For Hagel, it's country above political party
When Chuck Hagel strode onto the political stage in 1996, Nebraska Republicans hadn’t won a Senate seat in two dozen years.
Twelve years later, he’s the only Nebraska Republican to be elected to the Senate during the past 36 years.
Hagel won twice.
In 2002, he sailed to a record re-election landslide after coasting through the primary election without a Republican opponent.
Hagel built the modern Nebraska Republican Party and put his stamp on it. His former chief of staff, LouAnn Linehan, oversaw and sometimes managed it from afar.
It was Hagel who threw his weight behind Dave Heineman at the critical opening stage of his 2006 gubernatorial primary showdown with Tom Osborne, suddenly announcing his endorsement even before Osborne stepped onto the playing field.
And Hagel who prodded Mike Johanns to enter the 2006 Senate race, even arranging a Park Avenue reception with movers and shakers to woo Nebraska’s governor during the 2004 Republican national convention in New York.
And Hagel who encouraged Johanns a second time to go after a Senate seat.
His.
When Republicans held their state convention in La Vista earlier this month, Hagel was not there.
It’s Heineman’s party now.
“When I was executive director and the NEGOP needed money, or help getting a speaker for an event, or help recruiting a candidate, or support for a candidate, it was always Senator Hagel who came through for us,” Jessica Moenning of Lincoln says.
“I was always grateful because he asked very little of the party and was always willing to do whatever was asked to help the party and its candidates.”
But Hagel is under “friendly fire” now.
Only it isn’t so friendly.
“It’s time for a reality check,” says former Republican State Chairman Chuck Sigerson, now a member of the Omaha City Council.
“Are you a Republican or not? If you’re a Republican, you should be endorsing McCain.
“Chuck personally may not like the war, but to go out there and court the presumptive Democratic nominee is beyond the pale.”
That’s the flash point.
Hagel has decided not to endorse presumptive GOP presidential nominee John McCain, a strong supporter of the war in Iraq.
And he has just returned from a congressional trip to Iraq and Afghanistan with Barack Obama.
This follows Republican disaffection with Hagel over his opposition to Iraq war policy, his criticism of President Bush and his moderate position on immigration reform. All that prompted Attorney General Jon Bruning to decide to challenge Hagel in the Republican primary if he had chosen to seek a third term this year.
Hagel did not; Bruning withdrew when Johanns decided to enter the race.
And now we are here.
“Rank and file Republicans are very dismayed by the actions of the senator,” Sigerson says.
“It’s time to rally around the Republican nominee. If you don’t feel that way, reassess your Republican credentials.”
As a matter of fact, Moenning counters, they’re pretty darn good.
“Look at Hagel’s voting record,” she says.
“It would be difficult to find anyone more Republican or conservative on every issue except Iraq.
“And I think if you polled today, an increasing number of Republicans are weary of the war. I’m not sure when supporting it became the litmus test to be a Republican.”
Congressional Quarterly voting survey figures demonstrate Hagel has supported both the Republican majority position and President Bush’s legislative agenda about 90 percent of the time during his years in the Senate.
“There’s still time,” Heineman says.
Time for Hagel to decide to endorse McCain, his longtime buddy.
“I hear from Republicans every day who clearly are unhappy and disappointed he hasn’t supported McCain yet,” the governor says.
“I agree with most Republicans. I would like to see him endorse Senator McCain.
“But it’s a decision he has to make.”
Heineman brushes aside criticism of Hagel’s trip with Obama.
“All congressional trips are bipartisan,” he says. “Other than the fact that this occurred in the middle of a presidential campaign, it’s pretty standard practice.”
Johanns says: “Senator Hagel has valuable foreign policy experience, so it is no surprise Senator Obama would want to travel overseas with him.”
Moenning is a committed Nebraska Republican.
In 2004, she was campaign manager for Rep. Jeff Fortenberry.
In 2006, she managed Republican Senate nominee Pete Ricketts’ campaign against Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson.
“I know a lot of Republican stalwarts are upset with Senator Hagel’s position on Iraq and his criticism of President Bush in that respect,” Moenning says.
