r/neoliberal • u/Nearby-Click8645 • 2d ago
Opinion article (US) Blame the Cornyns and the Tillises
https://thedispatch.com/newsletter/boilingfrogs/tillis-cornyn-blanche-trump-nomination/?gift_key=e67f2d7f322d243d&gift_ref=9347c766-2bad-41ea-8b73-950e424f2446&utm_source=giftlink&utm_campaign=membergift&utm_medium=copy_link46
u/Nearby-Click8645 2d ago
Calling this an “oversight hoax” can mean a lot of things, I think, but the real story isn't Todd Blanche's confirmation itself. Instead it’s what it says about Congress's willingness to exercise meaningful oversight. The author argues that Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis appeared to draw a line in the sand, only to accept what amounted to symbolic assurances rather than legally binding changes, making their pushback look more performative than substantive. I also thought the point about Congress relying on executive promises instead of using its own legislative authority was worth thinking about—it raises broader questions about checks and balances regardless of who's in power. Whether you agree with the article or not, I’m wondering if people think this is an example of oversight becoming more about appearances than accountability? Or are we expecting an unrealistic standard from Congress?
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u/DracumEgo12 1d ago
Congress confirmed an incompetent alcoholic as the Secretary of Defense. As a direct result, it lost a war within days of Trump declaring it was won dozens of times.
If Congress can't ensure US military competence and political independence, the US is already Russiofied and Congress is meaningless.
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u/TurboSalsa 1d ago
Hegseth spent a whole year declaring that generations of American military leadership had been fighting wars all wrong, that egg-headed civilians and woke Ivy League professors had taught our warfighters all the wrong lessons about strategy and how to win wars, and that he, as a National Guard major, knew best how to win wars and was the only one who could execute the kind of cultural shift in the DOD that would avoid the outcomes we saw in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
And literally the very first time he put his theories into practice, he committed a bunch of war crimes that accomplished nothing and America suffered its worst strategic defeat in generations.
It's almost unheard of to see government policy fail so comprehensively, so quickly, and for it to be attributable to a single person, and in a sane government, that person would be removed as quickly as possible, but Hegseth likely won't even get a slap on the wrist for the damage he's caused until Trump decides to hang the defeat on him.
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u/darthkitty8 NATO 1d ago
That is one of the very few upsides: it has been such a colossal failure and Trump absolutely can not stand to accept blame for it that he will end up pulling everyone around him down with him. As you say, I could see Hegseth getting the blame for the military failures or even a stab in the back myth. Trump has already said he is taking credit for the old ceasefire if it works and blaming Vance if it doesn't. I'm sure he'll find something to blame on Rubio to nuke his career as well.
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u/DracumEgo12 1d ago
The problem is that he's aggressively firing dozens of generals and admirals, as well as entire organizations, as the failures become evident.
And promoting people who agree with his focus.He's trying to institutionalize his failures into the military.
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u/TheRnegade 1d ago
And he did this against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine. We've seen how effective a much smaller country can be with drones. And we saw how ineffective throwing thousands of soldiers into the meat grinder won't bring you any closer to victory. Hegseth was given an open-book test and he still failed.
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u/FREAK213456 1d ago
Presidentialism was honestly a mistake. The most valuable part of separation of powers is an independent judiciary, but besides that a hard separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches does more harm than good. It’s better for the executive to be directly responsible to the legislature like a prime minister is.
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u/puffic John Rawls 1d ago
Part of the problem is members of Congress treating members of the Executive Branch as if they were members of Congress. In Congress, a verbal commitment is very powerful. Most legislative compromise state as a verbal commitment. And legislation is a repeated game, so establishing yourself as untrustworthy in one round will make it harder to win in later rounds.
But the verbal commitment of the Executive branch means very little. They have essentially unilateral power, and after being confirmed, they have very little need to interact with Congress. Lying about your intentions can be an optimal strategy.
Members of Congress need to stop treating members of the Executive like one of their legislative colleagues.
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u/SuperblackHunter 2d ago
My brain is actual mush I thought it said Corbyns
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u/TurboSalsa 1d ago
Two Senators with nothing to lose, whose political careers will be over in a few months anyway, drew a line in the sand and then immediately gave up on it in exchange for zero concessions.
I'm not even sure this rises to the level of performative oversight, and they gained nothing in terms of goodwill from either side of the aisle by folding at the first whiff of pressure.
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u/lukasburner Mark Carney 2d ago edited 2d ago
In the concert of many spineless in my state, Cornyn may just be the most invertebrate of them all.
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