Pete Hedgseth for Secretary of Defense

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m surprised Hegseth hasn’t withdrawn yet. Surely he’s self-aware enough to know he isn’t qualified for this job.

He’s not lol. How this sycophant, womanizing, Christian nationalist, weekend Fox News host “made the cut” is pure dark comedy, but then again this is a kakistocracy and that’s the way it goes. He isn’t qualified to be a security guard at Harris Teeter..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m surprised Hegseth hasn’t withdrawn yet. Surely he’s self-aware enough to know he isn’t qualified for this job.

“The world is made for people who aren't cursed with self awareness.”
- Annie Savoy

I agree that he’s not going to make it, though.

Oh there is a lot of pressure on the senators now. If you are a republican senator and you do not vote of him you are gone. Republicans senators and congressmen only serve at Trump’s pleasure. This is not 10 years ago.

Not really. This is true for many Senators but not all. Collins not only has freedom to stand up to Trump, many of her constituents want it. Murkowski still has a lot of freedom and Alaska is conservative but not in thrall to MAGA. John Curtis (replace Romney) has a lot of constituents who specifically dislike Trump's morality problems and Hegseth is a mirror for exactly these issues -- they aren't going to boot him because he opposed a Secretary of Defense with a drinking problem and a history of infidelity and bad management. Thom Tillis is from a purple state and while he can't just break from Trump on everything, he could benefit from standing up to him in selective moments and this would be a good one. And then the Joni Ernst issue with her personal background on issues like sexual assault and women in combat is a problem. Oh and you also have Mitch McConnell who is a wildcard -- he cares a lot about defense and NatSec issues and is a lot less tethered to Trump than other Senators. Like John McCain, he may view being a thorn in Trump's side as his swan song before he retires or dies.

You can have 49 Senators who are willing to give Trump whatever he wants but it only takes four to torpedo the nomination and there are more than four currently at least contemplating it. I haven't even listed them all here. And there is also a possibility of a domino effect -- there are people on the fence who won't go out on a limb for this but if enough people start turning against Hegseth they will jump on the bandwagon.

You are living in a different time. Right now maga is calling and threatening republicans senators. They are not known for their courage. You think Collins is going to stand up by herself against Trump? Sure she has a history this

So? Senators get threatening calls every day. That's one of the reasons they have staffers. Trump supported a number of candidates who were not elected, he primaried a number of candidates who were elected. His power is not strong. This is not 1 years ago, he is not the future of the GOO anymore.

conservative, and Republicans are known standing up to Trump! He had people storm the Capitol and not one of these senators did anything but kiss his ass.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Personally, I want to see Hegseth go all Kavanaugh during his confirmation: "Yes, we drank beer. My friends and I. Boys and girls. Yes, we drank beer. I liked beer. Still like beer. We drank beer."

Me too. I don't care that he used to binge drink, as long as he doesn't do it while he's SECDEF. And, he seems to socialize in circles were drinking is just extremely common. So it's even clear that he has a drinking problem. Also, no one had a problem with McCrystal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m surprised Hegseth hasn’t withdrawn yet. Surely he’s self-aware enough to know he isn’t qualified for this job.

“The world is made for people who aren't cursed with self awareness.”
- Annie Savoy

I agree that he’s not going to make it, though.

Oh there is a lot of pressure on the senators now. If you are a republican senator and you do not vote of him you are gone. Republicans senators and congressmen only serve at Trump’s pleasure. This is not 10 years ago.

I don't entirely disagree, but we are in uncharted waters with at least three totally unqualified nominees for major appointments.

I honestly don't know the whole process, but I believe public hearings are requires (or Democrats are able to force that issue). How Hedgseth, Patel, and Gabbard do at those hearings is going to make a big difference. I don't consider myself a particularly skilled questioner/interrogator and I think I could destroy Hedgseth on his qualifications alone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m surprised Hegseth hasn’t withdrawn yet. Surely he’s self-aware enough to know he isn’t qualified for this job.

“The world is made for people who aren't cursed with self awareness.”
- Annie Savoy

I agree that he’s not going to make it, though.

Oh there is a lot of pressure on the senators now. If you are a republican senator and you do not vote of him you are gone. Republicans senators and congressmen only serve at Trump’s pleasure. This is not 10 years ago.

