Hagel leaving is a loss for all

By Libby
Updated below

So Chuck Hagel is out. That's too bad. He's a Republican so needless to say I didn't agree with [practically] every vote he made, but he was an early and courageous critic of the occupation and he always struck me as an honorable man who acted more on conscience and principle than on politics -- a rarity in the current political class.

We need Republicans like him in office. I'm sorry to see him go but I can certainly understand why he's tired of the Beltway. And I didn't realize he had promised to term limit himself anyway. You don't see many keeping that promise once they've become comfortable in the halls of power. I'm sorry to see him go.

Update: I was so tired when I wrote this post last night, that I could barely see the screen. Avedon arrives in comments today to throw some cold water on my warm memories and I have to admit on review of his voting record, Hagel never, ever, backed up his rhetoric with his votes. It's a rather sad statement on today's political reality that even at least publicly voicing dissent before jumping into lockstep with the GOP party line feels at all laudable to me.

I'm still sorry to see him go. It seems unlikely any GOP successor will even bother to go through the motions of dissent and we badly need politicians that are willing to at least try to enlarge the debate.