Posted on 07/26/2017 2:26:05 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
This is high-grade political cover for any congressional Republican who’s inclined to oppose the ban but leery of becoming a lightning rod for the right. McCain will be the lightning rod. And meanwhile other Republican pols can point to him and say, “I’ll defer to the war hero’s judgment.”
Agree or disagree, though, he asks a good question. The Pentagon was already reviewing the trans policy and planning to make a recommendation later this year. Why couldn’t Trump wait for that?
The Department of Defense has already decided to allow currently-serving transgender individuals to stay in the military, and many are serving honorably today. Any American who meets current medical and readiness standards should be allowed to continue serving. There is no reason to force service members who are able to fight, train, and deploy to leave the military—regardless of their gender identity. We should all be guided by the principle that any American who wants to serve our country and is able to meet the standards should have the opportunity to do so—and should be treated as the patriots they are.
“The Department of Defense is currently conducting a study on the medical obligations it would incur, the impact on military readiness, and related questions associated with the accession of transgender individuals who are not currently serving in uniform and wish to join the military. I do not believe that any new policy decision is appropriate until that study is complete and thoroughly reviewed by the Secretary of Defense, our military leadership, and the Congress.
The cynical theory for why Trump moved now is that he needed to change the subject by any means necessary from the many chaotic storylines plaguing him — Russiagate, the Sessions feud, the Senate GOP voting on a health-care “mystery bill,” Rex Tillerson possibly leaving, Anthony Scaramucci planning purges in the White House. The extra-cynical theory is that Trump’s particularly worried that his dogging of the populist Sessions will start to alienate his base, so he’s giving them some culture-war material to keep them happy. But there’s a non-cynical theory too, per Politico: A dispute over whether to fund sex-change surgery for U.S. troops was holding up a spending bill in the House that included money for all sorts of other Trump priorities, including the border wall. In order to resolve that dispute, he simply announced a new policy this morning. And apparently pulled the rug out from under his Defense secretary in doing so:
That’s why House lawmakers took the matter to the Trump administration. And when Defense Secretary James Mattis refused to immediately upend the policy, they went straight to the White House. Trump — never one for political correctness — was all too happy to oblige…
The announcement, multiple sources said, did not sit well with Mattis, who appeared to be trying to avoid the matter in recent weeks. Congressional sources say Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.), the original author of the House’s transgender proposal, tried numerous times to phone Mattis to discuss the transgender issue.
Sessions and Tillerson are already on their way out. What’s one more cabinet secretary at this point? Note, by the way, that House lawmakers weren’t asking for a total ban on trans soldiers, which is what Trump announced this morning. All they wanted was a ban on using taxpayer money to pay for gender reassignment surgery. Why did Trump go so much further in his order? (“This is like someone told the White House to light a candle on the table and the WH set the whole table on fire,” said one House aide to Politico.) Who the hell knows? It’s cost him at least one celebrity fan, though!
There are 15,000 patriotic transgender Americans in the US military fighting for all of us. What happened to your promise to fight for them? https://t.co/WzjypVC8Sr
— Caitlyn Jenner (@Caitlyn_Jenner) July 26, 2017
The article you want to read about this morning’s Twitter-nouncement is this one from the Examiner, which convincingly argues that the major players here, namely the Pentagon and the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, were completely blindsided by it. Supposedly “a handful of the most senior people [at Defense] were aware of the change” but it’s unclear how much advance notice they were given and how much of an opportunity for input they were afforded. Trump being Trump, he may have woken up this morning, decided he need to “shake things up” news-wise, and dialed up Mattis to let him know he was going to pull the plug on Obama’s trans policy on Twitter in five minutes. This quote from an unnamed administration official suggests at least some strategic thought went into it, though: “This forces Democrats in Rust Belt states like Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin, to take complete ownership of this issue. How will the blue collar voters in these states respond when senators up for re-election in 2018 like Debbie Stabenow are forced to make their opposition to this a key plank of their campaigns?”
Will Stabenow be forced to do that, though? How much will Rust Belt Democrats really be hurt by disagreeing with Trump on this, especially if they’re getting cover from Republicans like McCain and Ken Buck? Josh Barro argues that it’s all a matter of framing. If the left turns this into an opportunity to lecture the working class about their supposed bigotry against trans people, yeah, it’ll explode in their faces. If they stick to McCain’s point, they should be fine.
The key is to keep the frame about inclusion and service: Allowing capable Americans who wish to serve their country in the military to so do…
I would be more worried about [a backlash] if Trump had rolled out his ban in the politically smart way: by having the Pentagon announce it and then saying he was supporting the decision of his generals. That would have put Trump in a strong position, politically, to say his choice was in the service of military readiness…
Instead, Trump made himself the face of the decision. Trump is unpopular, and a lot of people will default to assuming whatever choice he made on an issue they had not considered deeply was incorrect.
