Commentary

Trump haters have found another means to make fools of themselves, forgetting that he won the election with an overwhelming majority despite their years of unsuccessful attempts to deny him the presidency.

Shamefully, six Democrat lawmakers with military and intelligence backgrounds released a one-minute video urging service members to “refuse illegal orders.”  Included were Senators Slotkin and Kelly, Representatives Crow, Deluzio, Goodlander and Houlahan.

I am thoroughly disgusted that one of my Arizona senators, Mark Kelly, participated in this unseemly farce.  While I was not a supporter of the late Sen. John McCain, I seriously doubt that he would have favored this action even though he had disdain for Trump.

Now, with Trump into his second term as president, one would have thought that someone with Kelly’s intellectual background in the Navy, NASA and the Senate, would have cast off Trump Derangement Syndrome and view Trump’s off-hand remarks lightly as most of us do.

But, no, unbelievably when the president said the six individuals should be put to “death” for “seditious behavior,” Kelly actually took him seriously, saying “I never thought I’d see a president call for my execution.”  What an idiot.

Kelly was probably one who was sure we would be going to war with North Korea with the names Trump called Kim Jung Un.

To deflect the media reaction, Kelly had his wife, the former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, write about his service to the country, his strength, courage and integrity upholding the constitution.

Colorado Representative Crow, a former Army Ranger, one of the half-dozen participants in the video addressed to our military members.  Crow embarrassingly attempted to slough off his participation as simply wanting to remind people of their oaths under the Constitution.  Hardly a sensible manner in which to do that.

In the video, the Democrats said the Trump administration is “pitting our uniformed military” against American citizens. When asked for examples why the video was needed by Fox’s Martha MacCallam, Crow referred to “things he (Trump) has said.” 

After serving eight years in the United States Air Force, I was fully aware that under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), a set of laws that governs all members of the U.S. armed forces, obedience to orders is not optional — except in the narrowest of cases where the illegality is “manifest,” or unmistakably obvious.

The UCMJ’s Article 90 states that any service member who “willfully disobeys a lawful command” of a superior officer can face up to five years’ confinement, loss of all pay and allowances, and dishonorable discharge. If the offense occurs in wartime, the punishment can be death or any lesser penalty a court martial decides.

Under Article 92, “Failure to obey order or regulation,” it notes that disobeying any lawful order or regulation may also result in a court-martial, with punishments including forfeiture of pay, reduction in rank, and up to two years’ confinement. Those provisions, military lawyers say, are the backbone of discipline and chain of command.

It appears the video participants are challenging the system, using President Trump’s off-hand remarks against him and to make him look bad.

Rachel VanLandingham, a retired Air Force JAG and professor at Southwestern Law School, said, “it’s unfair to put the burden on the military instead of on policymakers, calling the video “careless and dangerous,” saying it misrepresents how limited the legal duty to refuse orders actually is.

“They disobey at their peril,” VanLandingham added. “If they refuse an order believing it’s unlawful, they risk their career, their family’s income, even court-martial.

“Don’t go after the troops,” VanLandingham said. “Go after the policymakers who issue unlawful orders. Congress should be reigning in the executive, not telling privates and lieutenants to decide what’s legal.

“Service members are under no legal obligation to follow unlawful orders,” she said. “But the universe of orders that are so manifestly or patently unlawful that a soldier of ordinary understanding would recognize them as such is very small — that’s by design. The military depends on obedience.”

Perhaps the six fools thought they could distract the media away from covering Representatives Jasmine Crockett, Al Green the impeachment machine, and Kamala Harris, who continues to make no sense on her book tour.  It didn’t work.

            May God continue to bless the United States of America.