Reading The Hagel-ography

Fred Kaplan over at Slate thinks he has the reasons why Republicans hate Chuck Hagel as Defense Secretary:

The real question is what kind of job Obama wants his next secretary of defense to do. I have no inside knowledge on this, but judging from some of his actions and remarks on matters of national defense, Hagel seems to be the right choice. And that’s what disturbs the most outspoken Hagel-resisters.

These resisters have four main concerns. They fear that Hagel will cut the military budget. They fear that he’ll roll over if Iran builds a nuclear weapon. They fear that he’s too reluctant to use military force generally. And they fear he doesn’t much like Israel; the extremists on this point claim he’s anti-Semitic.

Kaplan then discusses these points, and finds they're all nonsense.

Let’s look at the real issues. Hagel is a former two-term Republican senator. He won two Purple Hearts as an infantry squad leader in Vietnam. No one could possibly dispute his devotion to the country, its security, or its armed forces. But he is a pragmatist, and there may be the rub. What Republicans seem to fear most is that by appointing Hagel as secretary of defense, Obama can claim a false bipartisanship in his national-security team. In fact, these critics say Hagel does not reflect the values or positions of the Republican Party; his presence in Cabinet meetings would not constitute real bipartisanship.

If that is true, the real problem is with the present-day Republican Party. It’s often said that today’s GOP wouldn’t nominate Ronald Reagan for president. By the same token, much of its leadership would rail against Robert Gates for secretary of defense.

For once, Kaplan is right.  Also, let's not forget that the real reason the Republican party will fight Chuck Hagel as Pentagon head is the fact that Barack Obama is the one nominating him.  President Obama could nominate anyone -- even a Republican, mind you -- and they would be shot down.

Republicans are going to block anything the President tries to do, and then cry "DICTATORSHIP!" when the President is forced to use executive orders and recess appointments to do anything at all.  That certainly didn't change just because the President, you know, won the election.