If democracy falls in silent coup does it make a sound
By Sid Schwab / Herald Columnist
After an exhausting week of stamping out human decency in his government, Trump spent the weekend taking the Miami golf cure.
I spent it getting over not being confirmed as secretary of Defense. I thought I had a shot; my resumé is on par with Pete Hegseth’s, if not greater. We both served in the military in war zones, but, unlike me, he didn’t receive a Purple Heart. We both provide weekend opination via public media; and whereas mine is mine only, he shares his platform as a mere co-host. In managing huge bureaucracies, we’re identical. What put me out of the running, I think, is that I’m not a problem drinker or a sexual miscreant, both of which are touchstones in the upper echelons of today’s Republican Party.
Choosing Hegseth over me made Trump the only president who’s had two cabinet nominees requiring a vice presidential tiebreak after a 50–50 vote. No other president has had even one. Which says everything about the quality of his choices. For those who believe Democrats’ unanimity in voting no was purely political, votes for the previous SecDef nominees, Democrats and Republicans, were as follows: Lloyd Austin, 93-2; Mark Esper 90-8; James Mattis 98-1. Ashton Carter 93-5; Leon Panetta 100-0. Robert Gates 95-2. The difference: credentials. If not all Republican senators are stupid enough to think Hegseth is qualified (?), only three had the guts to vote no, one of whose cynical hypocrisy put us where we are. It’s shameful and cowardly.
Arriving at the Pentagon, Pete went to work implementing Project Trump 2025; his first communiqué was about ending DEI, because any military member not straight, male, white and Christian is inferior. Then, calling them “dishonorable” and “liars,” he banned trans people who, because they had the courage to be public about who they are, are braver than most; and about whom there’ve been fewer deportment issues than non-trans members. And he announced plans to interview top general officers to see which will kowtow and which won’t. Shoot protestors in the legs.
https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/schwab-if-democracy-falls-in-silent-coup-does-it-make-a-sound/