Victory Caucus Alert: Bruning now says may stay in race even if Hagel runs for re-election
By red oakster Posted in 2008 | Spotlight Blogs — Comments (21) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Bruning is now saying he may stay in the race even if Hagel does not retire. This should force Hagel's timetable. It also demonstrates that at least one challenger recognizes that challenging anti-war incumbents may be good politics.
UPDATE (by Adam C):
Poll by Bruning's (R) camp (take with whatever grain of salt you'd like):
Primary Election Matchup
J. Bruning 47%
C. Hagel 38
Undec 15
Fav/Unfav
D. Heineman 82%/ 7%
Pres. Bush 67 /26
J. Bruning 61 / 8
C. Hagel 52 /36
H. Daub 39 /18
Has Chuck Hagel Earned Another
Term As Sen.?
Has earned another term 38%
Give someone new a chance 49
(Hat tip: Hotline)
Time for CHuck to go home and sell shoes or something.
"...and each wasted evening is
a gross violation against the
natural course of your only life;"
-Charles Buckowski
It's very likely a credible challenger could take down Hagel in the primary since Republicans nationwide are disgusted with him.
Nebraska is far too conservative a state to have a RINO like Hagel.
Hagel has paved the way for othe Republicans to chip away at support for the Presiden't Iraq surge. Hagel even suggested that he might be open to impeaching the President.
A challenger could raise a lot of money against Hagel, count me in as a supporter.
"Back in the thirties we were told we must collectivize the nation because the people were so poor. Now we are told we must collectivize the nation because the people are so rich. "
William F. Buckley, Jr.
Just want to note that I called this before the 2006 elections.
Chuck Hagel will lose his Republican primary if he runs. Sen. Hagel has the same negatives (in a mirror image way) as Sen. Lieberman. He hails from a rather conservative state and he has a record of disloyalty that upsets activists. He is obviously contemplating running for President as the Pacifist Republican in 2008 which would leave his seat open. If he decides to run for the Senate, I expect some conservative will challenge him....
Hagel has higher approval ratings from Ds than Rs in NE. Ds favor his behavior 60-33 while Rs favor it 53-41. That narrow majority comes without any opposition hammering him for his positions. And after 2-4 years of hearing Sen. Hagel spend his time and effort denigrating the U.S. military efforts in the Middle East and the War on Terror, NE GOPers just might follow their hearts to a primary challenger.
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Bobby Jindal Saves Louisiana
Adam, you nailed it!
The Republican Party needs to clean house - before we can seriously take on the challenges of the '08 runs against the Leftists, the Republican Ship needs to be in order.
Every Republican vote on the War Supplemental Bill has to be reviewed, every "unauthorized" trip to terrorist supporting countries examined, and future votes on taxation, spending, etc. put under a microscope.
It's a sad, sad day when I'm nodding my head more in agreement to the words of Joe Lieberman than Chuck Hagel. Very sad.
One last thought. I hope Chuck does run for the Presidency. It will be fun to see him get buried by the likes of even a Tommy Thompson (nothing personal against Tommy other than his obscurity)in the primaries. Maybe then....Chuck will "get it."
That was a prediction, not an endorsement of the idea. Hagel is one of the most conservative members of the Senate. He voted for the Constitutional/Nuclear Option, he is pro-life, and he has a high ACU score compared to many Senators. Thus, the comparison to Lieberman who is quite liberal on most issues but lined up against his party on the #1 issue of the day.
If I were an activist, I would say beating Landrieu, recruiting someone against Pryor (AR) and Rockfeller (WV), and challenging a few swing state Ds would be higher on the priority list. And that's just the Senate. There are 30-50 house seats where Ds won and Bush won by 5% or more in 2004. There is a lot of important work to be done.
It's one thing to take out a person who is out of touch with their district. But prioritization matters as well. I wouldn't be convinced that a safe NE senate seat is the highest priority. But obviously, others disagree.
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Bobby Jindal Saves Louisiana
Tim Johnson's seat is another that we should target. CQ rates his seat as "no clear favorite."
...a long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right...
---Thomas Paine---
If your are correct on Hagel's conservatism, and if Aurelian is correct (far below), it seems that Hagle is conservative on all issues except the two most important ones--Iraq and Border Security/Immigration.
Harry Reid on Iraq: “I say we’ve lost. Let’s bring our boys home in, oh, say 18 months. In the meantime, no more funding for them.”
I wonder if Hagel loses the Republican primary whether he would consider running as an independent? If your numbers regarding approval ratings are accurate, I'd think he would have a good chance of winning. Anyone know Nebraska election law and whether Hagel could run as an independant after losing in the primary?