Not really. This is true for many Senators but not all. Collins not only has freedom to stand up to Trump, many of her constituents want it. Murkowski still has a lot of freedom and Alaska is conservative but not in thrall to MAGA. John Curtis (replace Romney) has a lot of constituents who specifically dislike Trump's morality problems and Hegseth is a mirror for exactly these issues -- they aren't going to boot him because he opposed a Secretary of Defense with a drinking problem and a history of infidelity and bad management. Thom Tillis is from a purple state and while he can't just break from Trump on everything, he could benefit from standing up to him in selective moments and this would be a good one. And then the Joni Ernst issue with her personal background on issues like sexual assault and women in combat is a problem. Oh and you also have Mitch McConnell who is a wildcard -- he cares a lot about defense and NatSec issues and is a lot less tethered to Trump than other Senators. Like John McCain, he may view being a thorn in Trump's side as his swan song before he retires or dies.

You can have 49 Senators who are willing to give Trump whatever he wants but it only takes four to torpedo the nomination and there are more than four currently at least contemplating it. I haven't even listed them all here. And there is also a possibility of a domino effect -- there are people on the fence who won't go out on a limb for this but if enough people start turning against Hegseth they will jump on the bandwagon.

You are living in a different time. Right now maga is calling and threatening republicans senators. They are not known for their courage. You think Collins is going to stand up by herself against Trump? Sure she has a history this

DP, but I think PP made a good argument as it pertains to specific Senators. And they won't stand up alone. They will stand up together per closed door discussion/agreement. I think the only thing McConnell likes more than Republican power grabs is exerting his own power to humiliate someone like Trump. He still wins in the end.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Personally, I want to see Hegseth go all Kavanaugh during his confirmation: "Yes, we drank beer. My friends and I. Boys and girls. Yes, we drank beer. I liked beer. Still like beer. We drank beer."

Me too. I don't care that he used to binge drink, as long as he doesn't do it while he's SECDEF. And, he seems to socialize in circles were drinking is just extremely common. So it's even clear that he has a drinking problem. Also, no one had a problem with McCrystal.

lol He has admitted to not being able to control his drinking but you do you. Appoint the drunk captain who has been fired from two vet scamming non profits. If something bad happens you can always blame Nancy Pelosi.

He will be confirmed without hearing by Wednesday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Personally, I want to see Hegseth go all Kavanaugh during his confirmation: "Yes, we drank beer. My friends and I. Boys and girls. Yes, we drank beer. I liked beer. Still like beer. We drank beer."

Me too. I don't care that he used to binge drink, as long as he doesn't do it while he's SECDEF. And, he seems to socialize in circles were drinking is just extremely common. So it's even clear that he has a drinking problem. Also, no one had a problem with McCrystal.

lol He has admitted to not being able to control his drinking but you do you. Appoint the drunk captain who has been fired from two vet scamming non profits. If something bad happens you can always blame Nancy Pelosi.

He will be confirmed without hearing by Wednesday.

He hasn't admitted it. He said he used to drink a lot and that if confirmed, he won't drink during his term as SECDEF. The vet organizations have also come out with public statements that Pete wasn't forced out, that he left on good terms. So Im going to ignore that entirely. The only thing they can seem to find on the guy is that he drinks. I hate to break it to people, but people in the military often binge drink. At the officer level, in the recent past, officers had to attend dinners where they were encouraged to drink as much as possible. I dont condone that at all, but it was a fact of military culture at the time he served. He may or may not have a drinking problem. Many people go from existing and partaking in that culture to just being normal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Personally, I want to see Hegseth go all Kavanaugh during his confirmation: "Yes, we drank beer. My friends and I. Boys and girls. Yes, we drank beer. I liked beer. Still like beer. We drank beer."

Me too. I don't care that he used to binge drink, as long as he doesn't do it while he's SECDEF. And, he seems to socialize in circles were drinking is just extremely common. So it's even clear that he has a drinking problem. Also, no one had a problem with McCrystal.

lol He has admitted to not being able to control his drinking but you do you. Appoint the drunk captain who has been fired from two vet scamming non profits. If something bad happens you can always blame Nancy Pelosi.

He will be confirmed without hearing by Wednesday.

He hasn't admitted it. He said he used to drink a lot and that if confirmed, he won't drink during his term as SECDEF. The vet organizations have also come out with public statements that Pete wasn't forced out, that he left on good terms. So Im going to ignore that entirely. The only thing they can seem to find on the guy is that he drinks. I hate to break it to people, but people in the military often binge drink. At the officer level, in the recent past, officers had to attend dinners where they were encouraged to drink as much as possible. I dont condone that at all, but it was a fact of military culture at the time he served. He may or may not have a drinking problem. Many people go from existing and partaking in that culture to just being normal.

People most certainly do not go from having a drinking problem to just being normal without serious treatment. And most will have multiple relapses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Personally, I want to see Hegseth go all Kavanaugh during his confirmation: "Yes, we drank beer. My friends and I. Boys and girls. Yes, we drank beer. I liked beer. Still like beer. We drank beer."

