Former Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis denied the notion that he didn’t have a “good relationship” with President Donald Trump during his first live interview since resigning from the administration on CBS Monday morning.“It was completely my decision to leave,” Mattis said when asked whether he was forced out of the Trump administration. “I had, I believe, a good relationship with the President.”
SecDef is a civilian position, created as such by the United States Congress. His military code is inapplicable. He deserves no respect for applying it in office, and especially not for continuing to follow it after leaving office and refusing to tell the American people the full and unvarnished truth.
(Or rather, it’s the same kind of blinkered rote mindless by-the-book process that led almost all of the conservative non-Nazi members of the old Prussian officer corps to follow Hitler all the way to the final catastrophe.)
“When we run elections, it’s always about dividing… it’s like we’re in a constant election mode and constantly finding reason to cheer against each other instead of working together.”
Hey General Oblivious, go to YouTube and watch any Trump rally and listen to not only Trump, but many of the Republicans he’s campaigning for in any of the states he’s held a rally.
I guess the question ultimately is how best can you serve your country as a patriot and as a person who loves the country and wants to see it succeed under the “leadership” of an unethical, immoral, corrupt, inept, unfit, self-serving ignoramus. And ultimately, I think you just can’t. You can’t help your country despite your best intentions and loss your dignity and reputation in the process. You just have to stand aside and wait for the tornado to burn itself out. Nothing good can come of you poking your head into that monster.
The one where is swore to uphold and defend the Constitution? Or the one where he agrees to provide cover for a proto-fascist who is systematically dismantling our institutions and driving our country off a cliff?
No, he doesn’t. Anybody with information regarding the Crimes of Cockholster has a duty to be shouting it from the rooftops.
No surprise that Mattis is using his position to make more money. The “excuse my appeasement” book tour is bad enough. I knew there’d be a grifting angle somewhere in Mattis’ whitewash of the trump criminal enterprise.
If he’s not the best and most decent person to accept a post in this administration, if he didn’t demonstrate those qualities all through more than anyone else, I’d love to hear who handled it better. I’m going to wait until the dust settles, which may take many years, but I’m willing to bet we’re better off for his tenure.
“I am not in the habit of questioning my superiors. If [Admiral Poindexter] deemed it not to be necessary to ask the President, I saluted smartly and charged up the hill.”
— Convicted Iran-Contra felon Oliver North
“I was given a mission and I tried to carry it out.”
— Ibid.
You know, I understand that in theory, working for a presidential administration is supposed to be a feather in anyone’s cap, and a boost to one’s career and reputation. I understand there are always challenges with national and international implications, and the responsibilities are heavy. I would like to respect anyone who takes on such a job and cut them some slack for not always being perfect.
But JFC, do they have to be so obvious about making it a stepping stone to becoming a millionaire? They’re barely out the door before they start advertising their wares and grifting for cushy corporate slots. I finally have to admit to myself there are very few “public servants” who actually intend to serve the public anymore. After a long string of Bush cronies cashing in, and then Comey, Rosenstein, Mueller and now Mattis, I’m just throwing in the towel on these assholes and pretenders. Just take the money and run, fuckers. Quit trying to convince us you ever cared.
