Chuck Hagel

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Chuck Hagel
Senior Senator, Nebraska
In office 1997 - Present
Preceded by	J. James Exon
Succeeded by	Incumbent
Born	October 4, 1946 North Platte, Nebraska
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Lilibet Hagel
Religion	Episcopal

Charles Timothy "Chuck" Hagel (born October 4, 1946) is the senior United States Senator from Nebraska. A member of the Republican Party, he was first elected in 1996 and was reelected in 2002. He is a Vietnam War veteran.

Contents 1 Early life and family 2 Business career 3 Senate career 4 Criticism of the Bush Administration 5 Possible run for President in 2008 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Early life and family

Born in North Platte, Nebraska to German-American parents, he graduated from the Brown Institute for Radio and Television in 1966 and from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 1971. Hagel is a Vietnam War veteran, having served in the U.S. Army infantry, attaining the rank of Sergeant (E-5) from 1967-68. While serving during the Vietnam War, he received the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal and the Combat Infantryman Badge.

Hagel married Lilibet Ziller in 1985; the couple have a daughter, Allyn, and a son, Ziller.

[edit] Business career

Until 1995 Hagel was CEO of the USO and of American Information Systems Inc. (AIS), which changed its name to Election Systems & Software (ES&S) in 1997. Voting machines made by ES&S have been the focus of intense scrutiny since the 2000 Presidential election due to their susceptibility to election fraud and tampering [1].

[edit] Senate career

In 1996, Chuck Hagel ran for the US Senate against Ben Nelson, who was the governor of Nebraska at the time. Although many people believed he had no chance of winning at all, he won a stunning upset in the election, receiving 54% of the votes (Nelson was later elected to Nebraska's other Senate seat, in 2000). Six years later in 2002, Hagel overwhelmingly won re-election with over 83% of the vote, the largest margin of victory in any statewide race in Nebraska history.

Since his election to the Senate in 1996, Hagel has served as deputy whip for the Republican Caucus. He has been chair of both the Senate Global Climate Change Observer Group and the Senate Oversight Task Force. He serves as co-chairman of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China. He also serves on the NATO Observer Group. Hagel is a member of four Senate committees: Foreign Relations; Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs; the Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on Rules and Administration.

In August 2004, Hagel acknowledged that he is considering a presidential campaign in 2008.

[edit] Criticism of the Bush Administration

On August 18, 2005, Hagel compared the Iraq War to Vietnam, and openly mocked Vice President Dick Cheney's assertion that the Iraqi insurgency was in its "last throes." [2]

In November 2005, Hagel made a much-publicized statement saying "To question your government is not unpatriotic -- to not question your government is unpatriotic." This was in reference to the increasing amount of debate surrounding the Iraq War, and his assertion that the United States should withdraw its troops.

In December 2005, in reference to Bush, the GOP, and the Patriot Act, Hagel made a much-publicized statement: "I took an oath of office to the Constitution, I didn't take an oath of office to my party or my president." [3]

In January 2006, Hagel took issue with Karl Rove over controversial statements the White House advisor made concerning the mindset of Republicans and Democrats. Hagel said, "Well, I didn't like what Mr. Rove said, because it frames terrorism and the issue of terrorism and everything that goes with it, whether it's the renewal of the Patriot Act or the NSA wiretapping, in a political context." He also said that "dark clouds" are hanging over the Republican party", and "If you look at the environment and the atmospherics politically in this town, read any poll. The sixth year of a governing party usually ... is not good ... the country is tired, a lot of complications in these international issues, we're at war." [4]

Hagel further criticized the Bush administration, saying, "National security is more important than the Republican Party or the Democratic Party. And to use it to try and get someone elected will ultimately end up in defeat and disaster for that political party." [5]

In July 2006, Hagel again took issue with the Bush administration, this time on its handling of the Israel-Lebanon issue saying "The sickening slaughter on both sides must end and it must end now. President Bush must call for an immediate cease-fire. This madness must stop." [6]

After Republican losses in the 2006 midterm election, Hagel penned an editorial in the Washington Post highly critical of military strategies both employed and proposed for Iraq. He unequivocally declared that "There will be no victory or defeat for the United States in Iraq," and called for a "phased troop withdrawal"—making Hagel one of the most prominent voices in his party to do so. [7]

According to a SurveyUSA poll, Hagel has a 10% higher approval rating among Nebraska Democrats than Republicans.[8] On the Issues rates Hagel as a "libertarian-leaning conservative."

[edit] Possible run for President in 2008

Hagel is widely discussed as a potential Republican presidential candidate in 2008. There is a Draft Hagel grassroots movement underway, with blogs [9] [10] [11] and on-line groups [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] devoted to recruiting Senator Hagel to run for President. The Senator has repeatedly said that he will not decide whether or not to run until after the November 2006 midterm elections.

[edit] References

• Charlyne Berens. Chuck Hagel: Moving Forward (U. of Nebraska Press, 2006), scholarly study

[edit] External links

• Official website.
• Sandhills PAC. Hagel Political Action Committee
• Official biography released by University of Nebraska Press
• Senator Hagel on the issues
• Congressional biography.
• Chuck Hagel for President - unofficial site
• Chuck Hagel profile, NNDB.
• http://www.thehill.com/news/012903/hagel.aspx "Hagel’s ethics filings pose disclosure issue", The Hill Newspaper, January 29, 2003
• Interview on C-SPAN Q&A, November 13, 2005
• Chuck Hagel: A Christmas Present, and Past. Washington Post article, December 22, 2005.
• Joseph Lelyveld, "The Heartland Dissident" New York Times Magazine February 12, 2006.
• Voting record maintained by the Washington Post

Political offices
Preceded by: J. James Exon	U.S. Senator (Class 2) from Nebraska 1997–	Succeeded by: Incumbent

Nebraska's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators: Chuck Hagel (R), Ben Nelson (D) Representative(s): Jeff Fortenberry (R), Lee Terry (R), Tom Osborne (R) All delegations: Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming — American Samoa • District of Columbia • Guam • Puerto Rico • U.S. Virgin Islands