Senate Moves Toward Erasing Southern History From U.S. Military

The world’s greatest deliberative body is moving toward giving in to the hysterical mob and changing the names of military bases that honor Confederate soldiers.

Attached to the mammoth defense policy bill is an amendment that would set up a Pentagon commission that would examine the issue of base-naming and come up with recommendations after three years.

Missouri Senator Josh Hawley actually introduced a reasonable alternative that Democrats won’t even vote on.

The Hill:

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) filed an amendment to the bill to remove the requirement that the Pentagon carry out the plan. It would instead create a one-year commission to study the issue and determine what to do about the bases.

But Hawley told The Hill that he does not expect to get a vote. He previously tried to bring it up for a vote before the two-week July Fourth recess but was blocked by Democrats.

“I’m sure it won’t. I asked for it to be included … and Sen. Reed objected,” Hawley said, referring to Sen. Jack Reed (R.I.), the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Because the amendment doesn’t absolutely guarantee that the names will be changed, it’s a non-starter. Hawley’s idea is to study the issue so that in a year, after partisan passions have cooled a little, the issue can be approached more rationally.

But Democrats don’t do rational — it’s not in their DNA. So instead, we have senators giving in to hysteria generated by the mob.

Trump doesn’t like the base renaming idea at all and has threatened to veto the entire bill if it’s included.

“I will Veto the Defense Authorization Bill if the Elizabeth ‘Pocahontas’ Warren (of all people!) Amendment, which will lead to the renaming (plus other bad things!) of Fort Bragg, Fort Robert E. Lee, and many other Military Bases from which we won Two World Wars, is in the Bill!” Trump tweeted earlier this month.

Warren was one of the chief sponsors of the legislation — an irony lost on most on the left because they don’t do irony either.

But the bill is so important and contains so many hometown goodies that any presidential veto is likely to be overridden — a first in the Trump presidency.

Several Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), have urged Trump to back down from his veto threat. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) separately predicted that the Senate would “probably” override a veto, a first that would require two-thirds of the chamber.

What makes the base renaming issue so silly is that almost all of the installations in question are named for genuine heroes of the United States Army. True, they fought in the Mexican War but they were on our side. Are we to cancel the accomplishments of these men who served the United States honorably because of the side they chose to fight for in the Civil War?

When it comes to the mob, it’s not about logic or reason. All that matters is power.