Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday evening sought and received unanimous consent to confirm the promotions of 11 four-star generals that had been held up for months by Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville ® to protest the Pentagon’s abortion policies.

Schumer broke Tuberville’s blockade of more than 300 lower-ranking military promotions earlier this month, but the Alabama senator insisted at the time on holding up 11 of the highest-ranking officers so as not to capitulate completely to Democrats.

Tuberville demanded at the time that the promotions of the 11 four-star generals go through regular order on the Senate floor. He wanted senators to vote on procedural motions to end debate and then vote again to confirm the military promotions individually.

    • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      nothing. He was trying to hold those positions for Trump. Kinda like McConnell did with SCOTUS nominations.

      • admiralteal@kbin.social
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        11 months ago

        That’s not totally true. It probably worsened our military readiness and caused all kinds of knock-on effects fucking with the already terrible bureaucracy of the armed forces.

        It also sent a CLEAR message to all enlisted members with uteruses that they need to be aware that their body autonomy may be revoked at any second.

        • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          Well, yes. That’s all true. I don’t think Tuberville intended to fuck with readiness. or send such a message. rather… he would have greatly preffered to actually revoke said autonomy. In that goal, sending the message probably did far more harm… as did fucking with readiness. I suspect his motive was to assist Trump in overthrowing the military. Its feeble-minded to think that they could oust some officers, install their own fuckheads and the rest of the military would fall in line… but then, Trump and Tuber aren’t exactly the brightest potato-lamps. (sorry. couldn’t resist.)

          • vinylshrapnel@lemmynsfw.com
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            11 months ago

            He was absolutely trying to fuck with readiness. You can’t deploy if you are pregnant. The whole point of him holding up these promotions was to force the military to give up on protecting body autonomy care for military personnel and their families. When Roe v Wade was overturned and states seemingly overnight restricted abortion rights, the DOD said that military personnel would not be affected by it because that care was crucial to readiness.

            • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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              11 months ago

              I don’t think he’s smart enough to have understood these consequences.

              He’s a moron. I suspect he legitimately believed that the military could keep going without the officers. (And in some respects, it could.)

              I’m not saying that he isn’t vile, or isn’t evil. And I’m not saying his bullshit didn’t have consequences I’m saying he’s too dumb to have understood actions have consequences.

          • Jaysyn@kbin.social
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            11 months ago

            Alabama has already lost new military programs & base upgrades because of Tuberville’s antics. Don’t be shocked if they start closing & relocating military bases in the South in the next few years due to potential readiness issues.

        • Feirdro@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          You don’t get it— Military readiness doesn’t matter because the US is a perfect, infinitely strong nation that is god-ordained to rule forever, as long as the blood of the nation isn’t poisoned by immigrants and abortion.

          Therefore, anything done to further the cause is in the interest of the Homeland.

          /s ffs

        • AquaTofana@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          Yeah. Military member with a uterus stationed in TexAss here. We’re tracking how precarious the situation and how much Tuberville and supporters are fucksticks.

          I would highly, highly recommend that anyone with a uterus who values their bodily autonomy heavily reconsider joining the military at this point. I’m grateful for the steps that the DoD is taking for us. I’m grateful that the abortion provisions that we do have were protected in the latest military package. However, I’m all too aware of how flimsy it all is for us.

          But not just us serving. It’s flimsy for EVERYONE with a uterus. I hope people in blue states realize when they cast their vote that just because they are where they are won’t protect them if Republicans enact a nationwide ban. I hope that they remember/consider the young girls/women in red states who aren’t allowed to have birth control (religious zealotry), or who were raped, or fuck it, they just had sex because that’s what people do, and they don’t have the means to travel away for an abortion. I really, really hope that they’re remembered.

          I also hope that they consider that a Republican man will NEVER view a woman as an equal.

      • deft@ttrpg.network
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        11 months ago

        If you listen you can tell Republicans know they’re losing the next election

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          11 months ago

          No one should make such a risky assumption even about what they think, much less the actual outcome.

          • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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            11 months ago

            Or even if they think. Some do. Many are schemers… morally defunct crumpets, who plot and scheme all day and act all night.

            But many of them have not a whit of wit, a whit-wit, you might call them. These simply… don’t… think.

            (Fwiw, these aren’t traits exclusive to republicans.)

            • Dead_or_Alive@lemmy.world
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              11 months ago

              They don’t have wit. They have a sledgehammer and apply it to every problem.

              Unfortunately those with wit are in the way, some will stay and fight while others will give in and leave. The few sane people left in the GOP after 8 years of MAGA choose to leave.

              Our elections were almost hijacked last election season. Many of those with wit have chosen to leave rather than go through it all again.

              Don’t underestimate the effectiveness of a sledgehammer.

              • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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                11 months ago

                Don’t fall into this trap. There are a few that are clever. Evil, yes. Unscrupulous, yes. But still clever.

                Bitch McConnel’s play to stack the Supreme Court, for example.

