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Now Here’s A Democratic Unity Ticket Fer Ya

Posted by SHAUN MULLEN, TMV Columnist in At TMV.
May 17th, 2008 | Comments

I have snoozed through all of the vice president talk — as in who should be the running mates for Barack Obama and John McCain — because it’s much too early to get serious about that stuff. But then I had an epiphany, at least as far as the presumptive Democratic nominee is concerned:

Charles Timothy “Chuck” Hagel.

Inviting the retiring Nebraska Republican onto the ticket works every which way but one.

He is the consummate straight talker, a hero from the same war as McCain but share’s Obama’s views on same, ditto on civil liberties and immigration reform and a host of other issues, has beaucoup foreign policy experience and balances the ticket with his prairie populist Nebraska roots.

The one downside?

Hagel likes to wear costumes to work on Halloween, typically masquerading as colleagues (like Joe Biden in the photo above), and how could we live with a veep like that after Cheney and Gore?

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superdestroyer

Why worry about an unity ticket. The Republicans are in the middle of a total collapse and could be irrelevant to politics as early as January 2009. Why aid them? If the Democratic Party would just stay patient, the only political party will be the Democratic Party.

Why would Obama nominate someone who is so dispised in his own political party. It is hard to find an issue where the rank and file Republicans would agree with Senator Hagel.

HappySurge

Well, not really SD. The point is to attract moderate Republicans, and Chuck Hagel is a sort-of, you could say, because of the Iraq war, kind of, sometime, moderate for a Republican guy, so he would appeal to them...

But that is a good point in the way it is a bad point.

Why did the Republicans nominate someone so despised by their own party?

pico13

True, putting Hagel on the ticket wouldn't win over any Republicans, but it COULD take a bite out of a portion of the moderate, independent voters that would otherwise be more attracted to McCain. Furthermore, it would put some substance behind Obama's claim that his presidency would embrace a "post-partisan" political atmosphere and work with Republicans rather than following in the divide and conquer mold of the Bush administration. I just wonder if Hagel would be willing to put himself through the rancorous attacks from his own party that would result. It would make the Democrats' disgust and enmity for Lieberman look tame by comparison.

JSpencer

You might as well ask, why worry about unity period? The point is, unity should trump division just as country should trump party, etc. I think the choice of Hagel for VP would be at least a step in that direction. In an era of rapidly escalating, and larger problems on the horizon, I don't see how we can afford the same disdain for unity we've witnessed in the past. Besides, I like Hagel's sense of humor. ;-)

superdestroyer

Happysurge,

It has to do with way the primaries were structure and the overall weakness of the Republican Party. McCain won in blue states in winner take all Republican Primaries. His main opponents all had serious flaws.

So now the Republicans are stuck with a candidate who is totally unfit to be president and continues trends that have damanged conservative issues.

However, Hagel is an open borders, unlimited immigration advocate. Any Republican who supports a policy that will make limited government impossible is too stupid to be dog catcher let alone vice president.

Rudi

It's not moderate Republicans that are losing to moderate conservative Democrats, it's Republicans like Gordon Smith. The Republicans are becoming more partisan and Right Wing, not moderate with each loss. While the Democrats have Webb and Schuler, the Republicans lose three special elections.

superdestroyer

Rudi,

The Repubicans in states like Mass and Maryland have tried the modreate Republican, Democratic lite strategy. All of those attempts have failed miserably. Look at Chaffe in Rhode Island. Did being moderate help him? No. but it hurt other Republicans.

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