So, I get the impression Michael Rubin isn't too happy with John McCain...

**Posted by Phineas

Background: On “Meet the Press,” Senator McCain (R-AZ) said he would no longer hold up the confirmation of former Senator Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense, even though he doesn’t believe Hagel is qualified.

That lead to Rubin’s rant:

What McCain is, in effect, saying is that he has no personal or professional problem with putting an incompetent man in charge not only of America’s defense but also—because of what falls under the Pentagon’s umbrella—most of America’s intelligence assets as well.

McCain prides himself on being a maverick. How sad it is that in the twilight of his great career, McCain now is so willing to knowingly undercut U.S. national security. How reassuring it must be to Kim Jong-un in North Korea, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon, and Ali Khamenei in Iran that McCain is so willing to help install an unqualified Defense Secretary. The only questions now is not whether the will test the United States, but when and how many U.S. serviceman will die because of it.

Ouch! That one will leave a mark on Senator ~~Prickly~~ McCain.

Senators often fall back on the principle of “comity,” a principle of “getting along for the good of the nation” that includes granting a very broad deference to the President in his cabinet choices. But lately it seems that, particularly under Obama, “getting along” really means “Republicans should shut up and take it.”

Now, I’m all for getting along in a genuine sense: mutual compromise in which majority and minority each give on something, and the legislature and the executive show a willingness to deal. Our form of government needs that. Hence, while I despise John Kerry, he is arguably qualified to serve as Secretary of State, where he or any other SoS would be implementing Obama’s policies. So, I had little problem with the senators who voted to confirm him, even if I wouldn’t have.

But that assumes basic competence, and Senator McCain said flatly that Hagel is unqualified. In that case, voting to confirm him (or, at least, not block him) isn’t “comity,” it’s not courteous deference in the face of policy disagreement. To accede to the appointment of someone unqualified for the office is a dereliction of one’s duty as a senator to advise and consent. Before any obligation to “get along” is one’s duty to one’s constitutional obligations and the welfare of the nation.

As Senator Ted Cruz said,

“Of course comity is important, but comity does not mean avoiding the truth concerning a nominee’s policy record…”

So why, Senator McCain, are you giving consent to Senator Hagel as Defense Secretary when you think he is incompetent?

PS: To those who think not staging a filibuster or not otherwise holding up Hagel’s nomination is somehow different from voting to confirm him, I answer “don’t be naive.” The Democrats have enough votes to carry the nomination, particularly if a national security hawk like McCain will no longer try to block it. In this case, dropping opposition is the same as voting to confirm.

(Crossposted at Public Secrets)

Carlos says:

February 18, 2013 at 4:02 pm

With the record of the Repubs in the past four years, voting to confirm Eyore wouldn’t surprise me, or for Mr. McGoo.

If competence for one’s job were the qualifying factor for confirmation, Duh-1 would still be nominating people to fill his first cabinet because he wouldn’t have any positions filled yet – he hasn’t nominated ONE person yet that was qualified for the job, unless “qualified for the job” means the nominee holds the “correct” ideology.

And Kerry? Since when is being a traitor the qualification for being SecState? McCain should know that better than anyone, since Kerry’s treachery affected him directly. So he was young and stupid then, OK, but that just means he’s old and stupid now because his ideologically-driven agenda still includes the demise of this country.

Drew the Infidel says:

February 18, 2013 at 4:33 pm

At this stage of the game it does not matter whether Hagel is confirmed or not. McCain, Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) exposed him for the counterfeit candidate for SecDef that he is. After documented revelations about his anti-Semitic remarks and other irresponsible utterings he is “damaged goods”. They got their pound of flesh, thankfully.

Brontefan says:

February 19, 2013 at 8:31 am

I wish I could say I have any respect for McCain, but I don’t. Any I had as a war hero, was long since eroded by his treatment of Sarah Palin during the 2008 campaign. At this point, not much surprises me… because we now have so many people who believe socialism is the answer–and by the time they figure out what they lost to achieve 0bama’s agenda, it will be too late to save the country.

February 19, 2013 at 11:23 am

Yeah, it seems to me that John-boy is like a guy who runs into a burning house to save a family, then expects everyone for the rest of his life to excuse all of his crappy behavior because he’s a wounded hero.

We’re glad you were a hero, John-boy. Now, just fade into the twilight gracefully because you’ve already helped the enemy you were fighting in ‘Nam (the communists) get most of what they want here. There are still some of us here who believe communism is evil, as evil as Islamism, and don’t care if that offends some of the more elite among us, like the press or the Prez.