Radical Right Filibuster Against Hagel Broken

Tantrum subsides-- 3 Stooges changed its mind

Like I've said many times, I'm neither pro-Hagel nor anti-Hagel. Or, more aptly, I'm both anti-Hagel and pro-Hagel. But I didn't win the presidency-- nor did the candidate I voted for-- so President Obama is entitled, within reason, to pick his own Secretary of Defense. There's no reason to believe that Chuck Hagel won't be a far better Secretary of Defense than recent disasters like Robert McNamara, Cap Weinberger, Frank Carlucci, Dick Cheney or Don Rumsfeld or ancient ones (then called Secretary of War) like John C. Calhoun or Jefferson Davis. In any event, Obama sets the policy for the Secretary to carry out. And there's no one who didn't know that the Republican spiteful jihad against Hagel was just another assertion of their racism and their attitude towards President Obama's legitimacy.

In the end, the filibuster crumbled because 18 Republicans left their 27 most heinous and obstructionist colleagues without enough votes to pull off the filibuster for another day. Cloture, the procedure to shut down a filibuster, requires 60 votes. Harry Reid's motion to reconsider the cloture vote from February 14 passed 71-27. Among the Republicans who apparently had reconsidered were 14 who voted against cloture on the 14th and for it yesterday: Orrin Hatch (R-UT, who voted "present" on Feb. 14), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Bob Corker (R-TN), Jeff Flake (R-AZ), John McCain (R-AZ), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Richard Shelby (R-AL), Jeff Sessions (R-KKK), Tom Coburn (R-OK), Richard Burr (R-NC), John Thune (R-ND) and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), the third Stooge.

Reid said Hagel's nomination was "delayed for one reason: Partisanship... What has the filibuster gained my Republican colleagues? Twelve days later, nothing. Nothing has changed.” So who was packed into the Republican Party Clown Car yesterday? The filibustering idiots were:

• John Barrasso (R-WY)
• John Boozman (R-AR)
• Dan Coats (R-IN)
• John Cornyn (R-TX)

• Mike Crapo (R-ID)
• Ted Cruz (R-TX)
• Mike Enzi (R-WY)
• Nan Fischer (R-NE)
• Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
• Dean Heller (R-NV)
• John Hoeven (R-ND)
• James Inhofe (R-OK)
• Johnny Isakson (R-GA)
• Ron Johnson (R-WI)
• Mark Kirk (R-IL)
• Mike Lee (R-UT)
• Miss McConnell (R-KY)
• Jerry Moran (R-KS)
• Rand Paul (R-KY)
• Rob Portman (R-OH)
• Jim Risch (R-ID)
• Pat Roberts (R-KS)
• Marco Rubio (R-FL)
• Tim Scott (R-SC)
• Pat Toomey (R-PA)
• David Diapers Vitter (R-LA)
• Roger Wicker (R-MS)

By late afternoon, the Senate reconvened and confirmed Hagel as Secretary of Defense. The final vote was 58-41, Thad Cochran (R-MS), Mike Johanns (R-NE), Rand Paul (R-KY), Richard Shelby (R-AL) the only Republicans with the courtesy and good grace to join the Democrats in the vote.