But, she says, Hagel “has been straightforward about his positions and has acted with integrity and honesty.
“He has represented Nebraska as a statesman rather than a partisan, and even the most partisan among us should appreciate that.”
Hagel’s decision to withhold endorsement of “someone who differs with him so significantly on the issue he cares about most is in keeping with his principles,” Moenning says.
Sigerson, the party’s state chairman from 1995 to 2001, is unforgiving.
“Chuck always has been an independent thinker and he’s very good at supporting bread-and-butter Republican issues,” Sigerson says.
“But many of us in the base who rallied around him in 1996 are very disappointed he went down this path.
“There’s a growing separation between rank and file Republicans and Chuck Hagel. The rank and file are very dismayed.”
Sigerson was signed on as Bruning’s campaign manager had there been a Hagel-Bruning primary contest this year.
Bruning declined an interview for this story.
“I’ve always been very clear with my constituents where I think my principal responsibilities and duties lie,” Hagel says.
“It’s to the United States of America, not a political party, not a president, not a philosophy of government.
“I take an oath of office to uphold the Constitution of the United States. That oath does not mention Republican or Democrat.”
Nevertheless, Hagel says, it is very clear he has forged a strong Republican record during his 12 years in the Senate.
“And I am proud of the fact that I have helped lead the Republican Party back to some prominence in the state,” he says.
When he was first elected, Hagel says, he not only was the first Republican to win a Senate seat in 24 years. Democrats held both Senate seats as well as the governorship at the time, he says.
“And I don’t know of any Republican officeholder who has done more to raise money for my party and its candidates” in Nebraska, Hagel says.
“That’s (my) conservative Republican record,” he says.
Hagel says he traveled with Obama to Iraq and Afghanistan as part of a bipartisan congressional delegation with a belief that the United States needs to return to a bipartisan foreign policy and national security policy.
“The next president has to bring this country together to govern, whether it’s McCain or Obama,” he says.
“I do not intend to be involved in the presidential campaign,” Hagel says.
“I don’t think we need any more politicians or campaigners on either side.”
Reach Don Walton at 473-7248 or at dwalton@journalstar.com.
Twelve years later, he’s the only Nebraska Republican to be elected to the Senate during the past 36 years.
Hagel won twice.
In 2002, he sailed to a record re-election landslide after coasting through the primary election without a Republican opponent.
Hagel built the modern Nebraska Republican Party and put his stamp on it. His former chief of staff, LouAnn Linehan, oversaw and sometimes managed it from afar.
It was Hagel who threw his weight behind Dave Heineman at the critical opening stage of his 2006 gubernatorial primary showdown with Tom Osborne, suddenly announcing his endorsement even before Osborne stepped onto the playing field.
And Hagel who prodded Mike Johanns to enter the 2006 Senate race, even arranging a Park Avenue reception with movers and shakers to woo Nebraska’s governor during the 2004 Republican national convention in New York.
And Hagel who encouraged Johanns a second time to go after a Senate seat.
His.
When Republicans held their state convention in La Vista earlier this month, Hagel was not there.
It’s Heineman’s party now.
“When I was executive director and the NEGOP needed money, or help getting a speaker for an event, or help recruiting a candidate, or support for a candidate, it was always Senator Hagel who came through for us,” Jessica Moenning of Lincoln says.
“I was always grateful because he asked very little of the party and was always willing to do whatever was asked to help the party and its candidates.”
But Hagel is under “friendly fire” now.
Only it isn’t so friendly.
“It’s time for a reality check,” says former Republican State Chairman Chuck Sigerson, now a member of the Omaha City Council.
“Are you a Republican or not? If you’re a Republican, you should be endorsing McCain.
“Chuck personally may not like the war, but to go out there and court the presumptive Democratic nominee is beyond the pale.”
That’s the flash point.
Hagel has decided not to endorse presumptive GOP presidential nominee John McCain, a strong supporter of the war in Iraq.
And he has just returned from a congressional trip to Iraq and Afghanistan with Barack Obama.
