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Common sense suggests Sen. Tommy Tuberville should simply stop talking about the United States military. After all, the Alabama Republican was responsible for an unprecedented 10-month blockade on armed services confirmations, which undermined his own country’s military during international crises.
The same far-right senator has also reportedly failed to follow through on his commitments to veterans’ charities, failed to tell the whole truth about his father’s military service, and even lied about the U.S. military not being “an equal opportunity employer.”
But while it’s tempting to think the Alabaman would realize he should probably focus his energies elsewhere, Tuberville apparently can’t help himself.
Last week, for example, my MSNBC colleague Ja’han Jones noted that the Republican senator used veterans to push a debunked anti-immigrant conspiracy theory. The Department of Veterans Affairs found it necessary to issue a statement setting the record straight after Tuberville helped promote the misinformation.
This week, the coach-turned-politician appeared on Fox Business and thought it’d be a good idea to complain about what he perceives as the U.S. military’s “weakness.”
“You’ve got people that I don’t trust running the show. We’ve got less experience. Our military is the weakest it’s been in many, many years. Since 1991, you know, we’ve kinda gone downhill with our military.”
To be sure, it’s a free country. Senators are not required to support or respect the armed forces. If Tuberville wants to disparage the U.S. military, that’s between him, his conscience, and his constituents.
But there are a few things worth keeping in mind.
First, there’s a degree of irony in seeing Tuberville take steps to weaken the military and then whine about how weak he thinks the military is.
Second, the idea that the armed forces have “gone downhill” over the last 33 years isn’t supported by any evidence, and the GOP senator made no effort to substantiate his baseless rhetoric.
And finally, I can’t help but remember a recent Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in which Tuberville boasted that “there’s nobody more military up here than me.” The Alabama Republican — who has literally never spent a day serving in the armed forces — was referring to a panel filled with actual military veterans from both parties, many of whom received honors for their service, some of whom served in combat, and some of whom suffered serious injuries while in uniform.
Tuberville’s “more military” boasts were offensive at the time, but they appear even worse in hindsight.