Raising an Army.
February 23, 2025.
NJ Senator Corey Booker, my Senator,
appeared on NBC’s Meet the Press today. When asked whether democrats should be
arguing that we are facing a constitutional crisis, he responded that his focus
is on how President Trump is hurting real people. That’s nice, but falls short
of what’s at stake.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker got
it right. “We don’t have kings in America,” he said. If you think I’m
overreacting and sounding the alarm too soon, consider this: It took the Nazis
one month, three weeks, two days, eight hours and 40 minutes to dismantle a
constitutional republic. All I’m saying is when the five-alarm fire starts to
burn, every good person better be ready to man a post with a bucket of water if
you want to stop it from raging out of control.”
This weekend, President Trump and
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth carried out a purge of America’s top military
leadership, dismissing the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, the chief of
naval operations, the vice chair of staff of the air force, and the three
military judge advocates general.
The dismissed generals were all
supporters of DEI and had been under fire during the presidential campaign from
Trump and Hegseth as leaders of a “woke military.” To replace them, Trump
nominated retired three-star general Dan “Razin” Caine to become the new
chairman of the joint chiefs.
Caine does not meet the
position’s prerequisites, such as being a combatant commander or service
chief, but he meets one requirement that may be more important. He is a
Trump loyalist. In a CPAC speech last year, Trump recalled meeting Caine in
2018 in Iraq when he was visiting troops. “He said, ‘I’ll kill for you sir,”
Trump said. “Then he puts on a ‘Make America Great Again’ hat.”
Irony is in abundance these days,
but it is still remarkable to consider that the following occurred in this
order in just one month’s time. 1) Trump outlawed DEI on inauguration day in
favor of “meritocracy.” 2) Hegseth was confirmed by a narrow party line vote
despite his questionable qualifications. 3) The military leadership was fired
for their support of DEI. 4) For Caine to be confirmed Trump will have to provide
a waiver, since Caine de facto does not meet the job requirements.
Any good magician knows that a
successful illusion is accomplished through sleight of hand, which depends on the
use of psychology, timing, misdirection, and natural choreography to accomplish
a magical effect.
In his first term, Trump was
frustrated after discovering there were limits to his control over the
military. General Mark Milley bore the brunt of his anger, with Trump
eventually saying Milley should have been executed.
He won't make that mistake again. Those arguing that the military
firings are about DEI are master magicians. Abracadabra, Trump is taking over
the military.
Notes.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/22/us/politics/hegseth-firings-military-lawyers-jag.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/21/us/politics/trump-fires-cq-brown-pentagon.html
https://www.npr.org/2025/02/22/g-s1-50348/dan-caine-new-chairman-joint-chiefs
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5162682-trump-rejects-questions-on-caine/
Richardson, “Letters from an
American,” February 21, 2025.
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