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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsHagel says Trump 'an embarrassment'
DON WALTON Lincoln Journal Star Jan 13, 2018 Updated 21 hrs ago
Chuck Hagel believes we have entered "a defining year, a year of volatility and uncertainty and great danger" for the United States and the world.
A year that will determine whether America continues to "walk away from its indispensable leadership position" in the world. A year when Republicans in Congress may be called upon to choose country over party.
A "rather significant political year" when voters will shape the next Congress.
"We have not really seen these kind of times since Watergate and Vietnam," Nebraska's former U.S. senator and former U.S. secretary of defense said during a wide-ranging telephone interview from Washington.
While President Donald Trump is at the heart of all of this, "intentionally dividing the country and the world," pulling away from alliances that have benefited America and abandoning trade agreements that have been in U.S. interests, he is not the only catalyst in play, Hagel said.
"Globally, you see the same political dysfunction in virtually every democracy in the world," Hagel said, with England abandoning the European Union, German Chancellor Angela Merkel struggling to form a coalition government and Emmanuel Macron bringing a new face to the government of France.
"Nationalism, populism everywhere," Hagel said.
As for Trump himself, Hagel emailed a blunt assessment one day following the interview after the president asked congressional leaders why the United States should be open and welcoming to immigrants from "shithole countries" like Haiti and in Africa.
"Donald Trump is doing great damage to our country internationally," Hagel said. "He's an embarrassment."
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http://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/federal-politics/hagel-says-trump-an-embarrassment/article_1b50e1fd-d4b3-51e0-8281-1ddf8f82d709.html
triron
(22,020 posts)I saw it earlier but could not access this article.
Freethinker65
(10,048 posts)And STOP it from happening?! An occasional dissent here and there means absolutely nothing.
If nothing else, band together and implore any and all sane Republican voters left to vote Democratic next election, if only to insure some checks and balances for this destructive administration.
MiniMe
(21,718 posts)Freethinker65
(10,048 posts)Since they no longer have a legislative vote, they could band together to persuade any sane conservatives voters left how distructive this administration is with no checks and balances. Certainly those needing to be re-elected do not care and are useless because they are all about self preservation and donor $$$.
NewJeffCT
(56,829 posts)Are those not in Congress -
Steve Schmidt, Nicolle Wallace, Ana Navarro, Jennifer Rubin, and a few others.
JI7
(89,264 posts)KY_EnviroGuy
(14,494 posts)I've long said that if enough billionaires get fed up with Dirty Donald, he can be easily brought down since several of them would have to fund the effort via the media, put pressure on Wall Street, and also threaten to de-fund a bunch of GOP campaigns. Their language is the only one GOP CongressCritters understand.
Otherwise, I doubt if the GOP statesmen would be given a public platform to be heard, and Faux News sure as hell would not.
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