From a perusal of the Nebraska Election statutes it would appear that a person who loses a primary election is expressly prohibited from appearing on the general election ballot unless a vacancy occurs on the ballot. This would apparently prevent Hagel from running as an independent should he lose a Republican primary unless the winner of said primary were to drop out for some reason.
Besides, even if Hagel did run, it would not be CT 2006. First, I doubt the Democrats will have the same level of loser that the CT GOP had (meaning that there won't be an active reason for dems to vote against their nominee). Second, I don't think Hagel would manage to hold that many GOP voters in the general if he lost the primary. While he is "popular" I don't think that popularity would be sustained after a loss in the way Lieberman's popularity was.
Thanks for the info. Based on that, I feel a little more comfortable trying to take him out in the primary.
As I said here, I'm on my way to Bruning's website to contribute. Hagel is this year's Linc Chafee. It's time we put a boot to Hagel's backside. Good riddance.
While it would be nice to wipe off that smirk Shmagel always has on his face- by him running for POTUS the media will have him interviewed every 2.3 minutes just to make the GOP look splintered and weak. I would prefer never to him from that guy ever again..
United States Air Force
http://airforcepundit.blogspot.com
Hagel hurts Republicans like Lieberman hurts the Democrats. Liberman reinforces the image that Democrats are spineless defeatists that don't have the stomach for the war against terror.
With Hagel, the media gets to run the headline, "Republicans Against War Strategy, etc." It splinters support from the general public and the Party, when really it just one blowhard politician.
Being an outspoken publicity hound and receiving fawning meida coverage encourages other Senators to wander off the reservation.
I'm sure Hagel is solid on fiscal issues, but I would rather have him taken down as a lesson to the rest of Republicans who relish being "Mavericks of their Party."
I don't think it will be too difficult to replace Hagel with a solid Republican, Nebraska is quite conservative and a Democrat would have a hard time winning that Senate seat.
We can have our cake and eat it too.
"Back in the thirties we were told we must collectivize the nation because the people were so poor. Now we are told we must collectivize the nation because the people are so rich. "
William F. Buckley, Jr.
> I would rather have him taken down as a lesson to the rest of Republicans who relish being "Mavericks of their Party."
That's one reason I strongly oppose John McCain.
I.e. do you have to be a Republican, or non-Democrat, or can anyone vote in Nebraska's Republican primaries?
If Dems can cross over and vote for Hagel in the Nebraska primaries, it'll make our work that much tougher.
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Internet member since 1987
Member of the Surreality-Based Community
comeuppance from the voters, and the fear that the White House and the RNC would present the usual nauseating spectacle of financial and political support for Hagel as they always do (sigh).
I can hear it now...Chuck and I have had our differences, but Chuck is a solid conservative, we need him in the Senate....
They supported Chafee and he voted against the war (only Rep)and said he voted against Bush for President!
> They supported Chafee and he voted against the war (only Rep)and said he voted against Bush for President!
I wonder if Bush regrets having supported Specter. It seems every word out of Arlen's mouth these days is static about the Bush Administration.
1) Hagel hasn't even decided on whether he is going to run again and I believe he set "term limits" on himself but as everyone knows that never really happens.
2) Bob Kerrey is considering running again, even though he said it is slim, and only if Hagel doesn't run. Wouldn't be good if he reentered race
3) I don't see what a 3 way primary race would look like. Could help Hagel in the end
4) Not good sign for Hagel. Seems same situation as Lieberman. Lieberman is a very liberal Senator with a very pro-war stance and Hagel is a very conservative Senator with a very anti-war stance.
5) Don't ask for another Kansas situation. Kansas Democrats are doing rather well lately because of the split between moderates Republicans and conservatives. This seems to be a sign happening in multiple states right now.
As a lifelong Nebraska resident I have to admit that I am ashamed to say that Chuck Hagel represents me.
I plan on voting for whoever runs against him.
I was pleasantly surprised when Bruning announced his candidcacy.
I had also heard rumors that possibly former Gov Mike Johanns (currently GW's Ag Sec'y) might run. I'd vote for him too.
It's really saying "something" when I admit that our best Senator is a Democrat (Nelson ... and I'd vote for him over Hagel too!).
...then we must mention his leftwing position on immigration reform.
Otherwise, he has a pretty good career voting record in the Senate.
if Bruning gets in he will get a lot of my money. I can't stand Shmagel and never have. What an embarrassment to our party.. Nebraska should do better!
United States Air Force
http://airforcepundit.blogspot.com