Transgender Military Ban Just Another Attempt at Deflection

Whenever reality begins to intrude upon their self-made facts, you can count on Donald Trump and the perpetually shifty Steve Bannon to concoct something so egregious that the entire world’s attention is distracted. This morning’s tweeted news of a ban of transgender military personnel is the perfect example. Like all bullies, Trump and Bannon are masters of manipulation, deflection, deceit and denial—and with the ongoing fight for America’s healthcare and Trump’s inner circle talking to the Senate Intelligence Committee about the Russians, they must have gotten pretty desperate to take the heat off themselves.

How stupid do they think we are? Do they think the bald-faced appeals to their base designed to enrage progressives has anyone fooled? Pushback has been massive. Highly decorated transgender Navy Seal Kristin Beck fired back, “Let’s meet face to face and you tell me I’m not worthy.” U.S. Senator John McCain (AZ-R) issued a statement as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee pointing out that the Defense Department is already studying the effect of supporting transgender military personnel: “I do not believe that any new policy decision is appropriate until that study is complete and thoroughly reviewed by the Secretary of Defense, our military leadership, and the Congress.” But my favorite response was the one tweeted by my country’s Canadian Forces:

Andrew Faas is the author of From Bully to Bull’s-Eye: Move Your Organization Out of the Line of Fire

Why Women in Power Keep Getting Interrupted

Disrespect toward women who had achieved the highest levels of power was rampant on Tuesday. At the Senate Intelligence Committee hearings, U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) was interrupted during her questioning of Attorney General Jeff Sessions by Sen. John McCain, who was frankly out of order. Meanwhile, at a meeting of board and employees to discuss sexist practices at Uber, a male board member tried to shut down a female. As Arianna Huffington discussed how one female director makes it possible for others, David Bonderman quipped, “more women means more talking.”

As Susan Chira pointed out in New York Times Business section, social media outrage ensued and Bonderman resigned from Uber’s board. But that doesn’t change reality—study after study proves that when women speak up they are shut down. Who can forget the fracas when Sen. Elizabeth Warren was determined to read Coretta Scott King’s letter on the floor of the Senate? Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell shut her down with a little-known rule.

“Sen. Warren was giving a lengthy speech,” he said. “She had appeared to violate the rule. She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted.” Those last three words became a rallying cry—but as Tuesday showed, they’ve done little to move the bar toward equality.

The truth is that without a systemic change, no amount of public chastisement is going to help. I’ve seen this repeatedly in the corporations I’ve worked with—they throw millions of dollars at diversity programs, but little ever changes. Without a complete overhaul of the culture of a company, no amount of pithy sayings or public outrage will make the slightest bit of difference.

Photo credit: MMM

How Charming Bullies React to Being Challenged

It’s amazing what gets revealed when a bully is under fire. We’ve seen bluster, braggadocio and bilious rage when Donald Trump feels threatened because bullies can’t accept any sort of challenge. But U.S. Attorney General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III, who was grilled today by the Senate Intelligence Committee, is no ordinary bully. He’s a folksy charmer, a sub-classification of bully who can be insidiously harmful. Charming bullies show a genial face in public, but don’t hesitate to harm anyone who disagrees or doesn’t conform to their world view. Things get really interesting when their veneer gets stripped away.

U.S. senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Kamala Harris (D-CA), held Sessions’ feet to the fire during the committee hearing, and, as the temperature rose, so did his temper.

“You are obstructing…and I think your silence speaks volumes,” Heinrich told Sessions after the attorney general continuously refused to answer questions.  

“I would have to say that I have consulted with senior career attorneys in the department,” he countered.

“I suspect you have,” Heinrich shot back.   

Sessions’ bully personality was in even higher reveal when Wyden pointed out that the American people “have had it with stonewalling.” USA Today reports this exchange then occurred:

"Sen. Wyden, I am not stonewalling," Sessions said. "I am following the historic policies of the Department of Justice."

As their exchange continued, Wyden asked about Comey's testimony, in which he said that there were problematic issues with Sessions' recusal from the Russia investigation.

"What are they?" Wyden asked.

At this, Sessions grew visibly agitated.

"Why don't you tell me?" Sessions answered. "There are none, Sen. Wyden. There are none. I can tell you that for absolute certainty. This is a secret innuendo being leaked out there about me, and I don't appreciate it."

But the senator that got Sessions red in the face was Harris, the former California attorney general and prosecutor. It was clear from the start that he didn’t like the fact that she refused to allow him to deflect or prevaricate. As the Los Angeles Times reported:

When Sessions said he didn't recall any conversations with Russian businessmen at the 2016 Republican convention, Harris interrupted again.

“Will you let me qualify it?” he responded in a tone of annoyance. “If I don't qualify it, you'll accuse me of lying. So I need to be correct as best I can. I'm not able to be rushed this fast. It makes me nervous.”

Harris continued to pressure him to answer her question about what policy Sessions was citing when he refused to discuss his conversations with Trump. That’s when McCain interrupted Harris for the second time in two weeks.

“Mr. Chairman, the witness should be allowed to answer the question,” he said. Committee Chair Richard Burr (R-SC) told McCain that he’d handle things, but upheld McCain’s demand.

The relief on Sessions’ face was obvious. 

 Photo credit: ABC News

Challenging the Bully

While there have been plenty of voices from the left resisting the inner workings of the Trump administration and calling out wrongdoing as it happens, the right has been conspicuously quiet—except for U.S. Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham. Their principled stance in seeking the truth and standing against party loyalists is why they are our Revolutionists of the Week.

McCain was recently on State of the Union on CNN discussing Trump’s groundless wiretapping allegations against former President Barack Obama. He wasn’t about to let the sitting president off easy. “All [Trump] has to do is pick up the phone, call the director of the CIA, director of national intelligence and say, ‘OK, what happened?’” McCain told host Jake Tapper.

Investigating Trump’s ties with Russia is also very much on McCain’s mind. "There's a lot of aspects of this whole relationship with Russia and (Russian President) Vladimir Putin that requires further scrutiny, and so far, I don't think the American people have gotten all the answers," McCain said. "In fact, I think there's a lot more shoes to drop from this centipede."

Sen. Lindsey Graham has also been keen on getting to the truth. He told CNN that he’s growing more concerned about what is beginning to be known as “Russia-gate.”

“If there's not a criminal investigation of the Trump ties to Russia, I think the country needs to know it. Congress needs to know it, and [FBI Director James Comey] has never promised to answer that question," Graham said. 

The two senators have been in accord before. On January 29, when Trump issued the now infamous ban on travelers from seven countries, they jointly issued a statement that read in part:

“Our government has a responsibility to defend our borders, but we must do so in a way that makes us safer and upholds all that is decent and exceptional about our nation.” It went on to point out that the hasty executive order was done with little to no consultation with the departments of State, Defense, Justice or Homeland Security. In addition to harming people who we should be helping, it could have unintended consequences.

“Our most important allies in the fight against ISIL are the vast majority of Muslims who reject its apocalyptic ideology of hatred. This executive order sends a signal, intended or not, that America does not want Muslims coming into our country. That is why we fear this executive order may do more to help terrorist recruitment than improve our security,” they wrote.

The author J.K. Rowling once observed in one of her novels that it takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies, but even more to stand up to those you think of as friends. I applaud McCain and Graham for modeling revolutionist spirit from the other side of the aisle and hope more of their Republican colleagues find the strength to join them. Nothing less than democracy is at stake.

Andrew Faas is the author of From Bully to Bull’s-Eye: Move Your Organization Out of the Line of Fire,

Photo credit: The Daily Beast