Coach Tuberville’s Latest Football

Senator Tommy “Coach” Tuberville, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, has stopped the Senate’s confirmation of general and flag officer nominations and appointments, claiming the Department of Defense (DoD) policy funding travel and paid time off for service members having an abortion is illegal. So far, the Senator’s hold has caught more than 180 nominations, according to al.com.

In an op-ed article in The Washington Times, Tuberville argues

“Congress writes the laws, and Congress directs all federal spending,” saying, “Nobody in Congress voted for this.”

Lloyd Austin, the Secretary of Defense, says the DoD policy is legal. At a Senate hearing he said,

“About one in five of our troops are women. I want them focused on the mission and not worried about whether or not they’re going to have access to reproductive health care.”

The DoD policy was implemented in response to the Supreme Court’s decision in the Dobbs v. Jackson case, which overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. Roe said a women had the right to an abortion under the Constitution (with certain restrictions). The Dobbs ruling reversed that decision, saying no such right is explicitly defined in the Constitution. Where do you see the word abortion? The outcome of Dobbs is that legal access to abortion is determined independently by each state. Many states essentially prohibit all abortions.

The conundrum is we have troops based in all states, as well as around the globe. To prevent a two-tiered military, this DoD policy provides consistent access to reproductive health care. Unfortunately, some women will have to travel outside the states where they are based, so the policy grants them time off and reimburses travel expenses — which the Coach objects to because he is against abortion.

Another letter:

Senator Tuberville,

I write to express my disagreement with your policy of blocking military confirmations because of your opposition to the Pentagon’s medical policies, which include leave and travel for service members who have an abortion.

While I understand and respect your personal beliefs on abortion, enforcing your beliefs on all women serving in the U.S. military is an abuse of your power as a Senator and a violation of the separation of church and state, which is enshrined in the Bill of Rights.

Your religious beliefs on abortion are not shared by all Americans, even Christians. A Pew Research Center survey conducted one year ago found 61% of Americans feel abortion should be legal in all or most cases, compared to 37% holding your view.

Memorial Day is a fitting time for you to lift your hold and let the military proceed without further unwarranted delay.

2022 Midterm Elections

Almost two weeks after the midterm election, votes are still being counted — recounted in some elections — and a runoff on December 5 will decide whether Raphael Warnock, the incumbent, or Herschel Walker will represent Georgia in the U.S. Senate. We are certain the Democrats will retain control of the Senate, regardless of the outcome of Georgia’s runoff, and Republicans have won enough districts to become the majority party in the House, taking control from the Democrats.

Despite Republicans controlling the House, this outcome is a relief, much better than I expected from the polls and punditry prior to the election. The historical trend is that the party in power loses seats in Congress in the midterm election, and this seemed destined because polls consistently showed voter dissatisfaction with the state of the economy and President Biden’s performance. Inflation remains high, reflected in the food and gas prices Americans pay every day. If that weren’t obvious, Republicans unceasingly blamed the president — ignoring that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has disrupted energy and food supplies from both countries.

Fortunately, the Republican majority in the house will be slim. Whoever leads that fractious party, Kevin McCarthy or a more conservative challenger, will have to bow to conservative pressure to investigate the Biden administration. The investigations will begin with son Hunter and his laptop and could lead to impeachment hearings. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia introduced a resolution calling for the president’s impeachment for “abuse of power by enabling bribery and other high crimes and misdemeanors.” See H.Res.57.

Adding to the gravitational pull distorting the next two years, the former president — whom I shall not name — has declared he’s running for president again.

”In order to make America great and glorious again. I am tonight announcing my candidacy for president of the United States." — former president Donald Trump

Back to the hopeful outcome of the midterm election, despite the near certainty of a gridlocked Washington for the next two years: despite voter dissatisfaction with the economy and the president’s performance, many voters apparently agreed with President Biden’s argument that the election was a referendum on democracy. The candidates who embraced Donald Trump’s “big lie” that the 2020 election was stolen largely lost their races for the House, governor, and secretary of state. While the races were often close, enough voters seemed concerned by threats to future elections.

Losing access to abortion, with the federal right overturned by the Supreme Court in June, was also a strong factor, which can be inferred from the ballot initiatives in Kansas, during the summer, and California, Kentucky, Michigan, and New York in the midterms.

While the election outcome was not as definitive as I would like, it was far better than my fears, which were turning to depression from the drumbeat of reporting as the election neared. Analyzing the unexpected result, Astead Herndon and Shane Goldmacher in a post-mortem assessment on The Run-Up podcast suggested anti-democracy concerns motivated voters more than dissatisfaction about the economy and President Biden. I concur with that, fro my own fear of Donald Trump or his minions again taking control of government. I can only hope that fear will carry America through the 2024 election, if that’s what it takes.

Why I hate politics - one more example

A scene from the latest political theater:

Republicans and Democrats are battling over the budget. Republicans want to cut spending to trim the deficit and to align the government's policies with their own philosophies. Among the lightning rods: Planned Parenthood, which receives some $360-million from government grants and contracts (per Planned Parenthood's 2008-2009 annual report) and provides abortions (although, by law, federal funding cannot be used to provide abortions, so the federal dollars are used in other areas).

Jon Kyl, U.S. Senator from Arizona, made the following statement on the floor of the Senate:

If you want an abortion, you go to Planned Parenthood. And that's well over 90% of what Planned Parenthood does.

However, Planned Parenthood's 2008-2009 annual report shows only 3% of its services are abortions (see pie chart).

When the discrepancy was pointed out to Senator Kyl's office, they advised that the 90% figure was “not intended to be a factual statement.”

Just what is that supposed to mean? If we were arguing over a few percentage points — Kyl said 95% and the number was actually 91% — then Kyl's argument is valid. But the difference is between the implications of totality and minimal. Kyl's number is not even in the ballpark.

To not issue a substantive correction reeks of politics and a lack of integrity, so much so that I felt compelled to submit the following message to Senator Kyl's web page:

Senator Kyl,

Shame on you for grossly misrepresenting Planned Parenthood's services and then having the audacity to defer any correction by stating that your statement was not intended to be factual.

While I respect (although disagree with) your opposition to abortion and Planned Parenthood, your tactics reflect a disappointing lack of integrity — especially considering you are a United States Senator.

Respectfully,

Gary Lerude

Fortunately, in this 24x7 cable news and Internet age, Kyl's misleading statement and clumsy parry have generated considerable commentary and satire (see below). Bowing to the pressure, Kyl has revised his remarks in the official public record. No apology, but the “well over 90%” phrase is long gone.