Feels we are attacking our heroes
I wasn’t clear enough in my challenge to Mr. Gross, apparently. For the record, I really meant for him to show evidence that the architects of the Constitution — meaning those who chiefly wrote it — meant for the citizens to pledge blind loyalty to elected officials, even those with whom they strongly disagreed. While Mr. Gross did an excellent job of showing the patriotism of those who signed the Declaration of Independence, that’s not what I asked. Wrong document, wrong question. Mr. Gross did not provide any examples of the type I wanted. No matter, there aren’t any.
New mini-topic: Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin), the latest Republican legislator to imitate a pretzel, wrote a lengthy — and, in my view, unhinged — letter Monday to Republican members of the House Intelligence and Oversight committees. In it, he attacked Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a veteran of the Iraq war who was awarded the Purple Heart and who has since distinguished himself at the Pentagon so much that he was selected in 2018 for a post in the White House as a deputy in the National Security Council (NSC). Wow, seems like impeccable credentials to me.
Senator Johnson first says that “a significant number of bureaucrats and staff members within the executive branch have never accepted President Trump as legitimate and resent his unorthodox style and his intrusion onto their turf.” Fair enough. As much as I think that statement is nuts, conspiracies have happened on occasion. But then Johnson goes into hyperdrive — and, in my view, all the way to crazy town — by saying that “it is entirely possible that Vindman fits this profile.” Well, I suppose. It is also entirely possible that there are five tons of gold bullion buried in my back yard, but I wouldn’t bet on it.
I am willing to bet, though, that most people would look at Vindman and say, “Hmmm. Lifetime of service. Nearly got killed in Iraq. Trusted to work in the White House. I think I can believe this man.” Because, if you can’t believe someone with Vindman’s credentials, then who could you believe? If you discredit people like Vindman then there is nowhere left for us, as a country, to stand.
Paul Mack
Columbus>
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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