The Payback Party

The Payback Party

by digby

John McCain verified my supposition that the Hagel brouhaha was all about payback for his apostasy during the Bush administration:

McCAIN: But to be honest with you, Neil, it goes back to there’s a lot of ill will towards Senator Hagel because when he was a Republican, he attacked President Bush mercilessly and say he was the worst President since Herbert Hoover and said the surge was the worst blunder since the Vietnam War, which was nonsense. He was anti-his own party and people — people don’t forget that. You can disagree but if you’re disagreeable, then people don’t forget that.
And I stand by the other piece of my supposition as well:
 Some of this is just the way the Republicans deal with apostates.  Hagel broke with the party in favor of the Democrats and that. is. simply. not. done. They are making an example of him.

I would just add that they are also telling the Democrats that only orthodox conservative Republicans count if you're trying for a bipartisan cabinet pick.

And I think this pretty much proves that picking Hagel will not make it any easier to make cuts in the defense budget or withdraw troops or anything else that everyone assumes comes with picking a Republican for the post. If anything, it means all that's going to be harder now.


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