"Wouldn't it be pretty cool to have that power, though?" I'm conflicted about Milley. I don't really want to sacrifice him on the altar of the unitary executive for having the (imho) correct perception of the dangers posed by Trump, but it might be the right thing to do. And it's a cryin' shame, because it's always entertaining to see the GOP whine about top military brass when it suits their immediate political needs. Edit: I just read a little more about it, and by all means, investigate Milley's actions. Doesn't sound like we have all the facts yet, and the media ecosystem is already poisoning my perceptions.
If the story is to be believed, he consulted with the Speaker, and he told the chiefs that the chain of command includes the Chairman, so they aren't allowed to do anything without the blessing of the chairman. I think he actually toed a line pretty goddam well, considering the circumstances. Can't say anything publicly, so he just has to take a media whipping while he does his thing in the background. No one is perfect, but I am having a hard time finding fault here.
It is classical Vichy Democrat thinking to go "I mean yeah the ends justify the means but we should 100% get rid of anyone who accomplished our ends if we disagree with their means because THIS IS AMERICA." That's Al Haig, blatantly disregarding the 25th Amendment after Reagan was shot and serving in office for another two years before suggesting we nuke Europe for shits and giggles finally pissed off Caspar Weinberger enough to put him out to pasture. The two most dominant planks in the Republican Party platform are: (1) Trump won the election (2) Vaccines are bad. Anybody who disagrees with one or both of those should be negotiated with, at least. You know how coups happen? Enough people go "yeah there are rules, but fuck the rules" or enough people go "yeah, we're utterly fucked, but there are rules." Dollars to donuts, Milley likely would have led a counter-coup if Pence had decided he had the authority to stop the election. And everyone reading this would be happy about that.
(2) Vaccines are bad. I have a lot of republicans in my family. They're of the rich white asshole variety, not the poor white trash variety. None of them likes to talk about it, but they're all vaccinated. It's easy to be a prick on Facebook, but it's a lot harder to put your money where your mouth is.(1) Trump won the election
Probably false. Trump is the candidate they were waiting for their whole lives. Growing up, hearing the n-word was a very regular occurrence at family gatherings. They like money the best and white people the second best. So I think DeSantis fits that mold better. They would vote for either over any democrat under any circumstances, even if the republican was a child molester who had a stroke and can no longer perform any normal daily functions.
Right. They'll salivate no matter who rings the bell. Mark Milley protects the country from your in-laws. Throwing him out is a bonehead "must not anger the silent majority" bullshit play that the 'boomers are trying to get their children to repeat. There's this persistent myth among chin-stroking democrats that if they squint just right the 'wingers will see reason and the lie is that they ever did.
What you find when you grow up in a family like mine is that there's what you do in public and there's what you do in private and the two don't have to align at all. We're Church of England types, and you could be moved to tears by some of their words in church...Then you go on a golf trip or whatever and there are more booze and whores than you can shake a stick at. Piety and charity is an act but it's an important one for the club to see that you're not one of those people, however defined.
FYI I'm 3/4ths through Peril and Milley comes out as a guy who just wants to save the republic, dammit. He's not the first Joint Chiefs to cut the president out of the loop, and he did it in full view of everyone but the President. The only guy who didn't know was Trump. And I mean, he'd know if he was paying attention.
They also have to believe that supporting a populist won't bite them in the ass the minute they cease to be useful to the populist. The trail of their dead is four years long. Here's the calculus: "can you benefit from an unruly mob?" The answer isn't always no. But for people who practice politics on a horizon longer than six months, the answer is usually no. Thus, the Trump administration was filled chockablock with impolitic strivers and hangers-on who have never had to convince anyone else of their viewpoint. They were all ideologues and opportunists whose goals aligned with the Trump administration until it didn't. The smart ones pulled the ripcord before they were thrown out of the plane but at the end, there was nobody. You have to be pragmatic enough to costs-benefits the "better alternatives". Politics is a game of compromise out of pure survivorship bias and those who cannot compromise cannot lead for long.
Certainly agree, but It's not yet clear to me that our particular flavor of democracy will survive the repercussions of Trump's first term.
This anecdote bears repeating. The Sunday after January 6th, the pastor at my in laws church gave a tearful sermon about how 'Things didn't go the way we wanted on January 6th.' This isn't in Alabama. This isn't in Kentucky. This is here, in metro Detroit.
You think the important sentence in your post is "This is here, in metro Detroit." It's not. The important sentence is 'Things didn't go the way we wanted on January 6th." The 'Wingers' favorite gun shop is walking distance from me. I am 20 blocks from the King County line, right here in the "failed socialist state of Seattle" or whateverdafukk Trump said. And lemme tell ya - I could saunter into Lynnwood Gun right now and buy a half-rack of AR15s or whatever. THE PARTY IS OVER. Ask Trump - nobody likes a loser. Yeah you can be a Browns fan, but not in public. Not unless they win something. And Jan 6th? That was a LOSS. That was a BIG loss. That was the biggest of bigly big losses because it demonstrated that you can shine shit on for four years because most of us value the rules and regulations of the republic but as soon as you really and truly cross over into "do we wanna be Eritrea?" people just don't, man. There's a very real dynamic at play in these here United States since Reagan or before: Democrats build shit, Republicans tear it down. The Republicans know this - as do the Democrats. There's an additive phase and a subtractive phase to American progress and the Republicans decided this time the subtractive would be really subtractive while also pretending to be additive and there weren't enough legitimate diplomats on the right to keep the plane from hammerhead stalling. And now everyone can go back to hating the democrats while buying marketplace health insurance and driving on newly-patched roads and enjoying the worldly goods that globalism grants them. Your inlaws' pastor doesn't give a fuck about any of this, of course. His job is to stoke anger. It's to tell the chuds who to blame for their misfortune. Always has been, always will be. When life isn't going your way it's someone else's fault, always. But your pastor also knows that his job is a whole lot easier when the other team has the ball and the Republican's entire last possession was safetys and self-owns that ran out the playbook and showed how terrible they are at Hail Marys. Is the Republic safe? No, not really, because ChudLocal is still a catstrophuck. But your constant clarion call of "there are CONSERVATIVES! in DETROIT!" is the whole of the problem. Point at the bad man, ask your friends to share your disgust, do nothing.