Letter to the Editor

Received this letter to the editor that a Hagel supporter from Martin County, FL recently submitted to his local paper, and just wanted to share it

"In the not so distant past, Republicans produced a conservative majority and were remaking America in ways profound. Yet, since absolute power corrupts (even Republicans) absolutely; we lost Congress. Now we are set on losing the White House.

Republicans today march like mindless drones behind GWB off the cliff. The GOP front runner is hardly pro-family and believes in publicly funded abortions. Once a Democrat, I fled to the GOP for those very reasons. Now, I'm supposed to support Giuliani? Never.

Bush abandoned the Powell doctrine and let Rumsfeld conduct the war like Jack Rogers cutting employees at GE. Result? We sent in just enough troops to create an insurgency and waited 4 long years to try and fix it. If that weren't bad enough, Bush $pent us into debt like Democrats of old. When the attorney general does something askance, we say: "Well it’s no different that what the Dems did!" We support such convoluted logic with the total absence of integrity like the mindless drones we've become. Our party once used to raise the bar and would never have settled for such "lowest-common-denominator" responses.

So, the Republican Party is dead and adrift with no heroes. Except one. Hagel. He supports small government, fiscal restraint, and is NOT interested in mindless nation-building in a Middle Eastern black hole. But will Hagel stand up and say: I AM THE HEART and soul of The Republican Party? No - not yet, because Republicans are too proud to admit the need to change. And that is exactly what we need to do. Or would we rather wait and watch while closet liberals destroy the GOP and Reagan’s legacy?

I am a conservative and I want a conservative candidate on my party's ticket. Do Martin County conservatives want that? If yes, the answer is: Chuck Hagel."

After reading this, this question came to mind: In the last 6 years, when have you heard the White House speak about historical Republican, conservative policies? Taking a look at the deficit, they don't seem to care too much for some of them.

Too Early?

Some people know that debates are about to start, and that the candidates will most likely be chosen by Feb 5, 2008. Most people, however, just know that we're coming into April 2007, and think that anything Presidential doesn't happen until the middle of January 2008. Well, by January 2008, the landscape won't look the same.

This may be the most important Presidential election in American history. It can be argued that there has never been so much at stake for future generations of Americans as there will be in this election. If anything, voters will be presented with more choices than they have ever been before. For this reason, it is important to support the candidate you want to run so that he/she knows that the support is there to make it to January 2008, and past Feb 5. Please, show Senator Hagel that you support the idea of a Hagel 2008 Presidential run. Visit Draft Hagel 08 to see what it's all about, if you haven't already. If you have, urge people you know to do the same. It is far from too early to do so.

Grassroots Groups

If there is a grassroots professional group (lawyers, nurses, doctors, etc) that you would like to start or be a part of, just let the folks over at DraftHagel08.com know!

Impeachment Talk

Senator Hagel has made it clear that he has not and is not calling for the impeachment of the President (see "This Week"), so why can't people mention "impeachment" and "President" without mentioning Hagel? As I mentioned, take a look at how he described it on "This Week"and try to argue with it.

The hope for 2008 is that the people will matter as much as the parties, if not more, as they should. At this point, the only person who can fulfill that hope is Chuck Hagel.

Supporting Senator Hagel

The reporting deadline for contributions this quarter is March 30. Show your support for Senator Hagel and show others how much support he has by contributing at www.hagel08.com today. Every donation, no matter the amount, helps.

Vacation

I'll be on vacation from the 26th-6th. I've asked Jeremy from Draft Hagel 08 to take over for me while I'm gone - so enjoy his posts. And remember - just because I'm gone doesn't mean you can't get involved in the Hagel campaign!

Is Hagel a "Conservative Turned Liberal?"

Here's a comment I got via e-mail from Mike earlier today:

I'm sure in the beginning Mr. Hagel was a nice man.

But come on, a candidate for REPUBLICAN PRESIDENT.

I see in many polls that Hagel hasn't even reached 1%, now boy that is funny. Sorry, but conservative, turned liberal won't make it with the middle class informed Americans.

OK - so in response to this I'd like to direct you to some statistics that Senator Hagel points out on his website:

Conservative Voting Records . . .

Senator Hagel has one of the most solid conservative voting records in the U.S. Senate. The following are his lifetime ratings from some important organizations:

Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) 94% (1997 - 2006)
U.S. Chamber of Commerce 96% (1997 - 2005)
American Conservative Union (ACU) 85.2% (1997 - 2006)
National Taxpayers Union 75% (1997 - 2005)
National Right to Life Committee 96.4% (2000 - 2006)
National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) 100% (1999-2006)
Club for Growth 99% (2005)


Hagel's Support of President Bush's Priorities in the Senate

2006 95.5% (highest of GOP Members in Senate)
2005 89%
2004 94%
2003 98%
2002 98%
2001 96%

Source: Congressional Quarterly, January 2007

So basically - the only liberal part about him is his stance on the Iraq War.