With news that Sen. Chuck Hagel is calling it quits, I’m reminded of just how far the Republicans have traveled down the road of perfidy. Without Hagel, do you know who the second ranking member of the Foreign Relations committee is? It’s former Chattanooga mayor, Bob Corker. That’s right…if Lugar gets sick or retires, a freshman know-nothing senator from Tennessee will be in charge of overseeing the State Department and foreign relations for the GOP. It’s hard to drop further in stature and experience than Lugar-to-Corker. But that’s the way it goes these days. John Warner is retiring, Chuck Hagel is retiring. You know who’ll be ranking member of Armed Services now, if McCain retires? Jim Inhofe (if he’s reelected) or Jeff Sessions, that’s who.
I’m not a Republican, so I tend to dislike what Republicans do. Even Republicans that I used to respect, like Lugar, Warner, and Hagel have disappointed me during the Bush years. But we are going to miss those senators when they’re gone, because their replacements are much worse.