This follows Republican disaffection with Hagel over his opposition to Iraq war policy, his criticism of President Bush and his moderate position on immigration reform. All that prompted Attorney General Jon Bruning to decide to challenge Hagel in the Republican primary if he had chosen to seek a third term this year.
Hagel did not; Bruning withdrew when Johanns decided to enter the race.
And now we are here.
“Rank and file Republicans are very dismayed by the actions of the senator,” Sigerson says.
“It’s time to rally around the Republican nominee. If you don’t feel that way, reassess your Republican credentials.”
As a matter of fact, Moenning counters, they’re pretty darn good.
“Look at Hagel’s voting record,” she says.
“It would be difficult to find anyone more Republican or conservative on every issue except Iraq.
“And I think if you polled today, an increasing number of Republicans are weary of the war. I’m not sure when supporting it became the litmus test to be a Republican.”
Congressional Quarterly voting survey figures demonstrate Hagel has supported both the Republican majority position and President Bush’s legislative agenda about 90 percent of the time during his years in the Senate.
“There’s still time,” Heineman says.
Time for Hagel to decide to endorse McCain, his longtime buddy.
“I hear from Republicans every day who clearly are unhappy and disappointed he hasn’t supported McCain yet,” the governor says.
“I agree with most Republicans. I would like to see him endorse Senator McCain.
“But it’s a decision he has to make.”
Heineman brushes aside criticism of Hagel’s trip with Obama.
“All congressional trips are bipartisan,” he says. “Other than the fact that this occurred in the middle of a presidential campaign, it’s pretty standard practice.”
Johanns says: “Senator Hagel has valuable foreign policy experience, so it is no surprise Senator Obama would want to travel overseas with him.”
Moenning is a committed Nebraska Republican.
In 2004, she was campaign manager for Rep. Jeff Fortenberry.
In 2006, she managed Republican Senate nominee Pete Ricketts’ campaign against Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson.
“I know a lot of Republican stalwarts are upset with Senator Hagel’s position on Iraq and his criticism of President Bush in that respect,” Moenning says.
But, she says, Hagel “has been straightforward about his positions and has acted with integrity and honesty.
“He has represented Nebraska as a statesman rather than a partisan, and even the most partisan among us should appreciate that.”
Hagel’s decision to withhold endorsement of “someone who differs with him so significantly on the issue he cares about most is in keeping with his principles,” Moenning says.
Sigerson, the party’s state chairman from 1995 to 2001, is unforgiving.
“Chuck always has been an independent thinker and he’s very good at supporting bread-and-butter Republican issues,” Sigerson says.
“But many of us in the base who rallied around him in 1996 are very disappointed he went down this path.
“There’s a growing separation between rank and file Republicans and Chuck Hagel. The rank and file are very dismayed.”
Sigerson was signed on as Bruning’s campaign manager had there been a Hagel-Bruning primary contest this year.
Bruning declined an interview for this story.
“I’ve always been very clear with my constituents where I think my principal responsibilities and duties lie,” Hagel says.
“It’s to the United States of America, not a political party, not a president, not a philosophy of government.
“I take an oath of office to uphold the Constitution of the United States. That oath does not mention Republican or Democrat.”
Nevertheless, Hagel says, it is very clear he has forged a strong Republican record during his 12 years in the Senate.
“And I am proud of the fact that I have helped lead the Republican Party back to some prominence in the state,” he says.
When he was first elected, Hagel says, he not only was the first Republican to win a Senate seat in 24 years. Democrats held both Senate seats as well as the governorship at the time, he says.
“And I don’t know of any Republican officeholder who has done more to raise money for my party and its candidates” in Nebraska, Hagel says.
“That’s (my) conservative Republican record,” he says.
Hagel says he traveled with Obama to Iraq and Afghanistan as part of a bipartisan congressional delegation with a belief that the United States needs to return to a bipartisan foreign policy and national security policy.
“The next president has to bring this country together to govern, whether it’s McCain or Obama,” he says.
“I do not intend to be involved in the presidential campaign,” Hagel says.
“I don’t think we need any more politicians or campaigners on either side.”
Reach Don Walton at 473-7248 or at dwalton@journalstar.com.
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