As Sen. Tommy Tuberville has faced pushback over his radical holds on U.S. military confirmations, the Alabama Republican has become a little defensive about allegations that he’s deliberately trying to undermine his own country’s armed forces. The far-right senator has repeatedly responded with a simple retort: “There is nobody more military than me.”
The boast has never made sense — Tuberville has literally never spent a day serving in the military — but that didn’t stop the GOP lawmaker from trying to peddle the line again during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing last week. As The Washington Examiner noted, this led to some necessary pushback from Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona.
Tuberville said that “there’s nobody more military up here than me” during the hearing for the nominations of Derek Chollet, who has been picked to be the next undersecretary of defense for policy, and Cara Abercrombie, who will be the assistant secretary of defense for acquisition if confirmed.
After the Alabaman spoke, it was Kelly’s turn, and the Arizonan — a retired Navy pilot and former NASA astronaut — felt the need to set the record straight.
“As far as I can tell, there’s at least four of us, maybe more, that served in the United States military. In some cases, for decades, and at least three combat veterans,” the Democratic senator explained. “So, I take great exception to what Sen. Tuberville had to say, and I’ve heard him say it before, and it just doesn’t make any sense. So, I wish you would please re-evaluate what you think your experience and, you know, just be a little bit more careful about what you say about the United States military.”
At that point, common sense — and common decency — suggests that Tuberville would’ve had the good sense to slink away and reflect on his mistake. Instead, the Alabaman pressed further, suggesting that his father’s service entitled him to make such claims.
“No, I don’t think that’s the case,” Kelly replied.
Broadly speaking, there are a couple of angles to this that are worth keeping in mind. The first is that the Senate Armed Services Committee is filled with actual military veterans — many of whom received honors for their service, some of whom served in combat, and some of whom suffered serious injuries.
As the Examiner’s report added:
Among committee members, Chairman Jack Reed (D-RI) served in the Army, Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) volunteered for the Navy Reserve and served overseas after 9/11, Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) lost both her legs in the Iraq War while serving in the Army as a pilot, Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) serves in the Marine Corps Reserve and spent time in the Middle East and the Horn of Africa, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) served in the Army, ranking member Roger Wicker (R-MS) served in the Air Force, and Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) served overseas in the Army Reserve.
I’d add that Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut served in the Marine Corps Reserve, and Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida served in the Navy. Both members also serve on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Meanwhile, Tuberville’s most meaningful association with the military was coaching the losing football team in the 2014 Military Bowl. For him to say — out loud and in all seriousness — that “there’s nobody more military” than him on the Senate Armed Services Committee is plainly indefensible. But making matters slightly worse is the far-right senator’s actual record since arriving on Capitol Hill. We are, after all, talking about a member who’s imposed an unprecedented blockade on military confirmations, who has failed to follow through on his commitments to veterans’ charities, and who failed to tell the truth about his father’s military service. He also recently insisted that the U.S. military is “not an equal opportunity employer,” despite reality. If Tuberville wants to be seen as “more military” than others, perhaps he should try talking less and doing more?
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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