There are a few Republicans (Chuck Hagel, Ron Paul, Paul Craig Roberts) who became Republicans because they believed the party shtick about small, decentralized, constitutional government. They understand that the biggest threat to decentralized, constitutional government is foreign wars. They thought, perhaps naively, that the Republican Party leadership also understood this.

Historically, though, the Republican Party has always been the party of big, centralized government, going all the way back to Lincoln. They have also always been the party of “business-government partnership”; that is, the government giving out special advantages to big corporations in exchange for campaign contributions. This is a form of corporatism, aka mercantilism, aka economic fascism.

Historically, the Republican Party has always been fond of “splendid little wars” like the Spanish American greed fest, in which the USA took control of Cuba, the Philippines, and (effectively, through proxies) much of Central America. Empire-building has always been on their agenda.

The Democratic Party, once the party of decentralized government, has followed the Republicans on all these key points. The Democrats are not an alternative; they are just more of the same, with a little different window-dressing.

What is extraordinary is that Hegel did not flinch when asked if he would support a democrat if the Republi-crooks nominate a pro-war candidate.  I suspect that Hegel would like to have a cabinet position in a new Democratic position.

I’m with Frikken Kids. They should have slapped him with contempt every time he opened his mouth. Or, just slapped him out right.

Meantime, I’m grateful for the interview with Hagel, since I was concentrating more on him than Bill Mahr.

I appreciate his honesty and integrity, which is exceedingly hard to come by in a politician. Besides, I agree with just about everything he said.

Being the pragmatic skeptic that I am, I don’t know for sure that we’re gonna be able to “self-correct” via our elections, but I’m willing to stay on the optimistic side of that, if only because the alternative is pretty dismal.

We ARE out of balance, and we can’t survive much longer in this mode.

They should have just slapped Petraeus with a contempt charge every time he used an Administration talking point. 

A general who would use the President’s talking points instead of honestly answering questions clearly shows contempt for the congress and the senate to whom he was speaking.

In my view, it’s the domino effect.  Bush’s use or (misuse) of Petraeus, is only exeplified by Petraeus’ use or rather misuse of the facts.

I don’t find Gen. Petraeus to be a poor, forlorn, used and abused soul as Sen. Hagel implies.  Gen. Petraeus eats very well, so I hear, I think it was lobster tortellini or something like that.  If you caught the episode in it’s entirety the other Senator mentions this.  So his “stint” in Iraq, isn’t one of the hardened soldier.

Possibly, Mr. Petraeus could see his way clear to speak the truth, IF, in fact, it were….....

It makes one consider what Bill Maher’s real agenda is?  Maher, I’ll agree can be quite entertaining, but his misogynistic “qualities” are quite prevalent.  I would equate him with Dr. Phil, funny…yes. But an ass just the same.  Suck it up, Bill.

How can anyone possibly have misginings about our glorious president?

Why, why, gasoline will be down to less than $5.00 a gallon by the end of the year!  We’ll soon be getting rid of that wasteful Social Security nonsense before much longer.  Truck drivers will be making as much as 10 or fifteen pesoes a day for almost no work at all. 

How much better can it get?

Looks like Sen. Chuck Hagel will be voting for Ron Paul.

The few people left like Senator Hagel, who aren’t owned by the military/industrial complex give me hope that this Democracy might yet be saved.

Someone needs to remind those now in office that the signers of the Constitution were only loosely affiliated by like ideas. Party allegiencs wasn’t the concern then, the well-being and survivability of a Democratic nation was their main theme.

Mr. Hagel,

You should say that General “Betrayed Us” had sold himself to the devil !