11.06.23
WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan’s (R-Alaska) efforts last week to confirm nearly 370 military nominees received support from the Wall Street Journal and Anchorage Daily News Editorial Boards.
“Some on the right are unloading on Sen. Sullivan and Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst for disagreeing with a fellow Republican,” the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board wrote. “But these GOP Senators are right to alert their colleagues to the growing political and strategic risks of Sen. Tuberville’s counterproductive stand.”
“For the record, Sullivan has a similar opinion on abortion to Tuberville,” the Anchorage Daily News Editorial Board wrote. “But unlike Tuberville, Alaska’s senator understands that such extreme measures are counterproductive and damaging to our country.”
The Wall Street Journal
He’s right about Biden policy, but he has the wrong political targets.
By The Editorial Board
November 3, 2023
Americans are watching a bizarre split screen. Two wars are raging abroad. Meanwhile, much of Washington is mired in partisan spectacles, such as a fight over abortion policy in the U.S. military. The Biden Administration launched the opening salvo, but Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville is looking like an unguided torpedo.
A handful of Republican Senators on Wednesday evening tried to advance 61 military promotions on the floor. More than 370 are on hold by Sen. Tuberville. “We are in a very dangerous world right now,” Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan said. “America needs to have our best players, most combat-capable leaders on the field. Right now, that’s not happening.”
Republicans agree that the Biden Administration provoked a fight when the Pentagon rewrote its travel policy to cover leave and travel expenses for service members traveling to obtain an abortion. In other words, the Biden Pentagon deliberately waded into the most inflamed cultural issue in America.
. . .
Many of Sen. Tuberville’s colleagues have suggested, to no avail, that he express his dissent by focusing on civilian Pentagon nominees who “actually make policy, as opposed to our military heroes,” as GOP Leader Mitch McConnell said earlier this week. That is better both on the politics and the merits. President Biden’s nominee for under secretary of defense for policy would be one example.
. . .
The blockade has evolved into a larger mood association on the right for fighting wokeness in the U.S. military. It isn’t obvious how blocking promotions in bulk will improve the ideological direction of the institution. The real risk is that the most talented service members decide that retirement sounds better than a promotion—even as the U.S. military weathers an acute personnel shortage and rapidly expanding security threats.
“The idea that some of these officers are supposedly woke or desk jockeys is ridiculous,” as Sen. Sullivan put it. One example he cites is a Marine colonel, held up for promotion to one-star general, who has made six deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and won a silver star for valor in a multi-hour fire fight.
Some on the right are unloading on Sen. Sullivan and Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst for disagreeing with a fellow Republican. But these GOP Senators are right to alert their colleagues to the growing political and strategic risks of Sen. Tuberville’s counterproductive stand.
Click here to read the full editorial.
Anchorage Daily News
By The Editorial Board
November 5, 2023
Valuing decorum, Sen. Dan Sullivan isn’t often one to speak out against a fellow Republican senator. But this past week, circumstances forced his hand…
As you can imagine, with ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East that have the potential to spin further out of control, this is an even worse time than usual for the U.S. military to have its command structure resembling Swiss cheese.
As a Marine Corps reservist and member of the Armed Services Committee, Sullivan is well aware of the consequences Tuberville’s intransigence is wreaking on U.S. military readiness. “All attempts at compromise aren’t making progress, and the readiness issues are very real,” Sullivan told reporters. By this past week, he and Sen. Joni Ernst had enough.
. . .
For the record, Sullivan has a similar opinion on abortion to Tuberville.
. . .
Political considerations aside, however, Sullivan is right that the most important casualty is the U.S. readiness to deal with global threats and our standing on the world stage. “Xi Jinping is watching this right now, he’s loving this,” Sullivan said on the Senate floor Wednesday night. “So is (Vladimir) Putin. How dumb can we be, man?”
. . .
This pointless blockade is eroding the morale of these committed warriors who have spent decades protecting our way of life. There is an unwritten compact in America between the military and the citizen government — that they will dedicate their lives to keeping us safe and that in return we’ll honor their sacrifices and pay them the respect and courtesy they deserve. They don’t, after all, do it for the fantastic pay. Right now, one side is not living up to their end of that bargain.
. . .
We owe Sen. Sullivan our thanks for standing up for what’s right.
Click here to read the full editorial.
