OPINION:
Democrats have banded together by the dozens to warn Secretary of Defense James Mattis not to abide President Donald Trump’s tweeted ban on transgenders in the military.
They did it by letter. From a distance. They probably didn’t have the guts to tell Mad Dog their wishes in person. Fifty-three of them signed on to this daring letter, in fact — 53 against one. Well, two, really. The letter was also addressed to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford.
“As members of Congress with an abiding interest in our nation’s military [insert laugh track here], and its policies towards the LGBTQ community,” the letter read, the Hill reported, “we write to not only express our strong opposition to President Trump’s recent tweets seeking to ban transgender individuals from the military, but to remind you not to comply with any unconstitutional directive which may ultimately be issued.”
Ooh, scaww-ry.
Democrats referencing the Constitution is akin to KKKers citing the Civil Rights Act: You may know the words, but not so much the meaning.
The strongly worded letter-slash-warning comes on the heels of Trump’s tweeted ban on transgenders from the military. The following day, Duford himself came out and said the Pentagon wasn’t going to act on Trump’s tweet without first receiving an official directive.
So what’s the point of these Democrats’ letter?
To make political noise, that’s all.
They want to be able to mount their high horses and pretend to be making a difference — to be taking some strong action — on a matter that A) nobody really cares about and B) only serves the smallest of the smallest percentages of the population.
And no doubt, they want to be able to play like they’re tough-as-nails ready to take on Mad Dog, by gosh. It’s like the uprising of the pocket-protector class.
“As the respected leaders of our brave armed service members, you have no obligation to implement a hastily considered tweet designed to serve as a ’wedge’ political issue,” the letter went on. “But rather, you should honor your own independent duty to support and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
OK, Dems. Thanks for that. And surely, Mattis thanks similarly for the marching orders.
It’s not that the left-leaning lawmakers don’t have a right to weigh in on political issues and pressure key Cabinet members to abide their personal agendas and policy platforms. It’s just that when Dems try to warn somebody like Mattis, it comes across as laughable — like a fearful group of mice banding together to pounce a tiger. Futile, but funny.
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