Has it occurred to anyone that Beetle Baily is due for a promotion? Beetle Bailey is an American comic strip created by cartoonist Mort Walker, published since Sept. 4, 1950. Beetle first appeared as a college student, but after one year, he joined the army, and was given the appropriate insignia of his rank, which was the absence of any insignia, known as a “slicksleeve.” At that time, a private E-1 and a private E-2 were both wearing the same lack of rank indicators, and you had to make it up to private first class before you got your first stripe. Beetle still has nothing on his sleeve except stains. All the other characters have some designation of rank – even Otto, the dog, occasionally wears the stripes of a Sergeant E-7.
Perhaps the only rational explanation for this failure to give Beetle the recognition he so richly deserves is that Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) has more influence, going back further, than seems appropriate. This is the same senator who once explained that the three branches of government are “the House, the Senate and executive,” has been placing a hold on military promotions at the highest levels. Senator Tuberville, according to his Senate web page “… was elected to the US Senate in 2020 and is currently serving his first term representing Alabama. However, his constituents still know him as Coach Tuberville, following his 40-year career coaching college football.” AMAC (the Association of American Mature Citizens) (don’t ask) discussed Senator Tuberville this way: “In an era of recurring speakership battles, persistent threats of government shutdowns, and a pervasive far-left legislative agenda pushed by the Biden administration and congressional Democrats, perhaps no one has recently embodied the virtues of statesmanship and the ability to effectively wield political power better than Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), who has courageously and prudently used his position in Congress to subvert the radical left’s agenda and protect the integrity of American institutions.”
A great deal of the work of the Senate is done by unanimous approval. And a single senator can effectively wage a filibuster without actually having to speak, as a single senator can quietly block key votes by virtue of what’s known as a “hold.” Sen. Tuberville has placed a hold on hundreds of military promotions by the simple device of telling Senate leaders he objects to it. The Senate can still work around this by voting on one promotion or assignment at a time, but when there are hundreds of these promotions to be considered, it can take months to go through the full list.
In this case, Sen. Tuberville wants the Biden administration to reverse its policy of providing travel expenses for military members crossing state lines for abortions. It has been estimated that by the end of this year, 89% of all general officer positions in the United States military will be affected by the current holds from Sen. Tuberville. The senator, in addition to being opposed to abortions, has also shown clear evidence of being a racist. At a campaign rally for then President Donald Trump, Tuberville said, “They want to control what you have.” “They want reparations because they think the people that do the crime are owed that.” One commentator said, “We come from a country of both bipartisan civil rights activism and bipartisan racism, but we seem to be trending toward this [Republican] party, it seems, to be almost the party of the Ku Klux Klan.”
Blocking military promotions has not been the policy of the Republican Party, or at least not all of it. On Nov. 1, a number of Republican senators, including Sens. Dan Sullivan (Alaska), Joni Ernst (Iowa), Todd C. Young (Indiana) and Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.) confronted Tuberville, imploring him to lift his hold for the sake of national security and proposing votes on individual officers. Sen. Ernst made the point that these delays were harmful to military families who might be uncertain where their next assignment will be. The Washington Post reported, “Among the nominees on hold are the prospective next commander of the Navy’s 5th Fleet and the deputy commander of US Central Command. Both positions have vital leadership functions in the Middle East, where US troops have faced repeated attacks since the war between Israel and Gaza reignited in early October.”
On July 14, The Nation published a report headed “Just Because Senator Tommy Tuberville Is Stupid Doesn’t Mean He’s Not Dangerous.” He is dangerous, and we can feel sure that Putin is watching, with a big grin.
Sam Uretsky is a writer and pharmacist living in Louisville, Ky. Email sam.uretsky@gmail.com
From The Progressive Populist, December 15, 2023
Blog | Current Issue | Back Issues | Essays | Links
About the Progressive Populist | How to Subscribe | How to Contact Us