The Log Cabin Republicans are often criticized for giving GOP politicians a pass. But the group apparently draws the line at former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), President Obama’s presumed nominee for Secretary of Defense.
Appalled at Hagel’s homophobic comments from years past, as well as his views on the Middle East, the group took out a full-page ad in the New York Times decrying the potential appointment.
“Chuck Hagel: Wrong on Gay Rights, Wrong on Iran, Wrong on Israel,” reads the ad, which includes comments Hagel made in 1998, that “openly, aggressively gay” Hormel was a bad choice for a diplomatic post.
Hagel, who apologized for his comments this month, has also raised the eyebrows of conservative stalwarts like Sens. Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham. Pro-Israel groups are lashing out at the Nebraska politico, and even Republican svengali Karl Rove made a stink in a Wall Street Journal column today:
“Hagel is notoriously abrasive, viewed by many in Washington as an opportunist, and is not liked by many former colleagues. Many of Mr. Hagel’s views are out of the mainstream and even to the left of the president’s.”
If Hagel upsets both the left and the right, why did the President bother floating his name?
Unless Chuck’s simply a decoy to burn through all the outrage. Then Obama could slide in his real nominee without much fuss. In either case, the White House has said not to expect an official statement on any nominations for the post this week.
Dakotahgeo
The Logjam Cabin(pots) calling Hagel (the kettle) black??? Ohhhhh, the irony, the illegitimacy, the… dedundancy!!! A Log Cabin (fever)group who have less steam than a used political condom! Will ceases never wonder?! Lolol!
Kieran
Chuck Hagel wants to cap military spending and is opposed to starting any more Wars in the Middle East. He thinks America should play the role of honest broker in negotiating a just, peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He has dared to question the US congress’ blind support for Israeli policies. Hagel isn’t a neocon warmonger. So naturally, the log cabin morons would oppose his nomination. No surprise.
Wilberforce
Kieran is right. But there’s probably another issue.
Hagel is Obama’s nominee. That’s why the Cabinettes are against him. If he were running for Congress and wanted to put us all behind bars, they’d be fine with him. They’re really attacking the president, as per usual, and they are so transparent.
ChiChi Man
Love the Logs doing the master’s bidding. Have they ever paid to bash Palin or Gingrich or Rom-bot? This is clearly about attacking Obama and trying to score brownie points with people who would gladly see them all rounded up and murdered.
tjr101
Really Log Cabin, really?
Isn’t this the same group that endorsed the anti-gay Mitt Romney who signed the NOM pledge and favors a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage?
As if this full page ad (complete waste of money) will gain them any favors with the right-wing bigots in the GOP. Log Cabin republicans are so transparent in their desperation for acceptance and relevance it’s quite pathetic.
Groups such as Log Cabin and GOProud are really just circus sideshows of the GOP. No one takes them seriously because they don’t have enough dignity to standup to their own right-wing masters in the GOP.
hyhybt
“If Hagel upsets both the left and the right, why did the President bother floating his name?”—Well, since it’s impossible to find the sort of middle that pleases everyone, at least this way everybody’s equally displeased?
Joel J
@Kieran: Exactly. And in addition, he is a twice-decorated combat veteran of the Vietnam War who has seen firsthand the personal cost of ill-advised war. The opposition of these Log Cabin chicken hawks is really rich.
JohnQPublic
You can bet that the GOP + its Israeli sponsors + finanaciers are behind this latest ploy by the Log Cabin GOP stooges to try to use “pink propaganda” as a cover for peddling Israeli influence in Washington. Their endorsement of GOP homophobes for elective office shows their hypocrisy. It’s only a matter of time b4 the American voters wake up to the fact that Israeli lobbies are buying + dictating US foreign policy in Congress.
2eo
@Kieran: How very dare someone be a forward thinking realist. Why do these neocon self loathers revel in the deaths of allied soldiers?, why do they delight in the joy of ruined families and traumatised children?
How dare someone suggest peace is a viable option, it’s ‘MURICA where they rate guns as more important than childrens lives.
Atomicrob
This is simply a page out of the Republican playbook. Oppose anything President Obama proposes. It’s getting very old, isn’t it? . . . Personally, don’t care for Hagel. Isn’t there someone new? Why all the same few individuals to run things?
