Without Discipline, Conservatism Is Finished

Once the Democrats decided to agree on a position and then vote as a block, the conservative movement was overwhelmed, as we never can seem to do that. A great illustration is presented in the Hagel confirmation battle, a nomination that should never have been made and should not have a chance of succeeding; see “Dropping the Hagel Bomb”. Four Republican senators jumped ship from the Republican position and voted for cloture. Conservatives have independent minds, and that’s as it should be, but we will never be able to outflank and defeat the Democrats unless we can unite behind a position and a leader. We should argue out our ideas, reach a consensus, and unite behind it, not argue in public and undermine our leaders as we did to Boehner several times recently.

Another problem we have is that many good conservatives have belief systems that are 90% logical, but then often also have some ideas that would be ruinous to the party and to the nation. Michelle Bachmann and Herman Cain come to mind, as well as our new star, Dr. Benjamin Carson. Dr. Carson swept us off our feet with his speech extolling solid, conservative values and ideas right in front of our exalted ruler, President Obama, but then he went on to advocate a flat tax. I know a flat tax appeals to some wealthy people and to academics, but supporting it would mean the end of Republicanism.

Hagel confirmation hits stumbling block

Rick Moran February 15, 2013 American Thinker (excerpt)

“There's not much chance that Hagel can be blocked. McCain and probably Lindsey Graham will join the Democrats on the next vote, thus giving Harry Reid his 60 senators. But it is certainly an embarrassment for Obama and it serves Hagel right for the inept and incomptent confirmation hearing he went through in the Armed Services Committee." American Thinker

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Jewish Groups Must End Silence on Hagel

Jonathan S. Tobin February 14, 2013 Commentary (excerpt)

“To the shock of many Democrats who just days ago thought Chuck Hagel’s confirmation was a cinch, the effort to force a cloture vote on his nomination failed this afternoon in the Senate. That puts the Hagel nomination on ice for at least another 10 days until after the President’s Day Congressional recess. Had the White House been forthcoming with more information about the president’s actions during the terror attack in Benghazi, this might have been avoided. Several Republicans said the delay of the vote on Hagel would be lifted as soon as the administration relented on that point but it refused to do so and Majority Leader Harry Reid forced a vote that he knew he would lose.

It is possible that during the intervening week, the president will surrender the data that the Republicans want and that the vote on Hagel will take place later this month and, following the party line vote in the committee, he will be confirmed. But the delay will also allow senators more time to ruminate on the nominee’s hapless performance at his confirmation hearing as well as to digest other information that is coming out about even more disturbing comments that Hagel has made about Israel. As I wrote earlier today, our former colleague Alana Goodman’s reporting at the Washington Free Beacon uncovered an account of a 2007 speech given by Hagel at Rutgers University during which he claimed the U.S. State Department was being run by the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

This hateful statement is actually worse than Hagel’s infamous complaint about the “Jewish lobby” intimidating Congress. It is not only absurd since the State Department has always been a stronghold of Arabists but a rehash of the old anti-Semitic myths about foreign Jews manipulating American policy. The only question now is whether the same Jewish groups that have been conspicuous by their silence about Hagel’s nomination will find their voices and help kill this unfortunate nomination once and for all." Commentary