Thursday is the Senate Committee hearing on Chuck Hagel’s nomination to be the next Secretary of Defense. His nomination has been controversial, but msnbc Contributor Jimmy Williams predicted that Hagel would be confirmed. “The senate pretty much protects its own members,” he said. “The only thing they could do with Hagel would be to filibuster his nomination on the floor and I don’t see that happening at this point–but you never know.”
The Hagen nomination shows that cabinet nominations are now subject to “campaign-style, over the air assaults,”, as Steve Kornacki pointed out. More than $123,000 of Super PAC money has already been spent on ads against Hagel’s confirmation. “You are going to have grassroots and grass tops campaigns,” Williams said. “All the secret money that is going to be funneled in going forward: that is probably not the best way to get your nominee’s views, if you will, put out in the public domain.” In the old days, Williams said, the Senate used to be a place where you could go down to the floor, give your opinion, and leave.
What do you think of Chuck Hagel becoming the next Secretary of Defense?
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