Democrats Should Put GOP On the Spot – Demand Back Pay For Officers Tuberville Screwed

Democrats should go on offense and introduce legislation providing back pay to officers whose promotions were held up due to Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville’s stunt. He could have gotten away with it if his fellow GOPers had stepped up long ago like they should have. For anyone who had doubts ask yourself this: What if it was the other way around and a single Democratic senator had seized upon some issue (say Betsy DeVoss and some Department of Education policy she implemented) and done the same thing? With even a handful of promotions? Republicans would be on Fox and every other RWNJ outlet screaming at the tops of their lungs. No, Tuberville got away with this because Republicans let him get away with it. So screw ’em all. And in a pointed and public way like I’ve suggested.

Need some more convincing? Okay. Here we go.

With eleven four-star officers still awaiting confirmation of their promotions the sordid and disgusting saga the not-at-all distinguished “gentleman” from Alabama (those senators do so love their customs & courtesies) Tommy Tuberville fomented isn’t over. I’ve read that it would take several days to go through the various procedural hurdles to consider and approve each remaining nomination. It should have been done for all of them yesterday along with the 425 who were quickly confirmed in a voice vote. Bluntly put, it will take three days to do what could and should be done in three minutes. I’m serious, “calling the question, reading the names and their new positions they’ll hold and asking for (and getting) a unanimous consent via voice vote for all eleven would take literally only a few minutes. But if Schumer has to get it done the hard way he’ll get it done.

A comment to Murfster’s article on this matter that TUBERVILLE should, since he’s rich personally give each Officer who’s promotion he held up back pay struck a chord with me. I responded to the comment noting as a major college football head coach Tub-O-Lard probably had a net worth of over twenty million. (HE of course is worth less than a fungus on the side of an old turd laying in some field) Tuberville’s smug a$$ would simply give that same sh*t eating grin he kept giving during a recent session where Schumer kept calling up various officer’s promotions asking for unanimous consent on an individual basis while saying “I object.”

Still, it’s something to think about. Just as importantly let’s not forget how freaking long it took for his fellow GOPer Senators to get fed up enough (as in scared of electoral consequences next year where they’ve got a good shot at re-taking control of the Senate) to say “enough.” Tuberville knew his gig was up as too many Republicans had let it be known they’d go for the rules change Senator Klobuchar had proposed. Rather than suffer the HUGE humiliation of even fellow GOPers voting to end his stunt he chose to try and save face. By mostly backing down but still holding up the four star promotions.

In the end however way over four hundred officers lost pay every month their promotion was blocked. So did countless others slated for the jobs those being promoted had been doing. And on down the line. In all the number of high ranking officers who lost pay due to Tuberville’s grandstanding is well over a thousand. They EARNED their promotions through decades of stellar service. And the pay that went with those promotions. Benefits like health care weren’t affected but pay, and now that I think of it in some cases pension benefits were too. They should get that restored to them.

There are varying reports as to Tuberville’s net worth. Business Insider reports that according to his financial disclosures Tuberville is worth “at least 4.5 million.” I call bullsh*t on that figure for a couple of reasons. First of all those financial disclosures allow those required to fill out those reports are allowed to offer “ranges” when it comes to bank balances, real-estate and other assets like stock portfolios. (And yes, Tuberville has one with scandal attached to it but that’s a different story) In my search I saw a pretty wild estimate from some group I’ve never heard of that says upwards of 70 million. I think that’s b.s. too. However, The Guardian is a reputable outlet and they did a story on Tuberville’s financial status in 2022. It seems he made some comments about reparations and their reporters thought a guy who’d made a fortune on the backs of black athletes he coached had no business being disparaging on the issue.

The point is they did some analysis of Tuberville’s coaching career and, as that story’s headline indicates made 25 million off black men. After reading the piece it seemed like they’d done their homework. However, they didn’t dig into stuff like Tuberville’s stocks, that hedge fund he was in with an old pal who wound up in legal trouble. My point is that this asshat has a net worth of well over twenty million and quite possibly over thirty million.

In other words he CAN afford to shell out some cash for back pay to the Officers he screwed over this year. It would be tip money (and not all that big a tip) for someone like him. If some Senator were to give a floor speech with him present calling on him to so do it would be interesting to see his reaction. However, as I said at the beginning as far as I’m concerned McConnell and the entire GOP Senate Caucus is complicit in this disgraceful matter which I’ll remind you DID damage our National Security. So why not introduce a bill calling for the affected officers to get the pay they had earned but were denied?

Put the GOP on the spot. Because it’s not like there weren’t House GOPers cheering all this on, who wouldn’t have sat idly by had they been over in the Senate themselves. In fact, I can’t recall any House Republicans calling on Tuberville to back down. On the contrary. So I say call attention to it! Better yet, when they hem and haw or start punching back whining about US being petty and “taking cheap shots” guess what’s coming up in six weeks or so? The State of the Union address!

Yep. It’s as predictable as a Trump temper tantrum the GOP will refuse to allow a bill authorizing back pay to these officers. I get a thrill at the thought of President Biden taking a moment to address this issue. Or rather letting Dark Brandon out for a quick romp on national TV to scorch the entire GOP. Imagine the C-Span cameras spanning the room to show GOPers reactions! I don’t know about you but I think with primary season in a Presidential election year kicking off this would be a grand thing to behold.  Another reminder that the Party (the GOP) which used to take every opportunity to wrap themselves in the flag and pose with troops and proclaim THEY were supporters of the military (they never were – not of the rank and file troops and junior officers in particular) was and is full of crap.

They would do it to us in a heartbeat. So I say we should seize the chance to do it to them. Let them whine and complain. I frankly don’t care if anyone including on our side of the aisle thinks it’s a cheap shot. I disagree with it being so but even if it is, so what? Never, ever lose sight of the FACT that historically the GOP has shouted from the rooftops every time they had a chance to attack Democrats of not supporting the troops, for not being patriotic like they claimed (and again it was only a claim) to be.