Dumbest Senator of the Year: Tommy Tuberville
Dumbest Senator of the Year: Tommy Tuberville
The Republican senator from Alabama spent 2023 turning himself into one of the most hated men in Washington—even by members of his own party.
The Republican senator from Alabama spent 2023 turning himself into one of the most hated men in Washington—even by members of his own party.
Senator Tommy Tuberville’s nearly yearlong protest against the Department of Defense’s abortion policy brings to mind an old Chinese proverb that translates to, “He who rides a tiger is afraid to dismount.” It means that when you take on something risky—or in this case, downright stupid—it’s easier to keep going than to face the consequences of trying to stop.
For nine months, Tuberville single-handedly blocked more than 450 military promotions, throwing the entire U.S. military into disarray. According to the Alabama Republican, this was the best way to protest the department’s policy of reimbursing service members who have to travel out of their state of deployment for an abortion.
Tuberville partially relented on December 5, when he agreed to allow most of those promotions to go forward with the exception of four-star generals. He then dropped those remaining holds this week, and the Senate promptly confirmed 11 nominees to that position.
After all those months of protesting, Tuberville accomplished … nothing. The Defense Department’s abortion policy is still in place. The only difference is that now, all of the department leadership and pretty much every other senator is angry with him.
And a liar:
He brought increased scrutiny on himself, resulting in multiple damaging revelations. Despite promising in 2020 to donate “every dime” he makes in Washington to veterans’ causes, Tuberville has yet to actually do so. He appears to have completely fabricated his father’s military record, and he has lived in Florida, not Alabama, for nearly two decades.
Military leaders called him out by name, accusing him of “aiding and abetting Communist and other autocratic regimes”—a devastating insult for any Republican but especially a far-right one.
114and he has lived in Florida, not Alabama, for nearly two decades
Illegal, yeah?
10If he's been living in Florida, doesn't that make him ineligible for the position he holds?
Edit: Apparently US Congress representatives only need to live in the state they represent at the time they are elected. Crazy.
3
deleted by creator
62As Brynn Tannehill wrote for The New Republic in September, “This is a naked power play, whose end goal, I suspect, is to fill every senior military position simultaneously with Trump loyalists and sycophants if [Donald] Trump wins reelection in 2024.”
Jesus...that's a brilliant take and one I never considered. It worked for the Judicial branch, now they're going to try it on the Military.
39Permanently Deleted
2It worked for the courts.
1Yeah, I brought that take up here a little while back, I assumed he wouldn't back down till post election.
1
I'd vote for, "most stubborn traitor". He's not just a moron saying stupid things. He's someone actively choosing to harm the country. He should not be given a pass for also being fucking stupid.
38I think Menendez represents some serious competition for that title:
7Should be treated like Trump. If there actually is a lot to manage due to complexity, it should be given an honest evaluation and possibly postponement. If it's just a shitty play to keep a guilty verdict from coming out until after the election (in this case a primary), fuck him.
7
The abortion thing was always a red herring. He’s been holding out so he could pack the military’s top brass with Trump loyalists. It’s part of Project 2025, since it will require cooperation from the military to actually be successful.
Just like how republicans stalled on a major SCOTUS appointment during Obama’s term, choosing to wait until Trump was in office. But then refused to wait for Biden to take office, and rammed another appointment through at the end of Trump’s term.
34So he failed at that too? Or am I missing something
10That part appears to have failed.
2He did it too early, perhaps, thinking that he could hold out for the entire presidential term. He'd have gotten away with it had he waited until Biden's second or third year.
1
Can someone honestly explain how he isn't facing Espionage charges? I mean it seems like he's pretty blatantly sabotaging the function of the entire military. Would these exact same actions be allowed if it were discovered China had been encouraging him to continue instead of out of protest?
17I assume (in theory) because his actions are not his own, but are the actions that his constituency wants him to take, so the responsibility lies with the mouth breathers that elected him. And you can't charge a group of citizens for voting a certain way.
Everything he is doing, he is doing within the legal framework of our system, as fucked as it is. It's just that the framework has never been tested and pushed like this. People used to be mature and reasonable, and that USED to be enough to keep things flowing. Now they're examining every loophole in the book to try to get their way any way they can.
6Representatives are immune from legal consequences for actions of this type that they take on the congress floor, speech and debate clause.
2He's not doing anything that he isn't constitutionally permitted to do. The constitution requires the president to get the Senate's advice and consent on these appointments. He can't be charged for refusing to grant his consent.
What he is doing is just a form of filibuster. The rest of the Senate can stop him if they want. They just don't want to, because the minority would have to support a majority request to invoke cloture.
The minority party always plays these stupid games in the Senate, no matter which party that is.
1Espionage will have a very specific definition that he most certainly doesn't fit. Maybe giving aid to an enemy could be an easier argument.
1Republicans would never allow that precedent.
And moderate Dems don't like accountability either, so they're not vocal about it.
Like most issues, there just aren't enough progressives yet to fix it.
0I've learned that people in the ML instance have a "both sides" view of both liberals and conservatives and hate them equally, which is why you got voted down.
1
Congratulations, Tommy! Man, he was up against some stiff competition!
15I sincerely hope that the FBI is taking a very, very, very close look at this traitor's effort to render aid and comfort to America's enemies.
11Blocking military promotions just because his pink panties are in a twist about the military's stance on abortions is basically a kind of blackmail. And just another example of the hate-filled kind of idiotic excrementalism that makes up the bulk of the GOP today.
8the military’s stance on abortions
That's a deflecting issue, he was trying to set it up so trump can put his own people in the military.
7
Auburn sucks!
7With a name like that he'd be better suited to be a potato farmer, somewhere remote where he can't fuck with servicemembers lives and leave America less safe.
7Bottom of Mariana Trench seems like a good place for him.
7I'm against the dumping of garbage into the Mariana Trench, there are perfectly find landfills here in the US that he could live in.
I'm sure someone in Alabama will donate a lightly used meth trailer for him to live in.
2
Mr. Potato Town
2Don't insult farmers like that. Farmers are useful. Tuberville has been a parasite his entire adult life.
2No insult intended, farmers can't do the amount of national harm Tuberville has caused as a representative.
0
What a miserable SOB
3Can we do something useful with this sack of shit? Turn him into Elmer's glue or render his lard into soap to help wash up around DC.. something??
3He had a lot of competition and still managed to stand out.
1