by Angry Jew
I was relaxing this evening (I can’t be angry all the time) and watching the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. I can’t watch “real” news anymore because it makes me yell at the TV. Then I was startled by a really odd quote from Senator John McCain. It mentioned that Chuck Hagel isn’t liked by fellow Republicans and that is why they’ve pulled out the stops to thwart his nomination for Secretary of Defense. You see, Hagel attacked George W. Bush and the way the Iraq war was handled. The GOP doesn’t like that one bit. McCain actually admitted that was the reason Senate Republicans were holding up the Hagel nomination. Sorry? What? Chuck Hagel should have called a discrimination lawyer! McCain just admitted they tried to stop someone from getting a job because they didn’t like his political ideology. You can’t do that in the private sector, but it’s okay in the United States Senate? Bloody Christ, stab me with a spork!
We’re not talking about a job at a radio station owned by Clear Channel or working at Chik-Fil-A. This is the fucking Secretary of Defense! It would be one thing if Hagel’s only claim to fame was that he ran company that made cars or TV’s or something (like Robert McNamara or Donald Rumsfeld) but Hagel is an actual military man. Hagel was an enlisted man. Hagel fought in the fucking jungle. Hagel knows what it’s like to fight in close quarters. Hagel will be able to put himself in the shoes of our men and women on the front lines but Senator McCain and his lackeys (I’m looking at you Lindsey Graham) have a vendetta to play out. Fuck national security, fuck what’s best for the military, and lastly, fuck what’s best for our country. The Republican’s pound of flesh must be extracted. Good job, guys. As your favorite president would say (or at least have a banner say it), mission accomplished.
Okay, fast forward; McCain sanctioned the nomination, the GOP filibuster has been broken, and Chuck Hagel has now been confirmed. So what was this whole thing about? It’s pretty clear to me. McCain and the others just wanted revenge against a man who broke ranks with their party and called bullshit for what it was during the Bush Administration. Or for all we know Chuck Hagel made fun of McCain for being in the Navy. Who knows? (And please spare me the reminder that the Marine Corps is a department of the Navy. I know. It’s the men’s department of the Navy.) The Republicans like to talk about running government like a business. If this had gone down in a corporation, Chuck Hagel would have complained to the HR Department, McCain and his fellow harassers would have been fired and Hagel would have been given a healthy settlement. However, since this happened in the United States Senate, there were no repercussions for the offending Senators, and clearly they don’t think the position of Secretary of Defense deserves to be taken seriously.
Angry Jew served 15 years in the United States Marine Corps as an infantry rifleman and is currently living in Southern California.
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