Hegseth’s attempt to punish Senator Kelly for publicly stating that service members have a duty to disobey illegal orders was also laughably unconstitutional. It was a clear abuse of power for which he is individually responsible. If he were impeached on that basis alone, it would be well deserved.
The impeachment charges provide an opportunity for the House and the Senate to think bigger — to recover their power (and, quite frankly, for some of them, their dignity) by at least holding the secretary of defense accountable for his own role in waging an unconstitutional war. The president, of course, is primarily responsible — and one day he should face a reckoning for his constitutional crimes — but he is not solely responsible.
Hegseth shares the blame, and no amount of finger-pointing and excuse-making can change the fact that he played his own role in arrogantly leading our nation into an unconstitutional war. Congress must relieve him of his command.
Some other things I did
My Sunday column was about the midterms and the extraordinary swing to the left by young men. If Republicans are supposed to be the party of strength and masculinity, why did young men turn on them so decisively?
Collectively, the new right created a masculine culture that felt almost like a parody of a far-left toxic masculinity fever dream. It was a culture that celebrated raw physical aggression, sexual dominance and exploitation and the naked pursuit of wealth and power.
When anyone raised an objection, he or she was immediately mocked, bullied and lectured. Trump, the manosphere and groups like Turning Point were reaching Gen Z, we were told. Get out of the way, boomers, they said; they’re building a youth movement.
Indeed they did — but on the left. Even before the backlash showed up in the polls, I could see it on the ground. A vast majority of young men looked at the masculinity of the new right and reacted with revulsion and horror.
I teach at a Christian college, and I speak at colleges across the country. Despite the crowds at T.P.U.S.A. events, there was no groundswell of support for bullying, for conspiracy theories or for the kind of peacocking that was on display from men like Pete Hegseth.
It’s as if an entire political movement had watched a movie like “Back to the Future” and decided that Biff Tannen was the hero. Or they watched a holiday classic like “A Christmas Story” and cheered for Scut Farkus, the kid who terrorized Ralphie on his way to school.
Last Thursday night, Jamelle Bouie, Michelle Cottle and I had a round-table discussion in front of a lively audience at the Brooklyn Public Library. We talked about the midterms, of course, and I shared my thoughts on why a bluer South was good for America:
David French: I was a Republican until Donald Trump. I am still a conservative. I want to see a conservative renaissance. But I think, as an American, it is better for all of us when the South is up for grabs. I think that’s just an unquestionably true statement. When people have to fight to win races, it is better. Because when you have a situation where there’s just total nonstop one-party rule, it fosters an enormous amount of corruption, it fosters an enormous amount of extremism ——
Michelle Cottle: And weak candidates. It’s just like weak politicians who aren’t that talented.
French: And weak candidates. I mean, and that’s one thing that we found: All of a sudden, when these senators had to step up, they couldn’t do it.
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