Me too. I don't care that he used to binge drink, as long as he doesn't do it while he's SECDEF. And, he seems to socialize in circles were drinking is just extremely common. So it's even clear that he has a drinking problem. Also, no one had a problem with McCrystal.

lol He has admitted to not being able to control his drinking but you do you. Appoint the drunk captain who has been fired from two vet scamming non profits. If something bad happens you can always blame Nancy Pelosi.

He will be confirmed without hearing by Wednesday.

He hasn't admitted it. He said he used to drink a lot and that if confirmed, he won't drink during his term as SECDEF. The vet organizations have also come out with public statements that Pete wasn't forced out, that he left on good terms. So Im going to ignore that entirely. The only thing they can seem to find on the guy is that he drinks. I hate to break it to people, but people in the military often binge drink. At the officer level, in the recent past, officers had to attend dinners where they were encouraged to drink as much as possible. I dont condone that at all, but it was a fact of military culture at the time he served. He may or may not have a drinking problem. Many people go from existing and partaking in that culture to just being normal.

Even if I accept all of the above there have to be many, many more qualified people who don't have to pledge not to drink while serving as SecDef. Lots of them are probably conservative. I have yet to hear why we MUST have this newscaster as SecDef.

[Anonymous]

Because everyone knows it's easiest to quit drinking while you're working at an extremely stressful job involving nuclear weapons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Personally, I want to see Hegseth go all Kavanaugh during his confirmation: "Yes, we drank beer. My friends and I. Boys and girls. Yes, we drank beer. I liked beer. Still like beer. We drank beer."

Me too. I don't care that he used to binge drink, as long as he doesn't do it while he's SECDEF. And, he seems to socialize in circles were drinking is just extremely common. So it's even clear that he has a drinking problem. Also, no one had a problem with McCrystal.

lol He has admitted to not being able to control his drinking but you do you. Appoint the drunk captain who has been fired from two vet scamming non profits. If something bad happens you can always blame Nancy Pelosi.

He will be confirmed without hearing by Wednesday.

He hasn't admitted it. He said he used to drink a lot and that if confirmed, he won't drink during his term as SECDEF. The vet organizations have also come out with public statements that Pete wasn't forced out, that he left on good terms. So Im going to ignore that entirely. The only thing they can seem to find on the guy is that he drinks. I hate to break it to people, but people in the military often binge drink. At the officer level, in the recent past, officers had to attend dinners where they were encouraged to drink as much as possible. I dont condone that at all, but it was a fact of military culture at the time he served. He may or may not have a drinking problem. Many people go from existing and partaking in that culture to just being normal.

tell me you’ve never known an alcoholic without telling me!

Here’s a hint: being so unable to control your drinking that you have to commit to white-knuckle sobriety is not a good sign. Normal drinkers can have a beer with dinner (or even get a little drunk from time to time) without raising concerns about their ability to handle their jobs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because everyone knows it's easiest to quit drinking while you're working at an extremely stressful job involving nuclear weapons.

lol.
Fascinating to watch MAGA turn itself into pretzels arguing that an alcoholic, inexperienced misogynist is qualified to lead the U.S. department of defense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Personally, I want to see Hegseth go all Kavanaugh during his confirmation: "Yes, we drank beer. My friends and I. Boys and girls. Yes, we drank beer. I liked beer. Still like beer. We drank beer."

Me too. I don't care that he used to binge drink, as long as he doesn't do it while he's SECDEF. And, he seems to socialize in circles were drinking is just extremely common. So it's even clear that he has a drinking problem. Also, no one had a problem with McCrystal.

lol He has admitted to not being able to control his drinking but you do you. Appoint the drunk captain who has been fired from two vet scamming non profits. If something bad happens you can always blame Nancy Pelosi.

He will be confirmed without hearing by Wednesday.

He hasn't admitted it. He said he used to drink a lot and that if confirmed, he won't drink during his term as SECDEF. The vet organizations have also come out with public statements that Pete wasn't forced out, that he left on good terms. So Im going to ignore that entirely. The only thing they can seem to find on the guy is that he drinks. I hate to break it to people, but people in the military often binge drink. At the officer level, in the recent past, officers had to attend dinners where they were encouraged to drink as much as possible. I dont condone that at all, but it was a fact of military culture at the time he served. He may or may not have a drinking problem. Many people go from existing and partaking in that culture to just being normal.

tell me you’ve never known an alcoholic without telling me!

Here’s a hint: being so unable to control your drinking that you have to commit to white-knuckle sobriety is not a good sign. Normal drinkers can have a beer with dinner (or even get a little drunk from time to time) without raising concerns about their ability to handle their jobs.

