GOP demands delay in Hagel vote

[babylonsister]

Honestly. What a bunch of morans...


GOP demands delay in Hagel vote
By Jeremy Herb - 02/06/13 03:08 PM ET


A vote on former Sen. Chuck Hagel’s (R-Neb.) confirmation in the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday is in limbo, with Republicans demanding more information from the nominee on his paid speeches and financial disclosures.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) is trying to address the concerns raised by GOP members of his panel and has not decided whether to hold the vote Thursday on President Obama's Defense secretary nominee, a Senate aide said.

The aide said Levin hopes the concerns can be addressed so that a vote can proceed Thursday, but that a final decision has not been made.

Some Republican senators say that the vote should be delayed until Hagel addresses their questions about his paid speeches and provides additional financial documentation for organizations he's affiliated with, such as the Atlantic Council, where he is chairman.

Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) said she signed a letter that’s circulating among GOP senators calling for a delay on the vote until all necessary documentation has been provided.

more...

http://thehill.com/blogs/defcon-hill/policy-and-strategy/281505-hagel-committee-vote-in-doubt-as-gop-wants-delay

[Angry Dragon]

1. The American people demand a full accounting of all senatorial financial holdings to the penny

[Inuca]

2. And what the GOP demands, GOP gets

@edatpost
Senate Armed Services Cmte will not vote on #Hagel nom Thursday, accd to Sen. Carl Levin, who said he'd hoped to do so tomorrow

Edited to add an actual link http://www.politico.com/blogs/on-congress/2013/02/hagel-vote-delayed-156309.html

[TwilightGardener]

3. Here's some noise from Inhofe:

Inhofe Vows to Work for Hagel Nomination to 'Fail'
By Megan Scully
Roll Call Staff
Feb. 6, 2013, 4:54 p.m.





The top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee on Wednesday said his opposition to Chuck Hagel’s nomination to be the next Pentagon chief has only grown in recent days, and he vowed to work hard to defeat his confirmation.

“I will do what I can to see that it fails,” James M. Inhofe of Oklahoma told reporters.

http://cdn.rollcall.com/news/inhofe_vows_to_work_for_hagel_nomination_to_fail-222207-1.html?pos=hatxt


(--They were hoping he would say something during the hearing to lose Dem votes or provoke a Republican filibuster, but he didn't. So this is their last resort: delay and create an appearance of impropriety on Hagel's part to generate a filibuster, which would be the ONLY legitimate reason to filibuster.)

[babylonsister]

4. I so cannot stand that man, for so many reasons.

He's an ignoramus, a science denier, and an all around asshat. Why can't these old useless turds just go away?

[Inuca]

9. I don't have a problem with old

I have a problem with asshats and IDIOTS.

[Blue Idaho]

5. Lets hear it for Harry Reed and his brave stand on the filibuster!

Think we'd be having these problems if the republicans weren't ready to filibuster this vote?

Way to go Harry - what a leader.

[politicasista]

8. He can have several seats n/t

[Hippo_Tron]

6. As long as they don't filibuster him after this, I don't see it as an unreasonable request

If I were Levin I'd say fine on demanding the information, but I want McConnell going on record saying that he will support cloture.

[jenmito]

7. Update: Panel vote on Hagel delayed

A vote on former Sen. Chuck Hagel’s (R-Neb.) confirmation in the Senate Armed Services Committee has been delayed after Republicans demanded more information from the nominee on his paid speeches and financial disclosures.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) had hoped to hold the committee vote on President Obama’s Defense secretary on Thursday, but 25 GOP senators — including all of the 12 Republicans on the committee — sent Hagel a letter saying they opposed a vote until he provided the information they were calling for.

Levin said in a statement that he wasn’t holding a vote because the committee’s review of Hagel was “not yet complete.”

“The committee’s vote on Senator Hagel’s nomination has not been scheduled,” Levin said in a statement. “I had hoped to hold a vote on the nomination this week, but the committee’s review of the nomination is not yet complete. I intend to schedule a vote on the nomination as soon as possible.”

http://thehill.com/blogs/defcon-hill/policy-and-strategy/281505-hagel-committee-vote-in-doubt-as-gop-wants-delay

[Inuca]

10. Good article about the "documentation"

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/02/06/the-chuck-hagel-witch-hunt.html

Norman Ornstein, an expert on Congressional procedures with the American Enterprise Institute, called the requests "unprecedented." "I think it's a pretty ridiculous and outrageous thing to ask," he said. "You could say that there's been requests for detailed information [in the past], but this goes even beyond the intrusive questionnaires candidates fill out during the vetting process." Ornstein pointed the finger at Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who's questioning of Hagel during the confirmation hearing raised hackles. "That a Freshman senator would ask for that level of information says more about Ted Cruz than about anything else," Ornstein said. "I've never heard of anything like that before," he added. "But you could say that Ted Cruz in the Senate is unprecedented too."


Cruz appears to be spearheading the opposition: the Washington Post's neoconservative blogger Jennifer RubinIn wrote that the Texas Republican "circulated" the latest combative letter to Hagel. Senate Republicans asked Hagel for information he's not in a position to release, to them or anyone else, including financial information about private companies he was affiliated with but does not control. After initially asking for the information—in addition the extensive disclosures already made as part of the confirmation process—in a letter dated Jan. 29, Hagel responded with what information he could in a Feb. 5 letter. He wrote to the Republicans that some of the requested materials were not in his possession and, furthermore, that he couldn't release much of it even if it was. That's because the Republicans' requests go far beyond the scope of Hagel's personal finances and records, varying between asking him for materials that don't exist or that would violate legal agreements to release. Today, 25 Senate Republicans responded to Hagel reiterating their asks.