Nov.19

electoral-vote.com

Dem 47

   

GOP 53

...And Pete Hegseth Is a Scary Guy

Although Matt Gaetz is more famously corrupt and immoral, and so is getting more attention right now, Secretary of Defense-designate Pete Hegseth is not too far behind. Note that they are problematic in different ways; Gaetz is a person with no social skills who apparently partakes of drugs and questionable or illegal sex acts, while Hegseth is more of a misogynist and homophobe who is either outright racist or, at very least, racist-curious.

The folks at the Popular Information blog have put together a list of "13 things everyone should know about Pete Hegseth." Here's the list, with brief comments:

1. Hegseth says women should not be in combat roles: This is the thing Hegseth is most famous for, at least among those who don't like the idea of him taking over the Department of Defense. For the record, over 300,000 women have served in combat since the ban was lifted a decade ago, and over 10,000 of them were decorated for their actions in combat.
   
   
2. Hegseth paid a woman who accused him of rape to sign an NDA: This is the story that broke over the weekend.
   
   
3. Hegseth published a column in college that claimed having sex with an unconscious woman is not rape: It used to be that ill-considered comments about rape, even if they were in someone's past, were pretty much automatically disqualifying. They still are... in one of the major political parties.
   
   
4. Hegseth is a serial philanderer, making him a target for blackmail: This is a very fair point, and one that is often overlooked with the sleazy picks Trump makes (not ALL are sleazeballs, mind you, but too many are). This is why security clearances (which are usually waived for high-ranking civilian personnel) delve into people's financial, sexual and drug histories—to see if they are blackmail targets.
   
   
5. Hegseth criticized injured veterans who receive government assistance: If this gets serious attention, this is the one most likely to kill his nomination, we think. He did say it on TV (on Fox, naturally), so the footage is out there.
   
   
6. Hegseth praised "waterboarding," blasted the Geneva Conventions: If you've persuaded yourself that the enemy is not human, then it's not too hard to conclude that torturing or otherwise mistreating them is OK.
   
   
7. Hegseth pushed Trump to pardon service members convicted of war crimes: If you've persuaded yourself that the enemy is not human, then it's not too hard to conclude that soldiers should not be punished for torturing or otherwise mistreating them.
   
   
8. Hegseth dismissed moral concerns about the use of nuclear weapons: If you've persuaded yourself that the enemy is not human, then it's not too hard to conclude that wiping out half a million of them, even if they are civilians, is OK.
   
   
9. Hegseth said the United Nations should be shut down: Of course he feels that way. They work to prevent war, and to help the downtrodden. Hegseth likes war, and dislikes the downtrodden.
   
   
10. Hegseth has a tattoo associated with white nationalists: The tattoo says "Deus Vult," which means "God Wills It." It is associated with both the First Crusade, and with white nationalists. Hegseth claims he is embracing the First Crusade part of that, and doesn't know anything about the white nationalist part of that. Even if you buy that, it means he is, at least tacitly, embracing the killing of Muslims, since that is what the First Crusade was all about.
    
    
11. Hegseth said rising Muslim birth rates were causing "a slow motion 9/11": Hegseth has all kinds of anti-Muslim ideas, most of them variants of "white replacement theory," except with Muslims replacing Christians, as opposed to non-white people replacing white people. This dovetails pretty nicely with his First Crusade tattoo.
    
    
12. Hegseth is a member of a Christian supremacist church: He's hostile to women, apparently comfortable with sexual violence, doesn't object to torture or indiscriminate killing, disdains people who are not like him, and embraces war as a solution to problems. Sure sounds like Hegseth really understood Jesus' message, right?
    
    
13. Hegseth promoted an editorial comparing same-sex marriage to bestiality: Looking at the list above, this is pretty much par for the course.

We think that everyone can agree that Matt Gaetz is a godawful pick for AG. However, no matter how bad an AG is, they are not in a position to help start World War III. A Secretary of Defense potentially is in that position. And if any Secretary of Defense candidate really and truly presented that risk (other than Robert McNamara), it's Pete Hegseth. One can only hope the Senate does its job, and does not let him through the gates. (Z)