Hegseth confirmation hearing as a lens for 2026 and beyond.

January 15, 2025

The Hegseth confirmation hearing highlights the new strategy Democrats must adopt as a minority opposition party: Every temporary setback is an opportunity to frame the debate for 2026 and 2028.

With the capitulation of Senator Joni Ernst—a sexual abuse survivor and combat veteran—it appears that a nominee credibly accused of sexual abuse who opposes women in combat roles in the military will be confirmed as Secretary of Defense. That setback will sting. We must convert our pain into competitive advantage over every Republican who votes in favor of Hegseth.

Of course, Senator Ernst is not solely responsible for Hegseth’s confirmation; she is merely one of fifty-three Republicans brow-beaten by Trump into swallowing their well-founded opposition to Hegseth. Cowards, each and every one.

History will judge them harshly for condemning the men and women of the US military to service under a Secretary of Defense who is manifestly unfit and morally unqualified to lead the US military. We owe more to the men and women of the military—much more.

We owe them leaders with the experience and skills necessary to lead the world’s largest military into combat.

We owe them leaders who possess sober judgment unclouded by toxic dreams of white nationalism and adolescent notions of video-game masculinity.

We owe them leaders capable of keeping their word, respecting women, tolerating political differences, and empathizing with cultural and social backgrounds that do not map onto white, male, Christian jock.

Most of all, we owe them leaders who can directly answer troubling questions about serious lapses of judgment and character—something that Pete Hegseth failed at miserably on Monday.

When confronted with widely reported, well-sourced accusations of troubling conduct, Hegseth did not deny the accusations; instead, he merely characterized the accusations as “anonymous smears.” To be clear, a truthful accusation can smear a person’s reputation—a self-inflicted wound. Hegseth’s non-answers allow only one interpretation—an acknowledgment that the accusations are grounded in truth.

See Jonathan Chait’s discussion in The Atlantic, Pete Hegseth Declines to Answer (accessible to all):

In one notable exchange, Senator Mark Kelly asked Hegseth to describe a series of allegations about drinking and sexual harassment as either true or false.

Hegseth instead robotically replied to each answer, “Anonymous smears,” even after Kelly reminded him that he was specifically asking for an answer of either “True” or “False.”

What could explain the nominee’s reluctance to directly state under oath that none of the alleged incidents took place . . . .?

Tom Nichols of The Atlantic explains that the willingness of Republican Senators to support a manifestly unfit candidate inflicts a national security injury on the US. See The Atlantic, The Hegseth Hearing Was a National Embarrassment.

Per Nichols,

[Nomination] hearings are watched closely by friends and foes alike, in order to take the measure of a nominee who might lead the most powerful military in the world and would be a close adviser to the president of the United States.

What America and the world saw today was not a serious examination of a serious man.

Instead, Republicans on the committee showed that they would rather elevate an unqualified and unfit nominee to a position of immense responsibility than cross Donald Trump, Elon Musk, or the most ardent Republican voters in their home states.

America’s allies should be deeply concerned; America’s enemies, meanwhile, are almost certainly laughing in amazement at their unexpected good fortune.

Timothy Snyder summarizes the reasons that Pete Hegseth is disqualified from service as Secretary of Defense. See Timothy Snyder, Thinking About (Substack), Pete Hegseth: The Short Course.

Timothy Snyder writes, in part:

2. Hegseth has zero notion of which other countries might threaten America or how. In his books this is simply not a subject, beyond a few clichés.

3. Hegseth does not believe in alliances. For him, “NATO is a great example of dumb globalism.”

4. Hegseth wants a political army that bans women from combat roles, is purged of "cowardly generals," and is anti-woke.

Finally, if you can stand watching Hegseth refuse to tell the truth, watch this masterful cross-examination of Hegseth by Senator Tim Kaine: Tim Kaine examines Hegseth.

Pete Hegseth’s confirmation will insult the men and women of the US military. And every vote to confirm Hegseth will be a mark of shame and dereliction of duty by Republican Senators. It is time to take names and keep score. The votes for Hegseth should be a point of attack in 2026 and 2028.

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Jack Smith’s report, 24 hours later

Jack Smith’s report on Trump's election interference indictment is here: Jack Smith Report | DocumentCloud. Even if you do not read the entire 137-page report, you owe it to yourself to read Jack Smith’s 4-page cover letter to Merrick Garland transmitting the report.

Smith says, in part,

Our work rested upon the fundamental value of our democracy that we exist as "a government of laws, and not of men." John Adams, Novanglus, No. VII at 84 (Mar. 6, 1775). In making decisions as Special Counsel, I considered as a first principle whether our actions would contribute to upholding the rule of law, and acted accordingly.

Our committed adherence to the rule of law is why we not only followed Department policies and procedures, but strictly observed legal requirements and dutifully respected the judicial decisions and precedents our prosecutions prompted.

That is also why, in my decision-making, I heeded the imperative that "[n]o man in this country is so high that he is above the law," United States v. Lee, I 06 U.S. 196,220 (1882).

The factual portion of the report focuses on five areas of illegal conduct by Trump:

Pressure on state officials

Fraudulent elector plan

Misuse of official power in DOJ

Pressure on the Vice President

Attack on Capitol by Trump supporters

The factual description of Trump's conduct is only 25 pages long (pages 8 through 33 of the report) and is easily accessible. I encourage you to read the summary of facts for yourself, but you will find them familiar. Most of the facts were revealed in the House January 6 Committee hearings (abbreviated as HSC in the report) and the Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) investigation, transcripts of which are cited liberally in Smith’s report.

