A lot of people served in Vietnam who didn’t want to go. They were drafted. Tens of thousands of them died. John Kerry volunteered to go. Chuck Hagel was drafted and assigned to Germany. He requested to be sent to Vietnam instead. Kerry received the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and three Purple Hearts. Chuck Hagel received the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, two Purple Hearts, and the Army Commendation Medal. To be clear, both of these men went to Vietnam when they didn’t have to; both of these men demonstrated uncommon heroism in battle; both of these men were wounded more than once. Now, you may not be all that impressed. Maybe service to county and personal heroism don’t mean much to you if it’s done for a cause you don’t personally support. I don’t really care how you feel about it. But you better not say that these men are “less than ardent fans of the U.S. military”, as Texas Senator Ted Cruz recently did.

That was bad enough. But Sen. Cruz’s behavior in Chuck Hagel’s confirmation hearing was so bad that veteran columnist Brent Budowsky wouldn’t even repeat his language in a column condemning him in the harshest terms as a disgrace to his state and the Armed Services Committee.

Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida, who is about as excitable as a warm bag of Vaseline, got rather angry with Sen. Cruz, accusing him of lacking “comity and civility.”

Even John McCain indirectly repudiated Ted Cruz when he said that no one on the committee should impugn the integrity of his former friend Chuck Hagel.

Here’s what caused the controversy:

I don’t think there is any material difference between Sen. Cruz’s behavior and Sen. Joe McCarthy’s.

Cruz has been serving as a senator for less than two months and he has already distinguished himself as a dangerous demagogue.

Here’s Budowsky, who having served on Lloyd Bentsen’s staff, knows a thing or two about Texas politics:

The Senate Armed Services Committee has a long and proud tradition of bipartisan statesmanship that was violated by the Tea Party freshman senator who tried to smear a war hero who not only served his country with courage but also has battled for veterans and military families in Texas and nationally for a generation.

Nationally, the shameful performance by Cruz, who acted like Joe McCarthy in short pants with his insults of war hero Hagel, illustrates why Republicans keep losing elections, why the Republican and Tea Party brands are in such disrepute, and why the so-called Republican reboot (which I have called the Republican retoot) is still not close to credible.

In Texas, veteran voters know that Hagel is enthusiastically supported by the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and groups speaking for veterans of Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. Presumably while Hagel was battling as a decorated war hero and fighting for all living veterans, Cruz was being cheered at Tea Party seminars and eating popcorn at war movies.
Cruz’s performance at Armed Services was disgraceful and appalling. He violated the proud tradition of a great bipartisan committee and did no service to the countless veterans and war heroes of Texas and the nation who know that Hagel is a great friend and member of the band of brothers and sisters who serve Texas and America with valor.

Cruz voted against Kerry’s confirmation and he will no doubt filibuster Hagel’s. Quite a start to his career. May it be short.