Marathon Pundit: Americans for a Strong Defense forms to oppose Hagel

Opposition to President Obama's nomination of Chuck Hagel as SecDef continues to grow.

From Politico:

A group of Republican strategists is forming a new outside group aimed at thwarting Sen. Chuck Hagel's nomination as defense secretary, with a plan to air TV ads and to have people on the ground in the states of key senators to apply pressure in advance of his confirmation hearing.

Americans for a Strong Defense will be the latest group to hit Hagel from the right. As POLITICO reported yesterday, the well-funded American Future Fund is launching a multi-state ad campaign against Hagel, and the William Kristol-founded Emergency Committee for Israel has already aired cable ads in Washington arguing the former Nebraska senator is weak on Iran and in his support for Israel.

“Senator Hagel isn't the right choice for the Pentagon. We can do better. His views on our national defense and key foreign policy issues are deeply troubling, and they send the wrong signal to America's allies and adversaries,” said Brian Hook, a former Mitt Romney foreign policy adviser and a former assistant secretary of state under George W. Bush.

Comprising the board of the new group are Hook; Mauricio Claver-Carone, executive director of Cuba Democracy Advocates; and former Mitt Romney campaign hand Danny Diaz of FP1 Strategies, which is a 501(c)(4) and therefore won’t have to disclose its donors.