                • Dead_or_Alive@lemmy.world
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                  11 months ago

                  I’d classify that as a sledgehammer. Moscow Mitch strait up did not move forward with any of Obama’s confirmations and flipped his stance on confirmations when Trump came to office.

                  This was bold faced politics kicking hundreds of years of precedent to the curb.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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      I’ll tell you one thing it accomplished- every single one of those officers whose promotions were held up will remember that if Trump becomes president and orders them to occupy American cities.

    • ME5SENGER_24@lemm.ee
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      You see, he was trying to ice the kicker by calling multiple, last minute, timeouts. But when you’re kicking from behind the goal posts you literally can’t miss. Unfortunately for Tommy Trumpetville he was a shit coach and is an even shittier politician, and as shortsighted as they come. He got into a pissing contest with the wind and lost.

    • rayyy@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      The hold might insure more Russian money would flow into Republican’s pockets.

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    “Sooner or later you got to communicate: ‘Coach, what do you want here? Let’s get this done.’ They have no communication skills whatsoever. It’s their way or the highway,” he said.

    First, referring to yourself in the third person as “Coach” while being a US Senator discussing the business of the US Senate is one of the stupidest things I’ve heard in awhile.

    Second, they don’t need to ask you what you want “coach”, they know you want to enforce your backwards unpopular social agenda blocking abortion in any way or form, and you’re willing to push your person views at the cost of military readiness and recruiting. You are making our country less safe. Stop it “coach”.

    • sin_free_for_00_days@sopuli.xyz
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      I took Coach to be referring to Schumer, as majority leader. Doesn’t make Tupperville’s bullshit sound any more believable.

      • partial_accumen@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        Thomas Hawley Tuberville (born September 18, 1954) is an American politician and retired college football coach who is the senior United States senator from Alabama

        source

        I really think he was referring to himself. As in, Tuberville wanted someone to come to him and ask him what his demands were to figuratively release the hostages of the military promotions.

  • 2piradians@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    Tuberville has achieved setting precedent that higher officer promotions don’t need unanimous Senate consent. Republicans will plan to use this to promote MAGA friendly officers in an effort to influence and control the military.

    • Snapz@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      tuberville doesn’t achieve shit. He’s a potato.

      The handlers around him get the credit for any of their perceived “victory” that are simultaneously loses for humanity in general. He’s 1000% propped up and barely knows where he is. tommy tuberville probably uses a gun to try to tie his Velcro shoes in the morning.

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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        Yeah, I’m sorry, but I’m not willing to give Tuberville the credit for being either smart or crafty and that includes being smart or crafty enough to be able to do someone else’s bidding. He’s just a fucking idiot. I don’t know about football, but I’m told he was a mediocre coach basically his whole adult life before becoming a senator. All he’s ever known is football and whatever he’s soaked up from watching Fox News when football is over. I don’t believe this was part of some master plan. This was an idiot thinking if he did something stupid, he would achieve his goal of being dumb.

    • Telorand@reddthat.com
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      It’s not like they can just pick who gets to be a general; it takes years to get into positions of authority, and Congress approving promotions is mostly a formality (that’s why they did it in batches before ol’ Tommy decided to hold people’s careers hostage.).

      If there are MAGA supporters in the military, they’ve been there the whole time.

      • 2piradians@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        No doubt, but the Rs have already politicized the highest officers by labeling those making policy with which they disagree woke. They pay close attention and vet the generals, and I believe they’ll use this practice to influence the promotions with their own hierarchy in mind–and plans once it’s in place.

        I suspect this was Tuberville’s main goal with all this nonsense. The disruption to the defense department and nonstop cycle of distraction this year have been icing on the cake for him and MAGA at large.

        • Telorand@reddthat.com
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          I dunno if it was his goal, because that seems like a bit too tactful, but I definitely agree they’ll use whatever weaknesses they can exploit.

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldB
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    This is the best summary I could come up with:


    Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday evening sought and received unanimous consent to confirm the promotions of 11 four-star generals that had been held up for months by Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville ® to protest the Pentagon’s abortion policies.

    Schumer broke Tuberville’s blockade of more than 300 lower-ranking military promotions earlier this month, but the Alabama senator insisted at the time on holding up 11 of the highest-ranking officers so as not to capitulate completely to Democrats.

    “We’re prepared to stay for as long as it takes to get these officers in position to lead our brave soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen and guardians,” said Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed (D-R.I.) after the Tuesday lunch.

    After negotiations with Schumer, Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan ® and other colleagues Tuesday, Tuberville relented and allowed the Senate to approve the 11 high-ranking officers without a single roll call vote.

    Tuberville started holding up the nonpolitical military promotions in February to protest the Defense Department’s policy of reimbursing the travel expenses of service members who cross state lines to obtain abortions.

    Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) also told colleagues and reporters that while he also opposed the Pentagon’s abortion policies, he did not support Tuberville’s tactic of holding up military promotions.


    The original article contains 844 words, the summary contains 211 words. Saved 75%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!