwritten signs of sidewalk panhandlers... Give him a granola bar...
Ten thousand dollars? Isn't that chump change in the lobbying/character assassination biz? Santorum must be pretty desperate.
Methinks the great GOP "let's buy the Presidency for nearly $1 Bil" fundraising machine has run...out......of..............gas.
We need a cable network that will play a continuous loop of the stupid and wildly crazy WRONG things that McCain said about the Iraq war - and other stupid stuff GOP lawmakers come up with. McCain help sell a phony war that had dire consequences for the country and countless human beings - a moniker I wouldn't use to describe McCain or Graham at this point.
There already is a cable network that shows McCain and other Repubs saying stupid, crazy things - The Daily Show with Joh Stewart - You get to laugh and see what liars they are using their own words! I highly recommend!
"McCain is confused"-- again a politician's staff FAIL. The Senator needs to fire his researchers for feeding him misinformation, or in the very least, not vetting his claims properly.
I officially place my name into consideration to replace his staff. It can't be more than a one woman job!
What's going on is simply stalling in the Senate. The more they stall on Hagel, the less time for everything else. It what Republicans have been up to for a long time.
This is an article Rachel should read about drones. Especially the last paragraph.
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-02-07/opinions/36966155_1_drone-deception-and-offensive-threats-nuclear-weapons
Rachel I love you dearly but you are sooooooooo wrong on this one. Here are the numbers and the facts about drones. And by the way, the CIA can't tell the public everything. That is why the middle name of the CIA stands for Intelligence.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/13/opinion/bergen-civilian-casualties