Letters to the Editor: No on Hegseth for DOD

I sent this letter to Senator Joni Ernst and a slightly edited version to Senator Chuck Grassley.  Ernst publicly said she would support Hegseth’s nomination, and Grassley sent me a reply saying he would not take a position until after the Armed Services Committee hearing process.

I was aghast when you announced you would vote to confirm Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense.  He is unqualified, underqualified, and disqualified for the position. Here’s why.

I watched his confirmation hearing and during it Mr. Hegseth said “past is prologue.” If he behaves at DOD as he has in the past, he would be a disaster. His record of considering women as second class citizens in the military is long and recent.  One day of reasonable testimony is a stunning reversal and does not erase that. He railed against “wokeness” then agreed to appoint a senior-level military official to focus on "sexual assault prevention and response," which is “woke” according to your Senate colleagues.

He has a record of sexual assault himself.  His behavior with women may or may not have been criminal, but it was certainly highly inappropriate.

He refused to answer many questions during the hearing. Two of those refusals are disqualifying in my opinion. First, he refused to say that he would not obey an illegal order if given one by Trump, and he refused to agree with former secretary Esper that it was wrong to use the military to disperse peaceful protesters. Second, he refused to retract his call to pardon soldiers convicted of war crimes by military tribunals. He hinted that the Geneva Convention was obsolete, and that rules of engagement that violate them could be valid.

He has a long history of drunkenness on the job.  His pledge to stop boozing if confirmed is unconvincing given his multiple breaches of marriage vows and his reversal on the role of women. When asked about his drunken episodes, he mostly did not deny them, which means to me they were true, especially since he specifically denied others. His claim that Jesus Christ “redeemed” him, doesn’t mean he won’t do it again. An alcohol problem was disqualifying in the case of John Tower, why not now?

Hegseth seeks to run a huge department and his management skills are lacking. Letters were submitted supporting his integrity running two small veterans organizations, but the issue is incompetence, not corruption. CBS reported that Margaret Hoover, a well-respected journalist, was an advisor to Vets for Freedom who said Hegseth’s management of it was “poor.” Under his leadership revenue declined by a factor of around 40 in just three years and the organization was disbanded. Hegseth was asked if he was fired from these organizations and he refused to answer. He was unable to correctly answer some basic questions about international alliance.

He advocated transparency yet he failed to reveal to the Trump transition team the problems in his past. Unlike many other Trump nominees, he refused to meet in advance with Democratic members of the committee. He also refused to condemn threatening emails that were sent to military officers.

Mr. Hegseth’s qualifications seem to be limited to his passionate support for military personnel, willingness to say what people want to hear, and loyalty to Trump over country. I would support him for Pentagon spokesman or to lead a county VA office, but he would be a disaster as Secretary of Defense. Change your position and vote no on his confirmation.

Jim Eliason, Storm Lake

Ernst the embarrassment

Joni Ernst took the coward’s way out — choosing the “maggoty MAGA party” over country.

Her “height of hypocracy” in supporting the ill-qualified, drunkard, sex abuser — whose own mother couldn’t defend him — is rivalled only by Ms. Ernst having “a very low, if any, profile in courage.”

Since you only get one shot to put the loser in this position, what are you — and the “felon president-elect” going to do when the loser again “screws up”— and with his past history, it’s just a matter of time.

Will they support his impeachment?

I expect Ms. Ernst will also support Ms. Gabbard, RFK, Jr., Mr. Patel, Mr. Oz and other ill-qualified nominees too numerous to mention.

Submitted with a great deal of concern.

Bob Payer, Storm Lake