Daily Kos - Pete Hegseth’s bid to lead the Pentagon under President-elect Donald Trump appears to be back on track as key Republican senators look past allegations of sexual assault and drinking at work. But that doesn’t mean voters are on board.A new Civiqs poll, fielded Dec. 7-10, found that 48% of registered voters oppose Hegseth’s nomination for secretary of defense, while 42% support it.
New Republic - During
his confirmation hearings for secretary of defense Tuesday, Pete
Hegseth was asked about cashing in from the defense industry—and refused
to give a straight answer. Senator Elizabeth
Warren pointed out that Hegseth had previously written that after
generals retire from the military, they “should be banned from working
for the defense industry for 10 years,” noting that she agrees with
Hegseth “on the corrosive effects of the revolving door of the Pentagon
and defense contractors.”
Warren
then asked Hegseth, “Will you put your money where your mouth is and
agree that when you leave this job you will not work for the defense
industry for 10 years?” At first, Hegseth tried to deflect, saying that “it’s not even a question I’ve thought about.” Warren pressed him further.
“My
motivation for this job has never been about what could conceivably
come next,” Hegseth replied, appearing to carefully weigh his words.
Warren then asked point-blank for a yes or no answer, and Hegseth
refused.
“I
would consult with the president about what the policy should be at the
Defense Department,” Hegseth said, and Warren was incredulous. “In
other words, you are quite sure that every general who serves should
not go directly into the defense industry for 10 years. You’re not
willing to make that same pledge?” the Massachusetts Democrat asked.
“I’m
not a general, senator,” Hegseth replied, pointedly leaving the door
open for a plum job from the defense industry in the future and drawing
laughs in the hearing room.
Robert B Hubbell - Tom Nichols of The Atlantic explains that the willingness of Republican Senators to support a manifestly unfit candidate inflicts a national security injury on the US. See The Atlantic, The Hegseth Hearing Was a National Embarrassment..
Timothy Snyder writes, in part:
2. Hegseth has zero notion of which other countries might threaten America or how. In his books this is simply not a subject, beyond a few clichés.
3. Hegseth does not believe in alliances. For him, “NATO is a great example of dumb globalism.”
4. Hegseth wants a political army that bans women from combat roles, is purged of "cowardly generals," and is anti-woke.
Hegseth is a menace, but menaces through and through are who our Burger King has selected to fill his court. History teaches us that bad people prefer to surround themselves with other bad people. And these are all bad people, a rogue’s gallery chock-a-block with fools, knaves, and thieves. They’re not bad people because of their politics, but they have the politics they do because they’re bad people....
We’ve entered the “nothing matters” era of American political history. Trump’s first four years, a time when we at least still maintained a veneer of political probity, will seem like a paragon of virtue during his second stint in the Oval Office. Behavior that led to two impeachments will now not even cause the raising of an eyebrow in the GOP. Why should it? The electorate didn’t care...
Sociopathy is now in style. Why do we feign concern when a Pete Hegseth
has the gall to sit in front of the Senate and discuss “standards?”
There are no standards! And nobody understands that better than Hegseth,
who is either too cynical to not enjoy the irony of his own words or
too dumb not to recognize his own mendacity.
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