What does GOP Senator Tommy Tuberville think he’s doing?
Tommy Tuberville is yet another wrong-headed Republican in Congress. He believes he is doing something noble by blocking military promotions, which some believe are not good for military readiness. As the Hill (and others) have reported, Tuberville is blocking military promotions because of abortion access. Why is it always men who are so focused on abortion when they can’t even get pregnant? It is, once again, a Republican stunt designed to control the behavior of others. My take on abortion is this: Don’t believe in them? Don’t have one, but don’t stop others from doing what they and their medical providers deem best. In other words, mind your own damned business.
The anti-abortion movement is and always has been ridiculous. These are the same people who want to cut food stamps, daycare funding, and other policies in place to help mothers and children. If Republicans were so pro-life, they would stop being pro-birth by ensuring that those who are born can grow and flourish. They need to stop using the abortion issue to get what they want. While many Republicans want to jump in with Tuberville, some understand the ramifications of his actions.
Thom Tillis told the Hill that while he may agree with Tuberville’s goal, he doesn’t think crippling the Pentagon is the way to make it happen. Tuberville apparently began his crusade when the directive to cover expenses for and grant leave to troops for abortions came down in October. The problem is that these are two completely different issues, and they need to be dealt with differently. Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin is not happy, and he focused on the promotion backlog when he appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier this week. Austin shared that holding up these promotions directly impacts national security readiness. According to Austin: “Not approving the recommendations for promotions actually creates a ripple effect through the force that makes us far less ready than we need to be.” Austin went on to detail how these holdups affect military families and can create ramifications across all branches of the military. And for what? Something Tuberville wants?
Tuberville claims that he’s “standing up for the taxpayers.” Sorry, Tommy, but all taxpayers aren’t against abortions, so you are technically standing up for a portion of taxpayers. He claims that people don’t “want their money going toward it,” but there are much greater examples of waste in Washington alone, including Tuberville. Just run the damned country. That’s what you were sent to do. Stop playing up to a small percentage of the population and try thinking of the whole. Why are we talking about abortions in the same breath as national security? Forgive me if I’m wrong, but without national security in place, abortions are the least of our worries.
Republicans have never been able to see the proverbial forest for the trees. They focus on issues important to a segment of the population with no concern for the rest of us. It is past time for this nonsense to end. Do your jobs; stop jeopardizing our country over your personal pet projects.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years