CNN and the Republicans’ Moron Problem.
Say what you like about CNN’s new effort to be less partisan, but Kaitlan Collins may have single-handedly justified the decision. In the widely excoriated interview with Donald Trump, she elicited a number of self-incriminating statements that legal analysts believe will be used against him in court. Mike Pence was condescending and sanctimonious, and Glenn Youngkin, candidate in-waiting, was supercilious and inept at dodging questions he didn’t want to answer, which was just about all of them.
But no one came across as badly as Alabama’s Tommy Tuberville, who continually referred to himself as “Coach” rather than “Senator.” He was so unknowledgeable and so inarticulate that one could easily conclude that the only two letters in the alphabet Coach Tuberville knows are x and o. (For those who spurn football, like my wife, those are the letters used in diagramming plays.)
His explanation of why he refuses to lift his hold on hundreds of promotions for military officers, which currently includes the commandant of the Marine Corps, a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was rambling, incoherent, and ignorant of the facts. He claimed he is refusing to allow the government to pay for abortions for military personnel or their family members, when they would only be reimbursed for travel costs if they are stationed in states in which the procedure is not allowed. That the military regularly pays travel costs for a variety of medical reasons and, unlike with abortions, also covers the costs of the services as well, seems to have eluded him.
When told that seven previous secretaries of defense, including those who had served under Republican presidents, had urged him to reconsider, he responded that they had merely been “nominated”—although they were also confirmed by the full Senate—whereas he had been “elected.” He insisted that the promotions could still proceed one at a time, seemingly unaware that promotions always proceed one at a time. Finally, he wondered why President Biden hadn’t called him to discuss his opposition, which given his general demeanor was a question that answered itself.
Perhaps Coach T is simply grandstanding, pandering to his constituents, and letting national defense—which used to be important in Alabama—be damned. Whatever his motives, the damage he is doing should not be underestimated. (For the record, there is absolutely no Constitutional provision that allows one senator to hold up military confirmations. It is merely one of the chamber’s arcane rules. As such, if Mitch McConnell and his fellow Republicans cared as much about military readiness as they claim, they could change that rule, or make an exception for military officers, just as the filibuster rule was changed to allow Supreme Court justices to be confirmed with a simple majority.)
Coach T dug himself even deeper with his continued refusal to equate white nationalism with racism, which is sort of its definition. The more Collins bulldogged him, the worse he fared. It is an indication of just how atrociously his performance was perceived by other Republicans that he was forced to walk back his Jim Crow sentiments the next day and admit, obviously with great reluctance, that white nationalists were indeed racists.
But the import of Collins’s incisive and persistent cross-examination went beyond allowing Coach T to be seen for who is, or more appropriately, who he isn’t. It exposed a deeper problem that the GOP will need to deflect in the coming elections.
In July 2021, in response to his comments on mask mandates, then Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi referred to her opposite number, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy as a “moron,” a characterization she refused to retract. Whether Pelosi was correct remains a matter of opinion, but if she were, Tuberville has provided ample proof that McCarthy is not alone. Fellow Republicans will be given the unenviable choice of defending him or admitting that one of their own has only a questionable grasp of fundamental governance.
In decades past, politicians felt the need to appear on television shows such as Meet the Press, but they lived in fear of the dogged questioning from the likes of Tim Russert or Sam Donaldson. Recently, with the rise of partisan cable news, political figures can choose outlets where they will receive a series of softball questions and avoid interviews in which they might be asked even a modestly difficult one. If they are deft at all, they can avoid providing the other party with attack ad fodder as Tuberville has now bestowed on Democrats.
If CNN sticks to its plan and is willing to sacrifice some of its partisan audience to deliver real news, Kaitlan Collins may continue to help revive a vanishing tradition, one which both television and the country desperately need.