Senator Duckworth Roils the Political Waters

| July 3, 2020

Senator Tammy Duckworth

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D Ill), U.S. Army veteran and Purple Heart recipient, has been called a “safe” choice for Biden’s Veep spot. Some aren’t convinced that the first-ever Thai American woman elected to Congress is the right pick in a political landscape that has been suddenly altered by the death of George Floyd, though.
Let that sink in a minute. I admire her military service and honor her awards for the grievous injuries she received, but am no fan of the politician she has become. Still, it must irk one who is likely the most qualified VP candidate for Biden, to be deemed not “Woke” enough to be seriously considered to run.
So perhaps she’s decided to stir the pot a bit. She intends to block 1,123 military promotions until Defense Secretary Mark Esper “confirms in writing that he did not, or will not, block the expected and deserved promotion” of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman to Colonel.

Duckworth to halt military confirmations until she receives assurance Vindman promotion won’t be blocked

By Clare Foran, Ted Barrett and Ryan Browne

Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois announced on Thursday that she is blocking Senate confirmation of 1,123 senior US Armed Forces promotions until she receives assurances that the promotion of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a key witness in President Donald Trump’s impeachment inquiry, won’t be blocked.

Duckworth, a combat veteran who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, is seeking written confirmation from Defense Secretary Mark Esper that he has not and will not stop Vindman, a decorated veteran, from being promoted to the rank of Colonel.

Duckworth’s power play, which her office described as “unprecedented in modern history,” takes advantage of unanimous consent procedures in the Senate that are used to efficiently conduct Senate business. Typically, a large batch of non-controversial military promotions, like the ones Duckworth is holding up, would be passed all at once with just a few words exchanged on the floor between Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and whoever is the presiding officer.

But instead of granting consent to pass the promotions, Duckworth objected, meaning McConnell would have to go through the time-consuming process of filing motions to overcome what amounts to her filibuster.

Her move also comes with some risk, as she could be criticized for holding up promotions and pay increases for hundreds of deserving servicemembers over what some will consider a political disagreement with Trump.

A defense official said that the Department of Defense “received the notification from the senator’s office last night and the secretary is aware.”

The National Security Council is chaired by the President. Those on the National Security Council serve at the pleasure of the President, and may be fired for any reason, or none at all. This is political grandstanding by Duckworth, to both keep her name active in the media and to prove her anti-Trump chops to the Democratic National Committee, with the intent of propping up her chances for the VP spot. That this also holds up promotions and pay increases for hundreds of deserving servicemembers over what some will consider a political disagreement with Trump, isn’t on her radar.

Hat tip to Mason for the point.

Category: "Your Tax Dollars At Work", Blue Falcons, Democrats, Guest Link, Politics

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NHSparky

Political stunt to prevent President Trump from doing his job as he sees fit because she’s concerned he might play politics over one asshat LTC who played politics.

Elections have consequences, Tammy. Didn’t some previous Senator from Illinois say something very similar?

Toxic Deplorable Racist SAH B Woodman

Vindman should be asked to tender his resignation for conduct unbecoming, and sedition.
If he doesn’t want to resign, then Court Martial him for sedition. (or at least dangle the possibility over his head if he doesn’t resign voluntarily)

NHSparky

A nice thought, but will never happen as both sides would raise holy hell about it.

In a perfect world, his previous conduct would have been noted in his OER’s and he likely wouldn’t have made MAJ.

5th/77th FA

More grandstanding by another self centered, self serving, political lackey. We can only imagine what kind of good could have been done for the citizens of this Country had the Kongress Klowne Kritters just of done their damn job over the last nearly 4 years. The mofos will destroy the Country just to try and prove. “ORANGE MAN BAD!”

Comm Center Rat

Duckworth should concentrate her efforts helping solve the $138 billion unfunded state pension liability mess in Illinois.

NHSparky

Not her problem, as her only state job was working for VA under Blagojevich.

But the state clows? Oh yeah, all on them.

E4 Mafia '83-'87

Agreed. Any politician from Illinois worried about what’s going on outside of Illinois is doing a disservice to their constituents. Sure, debt is a big problem, but what is the over/under on the body count in Chi-raq this weekend? They’re stacking up black folks like sandbags on the corner, and nobody cares because there is no political capital to be gained nationally for Democratic policy failures. Stay in your lane and keep low cuz of the gunfire.

Sapper3307

salute for her military service, Efff her sideways now (Current year).

NHSparky

Ditto McCain, Randy Cunningham, Duncan Hunter, John Murtha, Seth Moulton, Dick Blumenthal…yiu get the idea.

MustangCryppie

Exactly.

My lib brother once said to me that Jeremiah Wright is “one of you”, meaning a veteran.

I said what friggin’ difference does that make. Just because he’s a vet doesn’t mean he isn’t as full of shit as anybody.

THAT’S when the fight started.

And my brother should have some self-awareness! He is practically a fucking commie AND an in-country VN vet. His existence proves my contention!

Ex-PH2

Ask him some time if he ever heard of the Apache and what she did to GIs every time she had a chance.

26Limabeans

Seems to me a lot of reasons for joining the military
over the last decade have nothing to do with love of country.

TRS

I think this is how Vindman gets a blanket party from other O5s.

Andy11M

Yeah, in the form of them calling their Reps in Congress. I want to see the line of Congressmen outside her door, waiting to inform her that she is holding up the career of a family friend/relative/favorite officer/someone they appointed to the academy

Andy11M

I’ve never understood how so many officers can identify as Democrats. I’ve seen her ripping into someone that was testifying before some committee she was on, and it reminded me of watching some filed grade rip some juniors ass. With that behavior I have to wonder if she would get “swift boated” like Kerry did. Perhaps that’s why she’s not on the ticket?

