You could think long, and you could think hard, and you could think along with the best of honorable strategists or the worst among Machiavellian lowlifes, and still you'd never come up with anything so breathtakingly stupid as this manifestation of modern Republicanism:
Chuck Hagel’s path to the Pentagon struck another major roadblock on Thursday when Senate Republicans kept up their threat to filibuster, throwing the nomination into limbo as Congress prepared to quit town for a weeklong recess.
I've never known an entire political party so willing to tie the noose and actually kick the chair merely so one of its own--hello, Lindsey--can avert a primary challenge from some even ranker moron.
Is this really a part of that much-vaunted and "deliberate effort by party leaders to 'marginalize the cranks'"?
Even after four years of this crap, I still have a problem wrapping my mind around the fact that a small group of small-minded tyrants hold up and try to drag down a country that is still struggling to recover from republican economic and foreign policy. They are the dictators that they are always portraying the president to be.
Posted by: AnneJ | February 14, 2013 at 12:05 PM
With all due respect, this story as reported everywhere continues to bury the lede.
Obama is letting a surrogate taking his public flogging for him - just like the servants of princes once were beaten because a future king cannot be beaten by a commoner.
So who does Prince Barack choose for his surrogate to be publically flogged by GOP senators?
A Republican senator.
good times ... good times
Posted by: Robert Lipscomb | February 14, 2013 at 12:36 PM
Yes, Robert, it's fun to watch, were it not for the tragic reality that the GOP will filibuster everybody for this posting but Bibi Netanyahu.
Posted by: shsavage | February 14, 2013 at 02:29 PM
Obama should just say fuck it, nominate Dennis Kucinich, and rename the Pentagon the Geometric Peace Building.
The GOP has just become so....tiresome.
Posted by: Turgidson | February 14, 2013 at 02:50 PM
Two women associated with Hillary and with several high-level years in the Pentagon were thought to be bypassed for this nomination. This and other reasons led me to believe that Hagel was always supposed to be something of an empty suit.
I would enjoy seeing a highly qualified woman (horrors!)nominated after the public flogging and withdrawal of a Republican. I also think Obama would be better served.
Posted by: Robert Lipscomb | February 14, 2013 at 02:59 PM
Another Point
Leon Panetta was sent to DoD for a year on his way to "retirement". Panetta was Bill Clinton's right hand man during budget balancing of the Clinton administration. My guess that the outline of the DoD reconfiguration and downsizing is already in place.
Posted by: Robert Lipscomb | February 14, 2013 at 03:04 PM
The Politico piece was interesting. They assert that Ailes brilliantly tapped into conservative anger and angst and now they want to tone it down in order to marginalize the cranks. Sounds pretty much like BP tapping into the Macondo reservoir. Good luck Roger, putting in the plug.
Posted by: Peter G | February 14, 2013 at 06:50 PM