Right Wingers Target Hagel's Nomination

Ever since former Sen. Chuck Hagel's name was floated as a possible nominee for Defense Secretary, the Rethugs and the neocon establishment have waged an unrelenting smear campaign against him. Neocon chickenhawks like Weekly Standard editor Wee Willie Kristol have attacked Hagel for supposedly being "soft" on Iran, while others have imagined an anti-Israel bias, in part perhaps because he once referred to the powerful pro-Israel lobby (i.e., AIPAC) as the "pro-Jewish" lobby.

Some Rethug critics seem to simply want to obstruct the President's choices for Cabinet Secretaries (see, Susan Rice), prominently South Carolina Rethuglican Sen. Lindsey "Huckleberry Closetcase" Graham. Sadly, some Dems are squirming uncomfortably and putting out weasel-worded, noncommittal statements, likely in fear of (multiple choice) the "pro-Israel lobby," gay rights groups who haven't accepted Hagel's apologies for statements made in the '90s, the wingnut Wurlitzer (Fux et. al.), all of the above. They need to get a grip, and get behind the President's choice, which is one he's prepared to fight for.