Mason

Power.

Jay in Cvill

If I was Trump I use this to run ads in her home state and maybe help send her home. Is she up for re-election this year?

NHSparky

Nope. 2022.

Green Thumb

She is an idiot.

Hack Stone

You know who else is/ was a decorated veteran? That’s right, Chief Petty Office Gallagher, and yet that protect him from the full retribution of Big Navy.

Hack Stone

And yet that did not protect him from Big Navy.

Hack Stone Publishing regrets the error, but this was written while moving in the checkout line at Costco.

Sapper3307

And Bernasty.

5th/77th FA

Last I heard a certain be nasty, wanna be pile it, lawer, and c3po is still maintaining his minus 6 feet of AGL altitude social distancing, and is still providing buffet meals for maggots and worms. The maggots and worms have our deepest sympathies. Scavagerner Meals Matter.

26Limabeans

“The maggots and worms have our deepest sympathies”

Think of the Robins that eat them.
Could affect their flying skills.

5th/77th FA

Yeah, ‘beans. They might start crashing into the trees.

David

Good service does not necessarily equate to good post-service actions, and this twunt is the poster child. To shut her up, they should let Vindman get his promotion… then let him run a one-man desk as liaison to nobody on Attu forever.

MCPO USN

Promote him, then give him a new “special assignment”:

http://www.morethings.com/fan/bill_murray/stripes/bill_murray-stripes1981-2290.jpg

He will never make GO so this would be his last stop on the ladder anyway.

Ex-PH2

Let me see:
Female – check
Biracial – check
Disabled vet – check
Mom of two – check
Smarter than Biden? – um, maybe – maybe not

Four out of five: yeah, they’ll take her. After all, FDR was handicapped with polio, even though he hid it until he died.

26Limabeans

“Biracial – check”

I was thinking her dad may have been with the Air Force in
Thailand during the Vietnam War but turns out he was an Army
veteran working for the United Nations refuge programs.

There’s your likely leftist roots right there.

Ret_25X

I wasn’t aware that the President handled promotions for HRC…

wow…

Funny how I didn’t hear a peep from this corrupt former VA employee when the last admin suddenly fired several GOs and their staffs for no reason at all.

I guess on democrat officers matter.

Atlanticcoast63

…What I wish SecDef could do is give the following statement:

“Since I have no desire to see thousands of hardworking and sacrificing officer deprived of well-deserved promotions, I am hereby directing that LTC Vindman be placed on the O6 promotion list. I wish to state for the record that the only reason I am taking this action is because of Senator Duckworth’s insistence on unfairly punishing others. I will make no further statements on this subject.”

Think about it for a second – Vindman gets his eagles, and it’s on the record as to exactly WHY. Ultimately, it’s a no-win for him and Duckworth. For starters, what’s he gonna do – turn it down? Nope.
And everyone will KNOW. And secondly, if Senator Duckworth gets Biden’s VP nod, then she gets to see this on every campaign commercial until November.

Ex-PH2

How about a class action lawsuit against her promotion notion? (If I can’t have what I want, no one else gets any, either.)

She’s really getting too full of herself these days.

Retired Mustang

I like your idea on a political level but strongly believe the politicization of officer promotions is dangerous. Furthermore, your idea suggests the SecDef should bow to political blackmail. IMO, this matter should be resolved by Senate leadership and in the court of public opinion.
Regardless of how this plays out, I like your idea of shaming both Duckworth and Vindman – but the thought of promoting Vindman to O6 just makes my blood boil.

MCPO USN

And they bust on Trump for undue influence. Pot, this is kettle. I read you black, over.

Hack Stone

President Trump pardons CPO Gallagher and the left loses their shit because his action “interferes with the good order and discipline of the military justice system”. President Obama commutes the sentence of Bradley Manning, you don’t hear squat on the left.

Stacy0311

Wasn’t Duckworthless the Secretary of the VA when the 9/11 GI Bill fiasco rolled out?

Thousands of vets couldn’t get their funding straightened out and this moron was tweeting about how easy it was for her to complete her Master’s Degree (which BTW, needs a name change)using the new GI Bill.

WHILE SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE RUNNING THE VA!!!!

Ex-PH2

No, she wasn’t the director of the entire VA.

She was the State of Illinois director, and spent her term getting her Masters Degree in something or other instead of staying in her office and doing the job she was paid to do.

She’s far too opportunistic, but sometimes, politics eats its own, you know.

Retired Mustang

I can only hope, voters in Ill. will find Senator Duckworth’s actions repugnant, callous, self-serving and undeserving of support.
As for Mr. Vindman…his actions violated the UCMJ and disgraced the US Army.
Newsflash Vindman – your positional authority in the military means nothing in the civilian world. Try your arrogance out here and see what happens.

11B-Mailclerk

What do voters have to do with elections in Illinois?

26Limabeans

They bury their dead.

Retired Mustang

LOL…I stand corrected. BZ

Jeff LPH 3, 63-66

And the demoRAT merry go round goes on and on. I left out the obama shadow govt. slow moving coup to give everyone a break. Later alligator.

T1B

The biggest problem I see with Duckworth’s actions are that they essentially make Vindman’s selection or non-selection for promotion entirely political. His board packet should be considered just like anyone else’s. Promotion to O6 is pretty competitive, and he very well may not have been selected regardless of any action by the president or Secretary of the Army, or his actions in testifying in the Ukraine “scandal.”

So now, if he doesn’t make the cut for O6 – no matter what the reasons – Duckworth and her ilk will claim it is because of some abuse of power by the administration.

OWB

Which is likely exactly why the she did it. Twisted, isn’t it?

Skippy

Nothing the left does surprise me anymore

RGR 4-78

Blue Falconette.