But we don't know that Pete is addicted to alcohol. It's been raised as an issue and he is taking it off the table by pledging not to drink.

And you are missing my point. People can drink heavily in environments where that is expected and encouraged, and that doesn't make them an alcoholic. Most people can just choose to stop drinking. Not everyone who drinks to excess at some point in their life is an alcoholic. Most aren't. So if Pete is an average person, I would expect that he could just stop drinking at any moment, and probably only miss it during events like toasting the New Year. This isn't the big deal people are making it out to be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Personally, I want to see Hegseth go all Kavanaugh during his confirmation: "Yes, we drank beer. My friends and I. Boys and girls. Yes, we drank beer. I liked beer. Still like beer. We drank beer."

Me too. I don't care that he used to binge drink, as long as he doesn't do it while he's SECDEF. And, he seems to socialize in circles were drinking is just extremely common. So it's even clear that he has a drinking problem. Also, no one had a problem with McCrystal.

lol He has admitted to not being able to control his drinking but you do you. Appoint the drunk captain who has been fired from two vet scamming non profits. If something bad happens you can always blame Nancy Pelosi.

He will be confirmed without hearing by Wednesday.

He hasn't admitted it. He said he used to drink a lot and that if confirmed, he won't drink during his term as SECDEF. The vet organizations have also come out with public statements that Pete wasn't forced out, that he left on good terms. So Im going to ignore that entirely. The only thing they can seem to find on the guy is that he drinks. I hate to break it to people, but people in the military often binge drink. At the officer level, in the recent past, officers had to attend dinners where they were encouraged to drink as much as possible. I dont condone that at all, but it was a fact of military culture at the time he served. He may or may not have a drinking problem. Many people go from existing and partaking in that culture to just being normal.

tell me you’ve never known an alcoholic without telling me!

Here’s a hint: being so unable to control your drinking that you have to commit to white-knuckle sobriety is not a good sign. Normal drinkers can have a beer with dinner (or even get a little drunk from time to time) without raising concerns about their ability to handle their jobs.

But we don't know that Pete is addicted to alcohol. It's been raised as an issue and he is taking it off the table by pledging not to drink.

And you are missing my point. People can drink heavily in environments where that is expected and encouraged, and that doesn't make them an alcoholic. Most people can just choose to stop drinking. Not everyone who drinks to excess at some point in their life is an alcoholic. Most aren't. So if Pete is an average person, I would expect that he could just stop drinking at any moment, and probably only miss it during events like toasting the New Year. This isn't the big deal people are making it out to be.

Who cares how much he drinks. Remind me how he is qualified for this specific job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Personally, I want to see Hegseth go all Kavanaugh during his confirmation: "Yes, we drank beer. My friends and I. Boys and girls. Yes, we drank beer. I liked beer. Still like beer. We drank beer."

Me too. I don't care that he used to binge drink, as long as he doesn't do it while he's SECDEF. And, he seems to socialize in circles were drinking is just extremely common. So it's even clear that he has a drinking problem. Also, no one had a problem with McCrystal.

lol He has admitted to not being able to control his drinking but you do you. Appoint the drunk captain who has been fired from two vet scamming non profits. If something bad happens you can always blame Nancy Pelosi.

He will be confirmed without hearing by Wednesday.

He hasn't admitted it. He said he used to drink a lot and that if confirmed, he won't drink during his term as SECDEF. The vet organizations have also come out with public statements that Pete wasn't forced out, that he left on good terms. So Im going to ignore that entirely. The only thing they can seem to find on the guy is that he drinks. I hate to break it to people, but people in the military often binge drink. At the officer level, in the recent past, officers had to attend dinners where they were encouraged to drink as much as possible. I dont condone that at all, but it was a fact of military culture at the time he served. He may or may not have a drinking problem. Many people go from existing and partaking in that culture to just being normal.

tell me you’ve never known an alcoholic without telling me!

Here’s a hint: being so unable to control your drinking that you have to commit to white-knuckle sobriety is not a good sign. Normal drinkers can have a beer with dinner (or even get a little drunk from time to time) without raising concerns about their ability to handle their jobs.

But we don't know that Pete is addicted to alcohol. It's been raised as an issue and he is taking it off the table by pledging not to drink.

And you are missing my point. People can drink heavily in environments where that is expected and encouraged, and that doesn't make them an alcoholic. Most people can just choose to stop drinking. Not everyone who drinks to excess at some point in their life is an alcoholic. Most aren't. So if Pete is an average person, I would expect that he could just stop drinking at any moment, and probably only miss it during events like toasting the New Year. This isn't the big deal people are making it out to be.

Who cares how much he drinks. Remind me how he is qualified for this specific job.

His background isn't significantly different from previous secdefs.