Joel J
@Atomicrob: Having served on the Senate Armed Services Committee for years, Hagel knows where a lot of the wasteful spending is buried in the Pentagon. I imagine the defense contractors who dine at the trough will oppose his nomination. Someone new could be easily bamboozeled by the brass.
the other Greg
The Logs never miss a chance to be “un-aggressively gay”!
jwrappaport
Where were their ads against Romney and the other Rethugs in November? That said, the idea of letting someone like Hagel oversee the dismantling of DADT and the soon-to-be regulatory mess following DOMA’s demise is deeply troubling: The SoD has tremendous discretion and power, and could easily stymie the recent progress we’ve made. Once again, Obama tips his calculating and opportunistic hand. He apparently has no problem placing our gay and lesbian troops at the mercy of this schmuck.
Little-Kiwi
ok, this is HILARIOUS.
it’s almost as if these wimps are setting out to prove every gay liberal right!
wow. they take out an ad for THIS? whilst spending the last few years ignoring the, you know, current anti-gay statements of their fellow Republican leaders?
we get it, boys. you have no balls, no spines, and are terrified ninnies begging your bigoted anti-gay families to tolerate you.
shameful.
Joel J
@jwrappaport: Get real. Who’s the schmuck here? Progress on open service will not be reversed when even the Commandant of the Marine Corps reports that overturning DADT has not be a problem for his branch of the Service.
JohnQPublic
Can’t help but wonder if throwing the term “schmuck” around may be the Freudian slip that betrays the reality that right wing Israeli lobbies and their allies among America’s Israeli-firsters are really the force pushing the anti-Hegal movement. The Log Cabin jerks are more than willing to help serve as cover for a Zionist hatchet job.
jwrappaport
@Joel J: I’m not sure I understand your argument – which is to say you have presented none. My problem is that the SoD has a huge amount of discretion in promulgating and enforcing regs in the armed services. These regs cover everything from the treatment of same-sex military spouses, the treatment of gay and lesbian troops, “conscience clauses” for chaplains and military personnel, housing, etc.
I have huge qualms with putting our gay and lesbian servicemembers at the mercy of an open homophobe like Chuck Hagel, and I’m pretty sure most fair-minded LGBTers would.
@JohnQPublic: Sorry buddy – militant atheist/ex-Catholic here with a penchant for Yiddishisms. Definitely not an apologist for Israel, and my issues with Hagel have nothing to do with that whole debate. Oy gevalt.
Joel J
@jwrappaport: Like it or not, until it is overturned by the Supreme Court or rescinded by Congress, DOMA is the law of the land and the SoD is sworn to uphold it. In addition, the President is the Commander-in-Chief and it is he, not the SoD, who has the final say in these matters. Your derogatory comments about Hagel and Obama belie your objectivity in this matter. Finally, if I had a name like yours, I wouldn’t go around publicly calling other people “schmuck,” putz.
jwrappaport
@Joel J: This isn’t just about DOMA – it’s the myriad of other regulations and rules that affect gay servicemembers and their families over which he will have wide discretion. Moreover, if DOMA is repealed, he will be responsible for fairly integrating gay and lesbian families into the military pay/benefits structure. He is not someone fit to do that given his feelings toward homosexuality, and I’m not sure why you think he is other than perhaps his “apology,” skepticism of which is amply justified given his overwhelming interest in appearing accepting of gays and lesbians.
The buck may stop with the CNC, but he delegates immense power to his cabinet to manage the day-to-day operations of each department. I’ll be honest: I don’t share your faith in Obama to be a fighter for us. He’ll stand by us in the ring perhaps and be content to allow gay equality to happen, but he’s not about to spend any serious political capital for it: every move he’s made in our favor has been done so after he’s decided that it’s politically expedient. He had a largely passive role in the repeal of DADT, “came out” for marriage equality in the most mealy-mouthed of ways: “Personally I’m for it, but let the states decide,” and has done little for ENDA at all. Yes, he’s lightyears ahead of literally every one of his predecessors and has helped us make great strides, but again, he’s an ally when it’s convenient and has expended no serious political capital on our behalf.
