3 Whisky Happy HourThe Ricochet PodcastGLoP CultureBeyond the Polls with Henry OlsenChicks on The RightParsing Immigration PolicyFederalist Radio HourWhat the Hell Is Going OnFreedom to LearnDaily SignalThe Erick Erickson Show3 Martini LunchThe Learning CurveThe Conservative Woman’s GuideHeritage ExplainsNot Dead YetGiving VenturesWho Funds that?The Radio Free Hillsdale HourThe Glenn ShowFirst Things PodcastCall Me Back - with Dan SenorHillsdale DialoguesLaw Talk with Epstein, Yoo & CookeThe LibertarianThe Report Card with Nat MalkusThe Kevin Roberts Show with Larry O’ConnorThe American IdeaMadison’s NotesConservative Crossroads with Henry OlsenMom WarsThe Back of the BookGray MattersMartini ShotThe Dave Carter ShowThe Powerline ShowIn DissentHeard at HeritageSmart Girl PoliticsJames Lileks’ The DinerCase in Point: The Legal Show on the Hottest Legal Cases in Politics and CultureJobMakersOne on One with Robert DoarHomeschooling Journeys with Curious MikeHubwonk

Get the Ricochet app

Ricochet will work fine in a browser on your mobile devices, but for the best experience please download our app.

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play

Become a member.

Tired of the toxicity of social media? Why not join Ricochet for just $5/month? Think of it as an online bar. Come in, have a drink, hang out, say whatever you want. But don’t badger, bully, or berate the other drinkers. That's our only rule.

  1. Main Feed/
  2. Dear Senator Kelly
December 8, 2025 at 12:30 PM

Dear Senator Kelly

GrandpaPublius
@GrandpaPublius

To read this bio, please join Ricochet.

Join to bookmark22likesJoin to like8comments

Dear Senator Kelly,

You have got a serious problem, sir. You want to run for president based on your good resume as a naval aviator and astronaut. But you want to run as a Democrat, which means having to say stupid things about the military. If you were truly presidential material, you would show leadership by educating your base about how the U.S military works. You know full well the role of the chain of command in preventing illegal orders from reaching those troops at the tip of the spear. You know full well how lawyers are now in the room for virtually all strike decisions.

Notwithstanding what you know to be true, you joined a grandstanding effort to falsely imply that Trump is issuing illegal orders willy-nilly. You invited and encouraged insubordination. You and your cohorts said you would “have their back” if they refused to obey an illegal order. WTH does that mean? Are you going to magically appear at the court-martial and save the career of someone who made the mistake of listening to you? No, you’re not. You can’t, and you won’t, do squat. Shame. Shame on you.

You also know this entire double-tap kerfluffal is militarily ignorant. You know that when the mission is to send the illicit cargo to the ocean floor, the mission is incomplete if the first strike merely flips the boat over. A second strike in that scenario is a no-brainer.

Don’t weasel about and say there is no proof the boat was still intact. The admiral said it was. You want to start your campaign to be commander-in-chief by calling an admiral a liar?

Dude, you want to be elected president by associating with a political party that believes admirals lie, cheat, and murder. Rethink it, pal. You can honor the uniform, or you can try to get the Democratic base to vote for you. You can’t do both.

G-Pub

P.S. That base will never vote for you. You are debasing yourself while on a fool’s errand.

This post was promoted to the Main Feed by an editor.

Discussion (8)

Sign in to commentSign in
  • To read this bio, please join Ricochet.

    GPentelie@GPentelie·44w
    GrandpaPublius (View Post):
    You and your cohorts said you will “have their back” if they refuse to obey an illegal order. WTH does that mean? Are you going to magically appear at the court martial and save the career of someone who made the mistake of listening to you? No, you’re not. You can’t, and you won’t, do squat. Shame. Shame on you.

    Indeed. To whit (boldings mine):

    "Reminding soldiers of their obligation to disobey illegal orders without providing illustrations, examples, context, and guidelines is a useless exercise, at best, and one that misleads them, at worst. Every training session members of the military receive on this topic always includes examples and illustrations of orders that a person of ordinary sense and understanding would find illegal. Lieutenant Calley’s order to murder civilian in My Lai and the atrocities for which members of the Nazi high command were prosecuted for in Nuremberg are the classic examples.

    The speakers in the video also failed to caution their audience that they assume the risk of disobeying an order because they think it is illegal. The legality of the order will not be resolved until after the appellate process following a conviction for disobeying an order is completed. If the military courts conclude the order was legal, the punishment for disobedience can be quite severe. Reminding soldiers of their obligation to disobey illegal orders without informing them of the risks is setting them up for serious consequences.

    Finally, the claim that these two Senators and six Representatives will “have their back” if members of the military get in trouble for disobeying an order is laughable. While the Senators and Representatives are members of a body that has responsibility for oversight of the military, individually the only authority they have is to cast a vote on a given bill. They cannot order the military to drop charges for disobedience against a soldier. They have no authority to reverse or overrule a military court’s decision that an order was legal and should have been obeyed. They cannot unilaterally set aside a demotion in grade, forfeiture of pay and allowances, or a punitive discharge.

    The claim in the video that these six elected officials will have the back of members of the military who find themselves in trouble for following the shallow, misleading, and ill-advised advice in the video is the ultimate proof that this was not a serious effort to educate the troops. Rather, it was a juvenile, stupid, and transparent attempt at scoring political points against an administration they don’t like and have decided to resist at all costs. ..."

    Link: https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2025/12/03/the_seditious_six_1150820.html

  • To read this bio, please join Ricochet.

    Susan Quinn@SusanQuinn·44w

    The man is a disgrace and embarrassment to his party, his military history and the country. You are right: he should be ashamed.

  • To read this bio, please join Ricochet.

    DonG (Here.We.Go.)@DonG·44w
    GrandpaPublius (View Post):

    You want to run for President

    He is not presidential material. If he was, Harris would have selected him for her VP. Alas, he has no charisma and looks creepy, which is not good for votes.

  • MODERATOR • CHARTER MEMBER

    To read this bio, please join Ricochet.

    Randy Weivoda@RandyWeivoda·44w

    Your theory is that a person who has said something stupid cannot be elected president? The last few elections would seem to disprove this theory.

  • To read this bio, please join Ricochet.

    OldPhil@OldPhil·44w
    ReplyingtoDonG (Here.We.Go.)

    DonG (Here.We.Go.) (View Comment):

    Alas, he has no charisma and looks creepy, which is not good for votes.

    Kurt Schlichter calls him "The Thumb."

Scroll for later comments
+3 more comments
Join the conversation

You're seeing five of eight comments. Sign in, or join for just $5 per month, to read them all and add your own.

Trending

Become a member.

Tired of the toxicity of social media? Why not join Ricochet for just $5/month? Think of it as an online bar. Come in, have a drink, hang out, say whatever you want. But don’t badger, bully, or berate the other drinkers. That's our only rule.

Join Ricochet

Get the Ricochet app

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play
  • •
  • •