Senate breaks the new ‘Three Stooges’ filibuster of Chuck Hagel

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

McCain 3 StoogesThe U.S. Senate today broke the filibuster by the new "Three Stooges," John McCain, his puppet boy Little Lindsey Graham, and Kelly Ayotte ("Shemp"). The Washington Post reports, Hagel clears filibuster hurdle, is poised for confirmation:

Chuck Hagel’s bid to become the next defense secretary cleared a
major hurdle Tuesday, beating back a Republican effort to block his
nomination almost two weeks after GOP senators launched a filibuster.

On a 71 to 27 vote, easily clearing the 60-vote threshold, the
former Republican senator is poised for confirmation later Tuesday
afternoon, overcoming Republican objections to his views on Middle East
security.

Eighteen Republicans supported moving to a final vote, joining 53
Democrats. Some of the Republicans who supported ending the Hagel
filibuster — including his chief opponents, Sens. John S. McCain
(R-Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) — are expected to oppose him on
the final vote, which will only require a simple majority for his
confirmation.

The vote marked a foreign policy victory for
President Obama, who pushed the nomination of his old friend from the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee despite warnings of a rough
confirmation process. Hagel, an Army infantryman who was awarded two
Purple Hearts during the Vietnam War, will become the first enlisted man
to ever go on to lead the Pentagon.

Actually, what is really going on here is that the new Three Stooges have agreed to a hostage swap. McCain threatens to block pick for CIA:

Sen. John McCain on Sunday renewed his threat to place a hold on John
Brennan's nomination as CIA director, saying his decision depends on
Brennan's answers to his questions about the terrorist attack last
September in Benghazi, Libya, and his knowledge of harsh CIA
interrogation techniques.

"He needs to answer these questions,"
McCain, R-Ariz., said on CNN's "State of the Union." "I don't want to
put a hold on anybody, but the American people deserve answers."

* * *

Brennan's situation remains complicated. In addition to demands by
McCain and others for more information on Benghazi and harsh
interrogation techniques that critics describe as torture, members of
the Senate Intelligence Committee, which has not yet voted on his
nomination, have insisted that the White House provide them with Justice
Department memos related to the legality of its targeted-killing
campaigns against terrorist suspects overseas.

The new Three Stooges are still pursuing their "Benghazi!" fever. I am more interested in John Brennan's role as "Lord of the Drones" for the CIA — why is a spy agency conducting lethal military operations? — and his role as undersecretary of the CIA during the illegal torture regime of the Bush-Cheney administration. Brennan testified that he objected to the illegal torture program, but how strenuously did he object and what did he do to stop it? (John McCain and Little Lindsey Graham should have to answer these questions as well). Brennan has not satisfied my concerns on these weighty subjects.

UPDATE: Senate confirms Chuck Hagel as defense secretary:

On a 58 to 41 vote, the Senate confirmed the former GOP senator as four
Republicans joined 54 Democrats in approving Hagel, ending a nearly
two-month battle that included an unprecedented filibuster against the
nominee.

The four Republican senators voting in favor were Thad Cochran (Miss.),
Mike Johanns (Neb.), Richard C. Shelby (Ala.) and Rand Paul (Ky.). All
41 no votes came from Republicans.