You speak of objectivity, and you’re right, I’m as biased as they come: I’m a gay man, and the man I love is a vet. Yet I fail to see how that undermines my position, i.e., that I’m uncomfortable entrusting an open homophobe to treat our gay servicemembers equitably, especially when his boss really hasn’t taken a proactive stance on gay rights.
Also, what’s that last dig about my name supposed to mean? Let’s not devolve into ad hominem attacks, shall we?
Joel J
@jwrappaport: What goes around, comes around. If you don’t like having racial slurs applied to you, please do not apply them to others, especially to one as honorable–yes, that is my opinion–as Chuck Hagel. Quite frankly, I don’t know what Hagel’s feelings are toward homosexuality. If you were expecting profiles in courage from politicians, I regret to inform you that is almost never the case. Politicians rarely get out ahead of those who elected them, at least not if they plan to run for re-election. In my opinion, Chuck Hagel is no rank homophobe like a Jesse Helms or most of those in the Religious Right. He was a senator from a very conservative state and mostly likely he was reflecting the attitude of those in Nebraska, which just elected OMG! a Tea Party candidate to the Senate. To my mind, Hagel was a profile in courage during his service as an enlisted man in Vietnam and he has often taken a policy position contrary to that of his party in the Senate. I take him to be a thoughtful legislator on foreign and security policy. As far as Obama is concerned, he did act proactively to ensure non-discrimination within the federal workforce and he did instruct the Justice Department not to defend DOMA in court. When it comes to extending the Declaration’s promise of equal rights for all, progress has been slow. I never thought I would see open military service for gays and lesbians in my lifetime. Tears came to my eyes the day DADT was rescinded. I am gay and a Vietnam-era vet. Extending equal protection of the laws and ending discrimination for GLBT persons is important to me, but I am not a single issue guy. There are other considerations. Getting our foreign policy right is important, considering the instability in the Middle East and the cries of war fever coming from some quarters.
jwrappaport
@Joel J: Racial slurs? Not sure where you’re reading those, as schmuck means penis in Yiddish.
You make a fair point: I tend to be a pretty single-issue guy and, well, don’t really have a body of life experience just yet. Still, I have great misgivings about a man who leveled the phrase “aggressive homosexual” against an opponent, especially given how vulnerable gay and lesbian servicemembers are at this critical time post DADT and what I think will be pre-DOMA repeal/demise. It will be a regulatory mess, and we need an ally in that post immensely.
I would also argue that the Secretary of State is really the one who sets the tone on foreign policy at the cabinet level. The Secretary of Defense is charged with the control and administration of the armed services and other DoD agencies, not foreign relations. Is there another name in the ring that’s less of a risk?
Joel J
@jwrappaport: Over 4,000 U.S. servicemembers were killled in Iraq and another 1,600 in Afghanistan. Thousands more were returned home severely maimed in body and mind. The DOD has a huge obligation to the returning vets and their families. In the realm of priorities, your fears and concerns about DADT/DOMA issues are pretty far down my list. But even more importantly, sending U.S. troops to fight another land war in the Middle East will create a mess from which it will take decades to recover, to say nothing of the very likelihood of a regional war in which nuclear weapons are used. War must be the last resort, not the first as the neocons would have it.
The term “aggressive homosexual” does not offend me. The more activist members of our community have been pretty aggressive in asserting gay rights and in demanding that the government take action against the AIDS epidemic. Perhaps Hagel was thinking “flamboyant” when he used the word “aggressive.” So what? Remember, “we’re here, we’re queer, get used to it.” Those aggressive homos played a large role in obtaining the progress we have seen in recent years. Hagel’s historical ignorance about homosexuals, especially those in the military, and his evolution on the subject are typical of those of my generation.
The U.S. has military bases around the world and regional commanders who are given wide latitude in the implementation of policy within their regions. The SoD is very much involved in foreign policy and he sits on the council of war within the White House. Obama cannot afford to make a mistake on this nomination.
PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID
In this post I will say something intelligent.
Joel J
@PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID: At long last….we’re still waiting.
Freddie27
It’s well known that R Clarke Cooper, head of the Log Cabiners, is a massive right-wing neocon who’s itching for more war in the Middle East. These hypocritical schmucks would back Michele Bachmann for Defense Sec if they thought they’d get a war with Iran.