Terror Alert Level
I'm Reading
My RSS Feeds
America Our Next Chapter
America Our Next Chapter
Tough Questions, Straight Answers
by Chuck Hagel with Peter Kaminsky
I actually enjoyed this book. It's nice to know that not all Republicans are ultra-right wing, ideological idiots. And Hagel makes it clear that he's not having any of that,
Some say that speaking out against a policy -- even a failed one -- in times of war is somehow not supportive of the president or our soldiers. That is untrue and unacceptable. My colleagues and I are representatives of the American people and it is the Constitution that we swear to uphold and protect.
Our oath is to America, not a president or a political party or a policy. Congress is Article 1 in the Constitution. The country comes first: not a party or a president.
Fine words. Unfortunately Hagel voted with the Republican Party 80% of the time -- including voting for the Iraq War and against timelines for withdrawal. He's spoken out against the war, but voted for it time after time.
That said, he's got some excellent views on Iran, China and Israel, and closer to home, on universal healthcare. He apparently introduced legislation to create a Federal Health Care Board, to be modeled on the Federal Reserve Board which would do the following:
- Establish a national standard for a basic health plan to cover all Americans. This would be a basic minimum policy and would have a set regional cost.
- Establish a national protocol and standards for secure and universal individual electronic medical records.
- Implement a structure fror the disclosure of pricing from providers and payers through an informational clearing house.
- Establish a national standard for public health services (safety net providers).
- Create loan forgiveness and scholarship programs for providers in underserved areas.
- Establish a model for mandatory dispute resolution for malpractice claims.
That sounds good, but the devil's in the details -- and forgive me if I'm suspicious of any national healthcare plan put forth by a Republican, but... He is a Republican. And that's about as non-Republican a proposal as I've ever heard.
All in all, though, I like Chuck Hagel. I think he's got a fine vision of America. And if Barak Obama were to reach across the aisle for a running mate, I can't think of any other Republican I'd rather see get the nod.
It's getting hard to tell, depending on what source is providing the data,
just how far apart these candidates are now. And as your post a few days
touched on, there are things going on which are redirecting attention away
from Obama to McCain. If current polls are pretty accurate, I think we
need to be concerned about the outcome. At times earlier, we were more
comfortable with our position, but can't afford to go with that any
longer.....can't take anything for granted now. Hagel would be someone
who would bring a lot of followers to Obama and would also be a healing
factor in re-uniting the country. And he just seems to be a "nice" and
decent guy.
I don't think Obama has many options.......and I still feel that Hillary is
the other consideration that would secure votes. Bottom line is that we
cannot afford four years of McCain....
Chuck Hagel is either the last of his breed or the Lone Ranger of the
post-Modern moderate Republican. He had an epiphany sometime during his
first term that brought him toward reasonable positions. He was NOT the
same man coming in....
Ric, you're right when you say "Hagel has proven himself moderate and
reasonable - at least in principle, if not in votes." I noticed that as
well. He sounds like a moderate, but he votes the Party line 4 out of 5
times.