A strong 58% of likely voters in Alabama believe Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville has "made his point" about the armed forces reimbursing its members who travel across state lines for abortions and should now drop his hold on military promotions.
That's what a VoteVets survey completed last month showed.
"But whatever the polls show, he's not backing down — not until [President Joe] Biden ends the policy of underwriting trips for abortions," a former top staffer to Tuberville told Newsmax last week.
The same poll showed that while 54% of Alabamians thought the Pentagon policy was "wrong and should be reversed," 55% said that Tuberville's blocking of military promotions was hurting national security. In addition, the poll showed a "whopping 72-14 margin believes military promotions should not be politicized."
As a result of Tuberville blocking an estimated 300 promotions in the last six months —including a new Marine Corps commandant and a new chief of Naval Operations — some senators are now talking about changing rules to overcome the power of one of their ranks to hold up promotions.
"What he's trying to accomplish with the military is on target, but Tuberville can't afford to hurt the armed forces this way," said one longtime Alabama conservative activist.
"I applaud Sen. Tuberville for bringing Alabama values to Washington," said former state GOP legislator Perry Hooper Jr. of Montgomery, whose sons were coached by Tuberville when he was head football coach at Auburn. "What he is doing is right morally and legally."
Tuberville's office has made it clear the senator will continue to hit back at charges his hold is harming military readiness. It recently released a fact sheet pointing to the Biden administration overseeing the discharge of 8,000 soldiers who refused to take COVID tests and claims that the administration's woke policies toward the military have led to enlistments being below average for the past two years.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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