Tommy Tuberville is no longer just a football coach. Now, he's a danger to the country.
When Tommy Tuberville was a football coach, the biggest impact he had on the world was what play to call against Georgia on second and 14. Any damage he could do was limited to a football field.
That all changed when the people of Alabama elected Tuberville to the Senate. His impact was no longer relegated to football; he was given real power, real ways to dramatically influence the lives of millions. And what has he done with that power? Right now, he's using it in ways that the Pentagon says jeopardizes America's national security and military readiness.
Tuberville is one of the better examples (though not the only one) of how electing a wholly unqualified person, a nesting doll of incompetence, with no expertise in the political system, isn't just foolish, it can be dangerous. He's a case study on why football coaches should stick to sports.
When the Pentagon, that notorious left-wing Marxist super-woke institution, says Tuberville's actions are setting a "dangerous precedent" then you know something is super wrong.
What has Tuberville been doing? He's using his power to stop hundreds of flag officer and general nominations. Tuberville has blocked these nominees in the Senate for months due to the Pentagon’s policy that provides paid time off and reimburses travel costs for military members who travel for an abortion.
These are officers who, in many ways, are front line defenders. They serve their country without fanfare. They help protect our nation and Tuberville is punishing them to make a political point.
It goes beyond that. He is endangering the country with this move.
“Without these leaders in place, these holes severely limit the department’s ability to ensure the right person is in place at the right time, and to ensure a strategic readiness and operational success,” said Sabrina Singh, the Pentagon deputy press secretary, last month.
“These holds set a dangerous precedent and puts our military readiness at risk at a time when our military is expected to defend the nation and meet the acute threat of Russia and address the pacing challenge" from China, she added.
What Tuberville is doing is so dire, seven former Defense Department heads sent a letter to the Senate in May blasting what Tuberville was doing. Again, these are not pinko liberal scum; they are hardcore people from all political spectrums including Donald Trump's former heads.
“If this blanket hold is not lifted, nearly 80 three- and four-star commanders who are ending their terms in the coming months will not be able to be replaced,” the letter stated. “Worse, this will impact certain members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, including the Chairman of the JCS.”
“There are also real-world impacts on the families of these senior officers," it said. "Most cannot move and resettle their families; their children cannot enroll at their next schools on time; and spouses cannot start new jobs at the next duty station. We can think of few things as irresponsible and uncaring as harming the families of those who serve our nation in uniform.”
Joe Biden jabs Tommy Tuberville for celebrating broadband funding he voted against
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin wrote that Tuberville's action was causing “a clear risk to U.S. military readiness, especially at this critical time."
“This indefinite hold harms America’s national security and hinders the Pentagon’s normal operations,” Austin added. “The longer that this hold persists, the greater the risk the U.S. military runs in every theater, every domain, and every Service.”
Tuberville has the power to slow the process because of how the Senate rules work. And how has Tuberville responded to all of this valid criticism? He's doubled down. He probably showed more introspection after losing a key SEC game.
Tuberville has never been a smart fellow. There's lots of proof of that but one of the best pieces of evidence is something that happened recently. Tuberville tweeted support for monies as part of the infrastructure bill given to his state to help improve broadband service.
"Broadband is vital for the success of our rural communities and for our entire economy. Great to see Alabama receive crucial funds to boost ongoing broadband efforts," Tuberville tweeted Tuesday.
Tuberville apparently thought people forgot that he opposed the legislation that led to the money he was touting. A context note was added to Tuberville's tweet: "Important context to know here: while Sen Tuberville is celebrating this grant now, he voted against it when it came up in the Senate, and never expressed support for it, until now."
"See you at the groundbreaking," Biden tweeted at Tuberville.
No, Tuberville isn't the most inflated football in the bag.
Yet what he's doing now with endangering, as the Pentagon says, the security of the country, isn't just stupid. It isn't some decision to run tougher practices the week he plays LSU. It's far worse than that.
It's anti-American.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tommy Tuberville was a good football coach. He's a terrible senator.
