Can we trade him for Joe?

By Libby

One of the more curious phenomena of this election are the party defections on both sides of the fence. The Democratic defectors get most of the attention, but the GOP defectors are much more interesting.

June 27 (Bloomberg) -- Senator Chuck Hagel declined to endorse his party's likely presidential nominee, John McCain, and said he would consider serving as secretary of defense in a Barack Obama administration.

Hagel, who last year considered a White House run as an independent, said he would remain a registered Republican: ``I don't know forever, but right now I'm not considering changing my registration.'' [...]

Hagel said his disagreement with the Bush administration and his view that the Republican Party ``has veered and shifted, and come loose of its moorings'' don't mean he has given up on the party.

The ``Republican Party is bigger than George Bush or Dick Cheney,'' Hagel said. ``I'm an Eisenhower Republican and the party today is not an Eisenhower Republican Party. Will it come back? I don't know.''

I guess this one doesn't quite count as a defection yet, but I would gladly give the GOP Joe Lieberman in trade for Chuck. Hagel is a much better Democrat than Lieberman ever was, or could hope to be. Heck, there's been times during Iraq debates I almost forgot that Hagel wasn't one of us.

Comments

[Brian]

Unlike Joe Lieberman, Hegel couldn't even get re-elected in his own state. The man has zero influence, and no one cares about him except a couple cable TV bookers.

[Pug]

Joe Lieberman couldn't win a primary in his own party. Since his reelection, mostly with Republican votes, he has broken every promise he made during the campaign.

I wouldn't trade him. I'd give him his unconditional release. And after November, that's is exactly what is going to happen to Joe Blow.

[Libby]

Brian, he's still a better trade than Holy Joe.

Pug, I think if the Dems sweep in Nov, we'll be rid of Joe one way or the other.

[Rudi]

Hagel is to the Right of McCain on most issues according to his voting record from http://www.votesmart.org/Project Vote Smart. But he does seem to have seen the light like Goldwater before his death.

[Nell]

Hagel would be a handy vote for the Dodd-Feingold-Leahy amendment to strip telcom immunity from the FISA bill. Think he'll do the right thing? I'm betting not.

[Libby]

I was kind of joking about keeping Hagel for ourselves. He's another one that talks big but votes bad. Still he would be a better deal than Joe, who can't even talk the talk anymore.