Republicans objecting to Chuck Hagel’s nomination to serve as the new US Defense Secretary have only themselves to blame. Having run Susan Rice out of the running to succeed Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, there’s no way President Obama could stomach losing a second high-profile nomination before he’s even formally accepted his second term.
That’s a trivial detail. More importantly, the objections to Hagel’s nomination are a useful reminder why, at least in terms of foreign policy, this present bunch of Democrats is preferable to their Republican opponents.
According to the feverish GOP reaction against Hagel, the Nebraskan is an anti-semite whose views lie outside the Washington “mainstream”. The former charge is an absurdity, not least since if Hagel is an anti-semite then so are Israelis who lie to Benjamin Netanyahu’s right. The latter charge might be considered a badge of honour given the performance of the Washington “mainstream” in recent years.
Actually, of course, Hagel’s views generally lie well within the “mainstream” and though he has doubtless drifted left in recent years that is a) a response to the failure of Republican-led foreign policy and b) as nothing compared to how the GOP has drifted to the right.
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