Chuck Hagel, a former lobbyist and senator, who has made controversial comments about Jews and gays, is apparently going to be President Obama's nominee for Secretary of Defense. The Center for Responsive Politics reports:
Hagel spent two terms as a senator. OpenSecrets.org data shows that he never picked up much support from any ideological group (and no significant amounts from pro-Israel groups) -- and also apparently had little to do with the defense industry, despite having served in the Army in Vietnam and earning a number of medals. He served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee rather than Armed Services.
Hagel's main source of support during his 12 years in office was the business world, with the insurance industry being his biggest backer (there's some logic there, with Omaha's reputation as an insurance town). The entire defense sector provided just $62,750 during his two terms. In fact, the only sector less financially supportive of Hagel than defense was labor. A breakdown of his support shows labor groups were responsible for just 2 percent of his PAC money and ideological groups for just 7 percent.
In 2002, the last year Hagel ran for reelection, he picked up just $1,000 from an individual in the foreign and defense policy interest area, and $46,500 from the defense/aerospace andmiscellaneous defense industries -- not much compared to the $278,000 he received from the insurance industry and $276,000 from the securities and investment industry, it seems like Hagel's closest friends on K Street might be those from Wall Street.