That’s the most inexplicable part of this. If Trump really cared about the policy, he would have had the august, apolitical Mattis announce it. Instead he announced it himself — and not even with a presidential statement. He farted it out on Twitter. Bizarre.
In lieu of an exit question, read veteran J.R. Salzman on the risk faced by trans soldiers in combat. War is tremendously taxing mentally, Salzman notes from experience. How much can you depend on someone in those circumstances who’s already taxed mentally by emotional and psychological issues related to their gender?
Hey, McTumor -
1.) The U.S. military is not a freaking social experiment.
2.) The Pentagon is awash with Obamabots and career desk jockeys who’ve never seen a day in combat.
3.) Standards? Really jackass? You mean those “standards” that the pencil neck Pentagon geeks have continued to lower, just so butt bugers and women can serve in combat roles?
Do America a favor, McTumor - drop dead.
There’s a theory on The_Donald that this also bears on winning rust belt states in 2018. Here’s the blurb. There’s a more detailed explanation at the link.
‘4D CHESS: Democrats desperately want to pivot to economic issues, but Trump is forcing them to get bogged down with social justice issues. Brilliant.’
Language alert:
https://www.reddit.com/r/The_Donald/comments/6poqs9/4d_chess_democrats_desperately_want_to_pivot_to/
If Trump said that everyone in the military needs to know how to fire a rifle McCain would argue with him.
I’m thinking the original ‘Obama’ plan was make military accepts gays.
Then make military accept ‘transgenders’. Then make sure the insurance you get in the military pays for the hormone therapy, physician visits and return visits and of course the surgery that magically transforms one from one sex to another.
Load up the military on taking stupid classes in pc subjects, eg accepting lbgt...
Then the lgbt crowd will flock into the military for the insurance.
End game: ruin the superiority of the U.S. Military as top defense to our country.
See also end game for the Police force with same agenda.
The President of the United States is the Commander and Chief of the United States Armed Forces.
He has the final word on this issue and to pretend otherwise with drama and emotion as launched by the media in recent hours is nonsense.
John McCain is being flushed out to say the least even as he faces a very serious illness.
He needs to be replaced in the United States Senate by an authentic Trump replica and some have suggested he resign now because of his health.
McCain's constant state of being...
There are standards? Whatever for? Standards only serve to hurt feelings. Aren't other mentally disturbed individuals just as patriotic as those who are in denial of their biological form? Why not go Robert Heinlein and eliminate all "standards" physical, mental and otherwise so every patriot can play soldier? Why are trannies special but parapelegics are discriminated against? /s
To do things the “protocol” way is to do it the political way is to do it the way Washington wants it done. Trump ain’t gonna’ do it that way. He’ll hire and fire...and that doesn’t mean they can get rubber necked and say he’s unstable and doesn’t know what he wants. He knows... and they are not up to his standards... work hard, long hours, get things done quickly, under budget, and don’t gossip. In other words, perform or you’re out.
I don’t think anyone in Washington works that many hours, that efficiently or that honorably for the President. So he gets rid of one now and then... no surprise.
I don’t know that Sessions or Tillerson is on the way out!
And to think the LGBT community has been mad at him for his comments about sadistic gay guards at the Hanoi Hilton.
Lt. Cmdr Crash McCain - “Hey, Chief, make damn sure my ejection seat is functional!”
Chief - “Yes, sir. Please fly at your assigned altitude, per fleet orders, sir ... We’re running out of spare aircraft!”
Mmmm, giving someone hormone therapy and a gun does not seem to be a great idea. Also, if you are in combat how do you get your hormone shots?
That is easy.
Trannies are mentally ill and don’t meet standards.
All done!
I notice Obama never had hairy-legged Marines in skirts and makeup guarding the White House or holding his umbrella during press conferences. Had no problem sticking that onto future presidents, though, did he?
Transgenders don’t meet standards. Shut up and go get your brain fried, McCain.
It just feels like the rot has gone too deep.
So says the twerp who would have been rejected from Annapolis, and washed-out if he enlisted, had his father and grandfather not been four-star admirals.
Funny thing is that McCain failed at all the standards that applied to him—but Daddy and Granddaddy were admirals(distinguished ones).
that’s just IT McLame! they DONT meet “standards”!
you can’t be INSANE and meet “standards” !
you can’t believe you are a tree, or a rock, or another sex than you are... that’s called INSANITY !
McCain: What exactly are the “standards” that let a mentally ill person serve with a loaded rifle?
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