XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.atheism

Republican Senator Has No Problem With White Nationalists: “I Call Them Americans”
Tommy Tuberville is defending racists in the military.

Senator Tommy Tuberville doesn’t really see the difference between white nationalists and Americans.

The Republican senator said that white nationalists should be allowed in
the U.S. military because blocking any ideological group from serving
would weaken the institution.

During an interview Monday with the Alabama radio station WBHM,
Tuberville was asked if he thought white nationalists should be allowed
to serve in the military.

“They call them that,” he said, referring to the Biden administration. “I
call them Americans.”

“We are losing in the military so fast,” he continued. “Our readiness in
terms of recruitment. And why? I’ll tell you why, because the Democrats
are attacking our military, saying we need to get out the white
extremists, the white nationalists, people that don’t believe in our
agenda.”

Tuberville also referred to the military as a “strong, hard-nosed,
killing machine,” which is definitely how you want national leaders
discussing their opinion of defense policy.

His office released a statement Wednesday saying that Tuberville meant he
was “skeptical” that white nationalists were in the military, not that he thought they should be in the military. But the Alabama Republican is
wrong there, too.

A month after the January 6 attack, Pentagon officials said in a report
that white supremacist ideology had made significant inroads in the
military. The report found that white supremacist groups would try to
recruit active military personnel and veterans and group leaders would
often try to enlist in order to get weapons and training. One Florida
National Guard member co-founded a fascist group and said he was “100
percent open” about being a neo-Nazi—and no one batted an eye.

As for military readiness issues, Tuberville might want to take a look in
the mirror: He has blocked nearly 200 military promotions since March
over his objection to the Defense Department’s abortion policy. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned in a letter to Senator Elizabeth Warren
last week that Tuberville’s delay “harms America’s national security” and
poses a “clear risk” to the military’s readiness.

Tuberville’s apparent openness toward white supremacists makes sense when
you think about his unwavering support for former President Donald Trump,
who counted extremists Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller among his inner
circle. Trump also infamously told the far-right Proud Boys to “stand
back and stand by,” which prosecutors in the hundreds of January 6
lawsuits said the white nationalists interpreted as a call to action.

Tuberville’s support for Trump remains unflagging, despite the former
leader’s ongoing legal woes. On Tuesday, Tuberville said that a jury
finding Trump liable for sexual assault and defamation “makes me want to
vote for him twice.”

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