It is important that Smith reiterated his conclusion that there was sufficient evidence to convict Trump, even though that is the standard for indicting Trump. Given that Smith dismissed the indictment, he needed to remove any doubt that the dismissal was caused by anything other than the Supreme Court’s immunity decision.

The release of the first volume of Jack Smith’s report is an unsatisfying but important ending to his investigation. Jack Smith acquitted himself honorably, pursuing the investigation with vigor and dispatch. In the end, he followed the rule of law, even as that law was being invented by the Supreme Court on-the-fly in the middle of Smith’s investigation.

The failure of Merrick Garland’s DOJ to bring Trump to trial will be the subject of intense historical scrutiny. We will have the facts from insiders, soon. The debate about Garland’s responsibility has devolved into a binary argument of “He didn’t do anything for two years” vs. “He opened an investigation into Trump the minute he took office.”

Neither of those opposites fully describes the situation. What we do know is that Trump mounted an attempt to overturn the Constitution. He did so on live television. He had public accomplices. Trump and his accomplices represented an ongoing threat aimed at the heart of democracy. And he began his political comeback in late January 2021, when Speaker Kevin McCarthy made the first pilgrimage of rehabilitation to Mar-a-Lago.

After McCarthy’s meeting in January 2021, Steve Benen (not Steve Bannon) wrote this on the Maddow Blog:

But it's the larger context that matters most: the Republican Party briefly considered a post-Trump future, only to decide it's better off sticking with the defeated, unpopular, scandal-plagued former president who cost the GOP its power and who helped put their lives in danger a few weeks ago.

The Associated Press reported overnight, "Republicans appear to be warming toward Trump, fully aware that his supporters are poised to punish anyone who displays disloyalty. With that in mind, party leaders are working to keep Trump in the fold as they focus on retaking the House and Senate in 2022."

By late January 2021, prosecuting Trump was the highest and most urgent priority of the DOJ. The fate of democracy hung in the balance. Trump had attempted a coup and was quickly re-consolidating his position as head of the Republican Party. Having an insurrectionist and coup-plotter as the head of one of the major parties is antithetical to the rule of law and mission of the DOJ.

Only weeks after the January 6 insurrection, Merrick Garland was responsible for marshalling the forces of the DOJ to ensure that Trump was tried and convicted before he could threaten democracy again. Garland failed in that mission. The details matter less than the outcome-determinative failure of Merrick Garland to move with the vigor and dispatch exhibited by Jack Smith.

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The Grassroots Connector suggests a messaging theme: Greedy billionaires are screwing you!

The Grassroots Connector is the publication of volunteer grassroots group leaders committed to amplifying the voice of the grassroots. It reports on innovative grassroots projects.

The most recent edition of the group’s newsletter suggested a messaging strategy directed at the autocratic, overbearing, out-of-touch behavior of the billionaire oligarch class acting as Trump's wingmen. See Jim Shelton, The Grassroots Connector, Greedy Billionaires are Screwing You!

Shelton acknowledges that Republicans “out-messaged” Democrats in 2024. He suggests a new message strategy:

[W]e have the ability to build up our own social-media-based communication megaphone — call it “Blue Media” — where trusted, creative, and synchronous voices espouse our messages. And within that platform, we have amazing ammunition to fight back - exploiting the greedy billionaire theme.

Shelton suggests that focusing on the “greedy billionaire” theme will be effective because:

• It’s the truth.

• It embraces the Number One voter issue - inflation and the economy.

• It stokes strong emotions.

• It hits home with working-class voters.

• Voters get it and are receptive.

• It’s trending.

Check out The Grassroots Connectors’ latest newsletter!

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Concluding Thoughts

Watching portions of the Hegseth confirmation hearing today was nauseating. Hegseth had a smug grin on his face as he evaded questions about his reprehensible conduct by claiming that accusations from his mother, co-workers, and known witnesses were “anonymous smears.”

His attempt to evade responsibility for his serial philandering by claiming that he has been saved by his lord Jesus Christ is offensive. So, too, was his invocation of his daughter’s name when Tim Kaine was questioning him about cheating on his daughter’s mother.

Everyone in the room knew Hegseth was doing his best to avoid telling the truth. Yet, successfully avoiding answering questions about his fitness to serve as Defense Secretary was considered a resounding success by Republicans. And to her everlasting shame, sexual abuse survivor and combat veteran Joni Ernst will vote to confirm a nominee credibly accused of sexual assault who believes that women have no place in the military.

Republicans will be forced to answer for their votes on Hegseth in 2026 and 2028. But only if we make it happen. We can’t look away; indeed, we must watch in horror and disgust so that we can remind voters when the time comes. It is an unpleasant task, but if we don’t do it, no one will. It is up to us, acting together. We can do that. We must do it!

Talk to you tomorrow!

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Daily Dose of Perspective

The eerie-looking nebula below is called the Witch Head Nebula. It is a dim reflection nebula made of fine dust grains that reflect light from the bluish-white star Rigel. The nebula is located about 900 light-years from Earth.

Capturing this image has been challenging. I attempted to image the nebula on earlier occasions but failed to obtain a satisfying photo. Tonight, I took a five-minute test shot to ensure proper framing and then took an hour-long exposure. The five-minute test shot revealed the ethereal image below, while the hour-long exposure looked like a rectangle filled with mush. Go figure.