Tuberville harmed the military and 'his own credibility' — in 'exchange for nothing': analyst

20 December 2023

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) spent most of 2023 blocking military promotions as a way to express his opposition to the Biden Administration's policy on abortion and women serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.

Tuberville refused to back down even the Israel-Hamas War started on Saturday, October 7, but the blockade has finally come to an end — much to the relief of President Joe Biden, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (D-New York).

Tuberville has drawn criticism not only from Democrats, but also, from prominent Republicans who include Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (D-New York) and 2024 presidential hopeful/former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.

POLL: Should Trump be allowed to hold office again?

On the Senate floor, Democrat Schumer angrily declared, "Let this incident be a warning. No one — no one — should attempt this in the Senate again. The senior senator from Alabama has nothing to show for his 10 months of delay."

In a scathing MaddowBlog column published on December 20, MSNBC's Steve Benen slams Tuberville's blockade as a political stunt that served no useful purpose.

"Indeed, as the entire fiasco comes to an ignominious end, this remains one of the most important takeaways of the unnecessary ordeal: Tuberville spent 10 months undermining his own country's armed forces, and he has nothing to show for it," Benen explains. "In early December, the Republican was asked whether he had any regrets. 'It was pretty much a draw,' Tuberville said. 'I mean, they didn't get what they wanted. We didn't get what we wanted.' That didn't make any sense."

Benen continues, "The whole point of Tuberville's tantrum was opposition to the Pentagon providing travel reimbursements to U.S. troops who need reproductive care in red states. The GOP lawmaker said he'd continue to hurt the military until the Pentagon changed its policy. The Pentagon never changed its policy. On the contrary, the Defense Department refused to pay a ransom, and Tuberville ultimately backed down. 'Draw' isn't the first word that comes to mind."

The MSNBC columnist and MaddowBlog editor laments that "it's going to take time for" the U.S. Armed Forces to "recover from the effects of Tuberville’s blockade."

"The Alabaman didn't just needlessly hurt the military," Benen argues. "He also did lasting harm to his own credibility and stature, in exchange for nothing."

Steve Benen's full MSNBC column is available at this link.

From Your Site Articles