A time of courage

If you ever wondered what it would feel like to face a moment in history this is it

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That moment when it gets real

History is funny. You can read it for years and never understand the thinking of people at the time or the reality of what they faced. You can study about the rise of the Third Reich, the Cultural Revolution, the American Revolution, and many other moments and still not be able to put yourself in the shoes of those who were struggling in those times.

What was their thinking when they realized that their lives and others were truly in danger? When did they realize that the fall of what they believed in was happening? What happens when you know that violence is on the horizon or the loss of everything you hold dear is possible if not likely?

History tells us of so many who fail to act, hesitate, or freeze and then pay the price. They sit back in shock or disbelief until it’s too late. They don’t rise to the moment.

I have news for you. You are there right now.

I think of it because of this story “from Gabriel Sherman in Vanity Fair where he discusses the fear amongst Republican members of Congress including this anecdote.

Political survival is one. Senate and House Republicans know Trump will orchestrate the running of a primary challenger backed by Elon Musk’s unlimited resources if a member defies him. But this is not the whole story of Republican subservience to the president. In private, Republicans talk about their fear that Trump might incite his MAGA followers to commit political violence against them if they don’t rubber-stamp his actions.

“They’re scared shitless about death threats and Gestapo-like stuff,” a former member of Trump’s first administration tells me.

According to one source with direct knowledge of the events, North Carolina senator Thom Tillis told people that the FBI warned him about “credible death threats” when he was considering voting against Pete Hegseth’s nomination for defense secretary. Tillis ultimately provided the crucial 50th vote to confirm the former Fox & Friends host to lead the Pentagon. According to the source, Tillis has said that if people want to understand Trump, they should read the 2006 book Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work. (When asked for comment for this story, a spokesperson for Tillis said it was false that the senator had recommended the book in that capacity. The FBI said it had no comment.)

Yes. Our politics right now is being driven by the fear of physical retribution and violence against members of Congress and others. I know this myself. I have been doxxed three times in the last year and was until recently being sued by Mike Flynn over a single tweet.

But this isn’t my first time facing the reality of violence and personal harm.

My first rodeo

I remember the first time I faced this hard truth. The thing about being a soldier is that in many ways you train for years to go to war and fight and many will never see combat. That was especially the case when I first joined in 1983 and was commissioned as an Aviation officer in the Army in 1987.

I took my first assignment in Korea as a scout helicopter platoon leader so I could quickly gain experience in a place constantly on the brink of war. I ended up training along the Demilitarized Zone and even the specialty corridors that went up to the border itself.

But, it wasn’t war.

Then in August of 1990 Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. I was stationed a the time at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia with the 24th Infantry Division. We were focused on desert warfare at the time.

I remember watching the news unfold with a friend as our partners talked in the kitchen. He turned to me and said, ”you know, all of our shit is painted tan. You don’t suppose we are going to be heading over do you?”

What a ridiculous prospect. The U.S. hadn’t been in a major war since Vietnam at that point. Sure, we had our little operations in Grenada and Panama but things had been awfully quiet for a long time. Surely, us kids wouldn’t see a war anytime soon.

I was wrong.

At the precipice

Flash forward to February, 1991. As the air war unfolded above us, we had moved into strike positions along the Iraqi border in Saudi Arabia. We got our first orders for combat missions into Iraq. Night reconnaissance flights along the planned invasion routes for the largest mechanized war since World War II. We would lead the way.

I was standing outside our tent in the pitch black with my not much older Company Commander, Doug Germann. We were eating the last of our reserve of morale box contents ranging from vienna sausages to Girl Scout cookies as we contemplated what lay ahead.

It was all very real suddenly. All those years of training and preparation had come to this. We would go to war. We will target other humans with our weapons and they will shoot back at us. Some of us might not go home.

Within days two of my men would die during one of those recon missions when their OH-58C scout helicopter encountered a low fog bank deep in Iraq and crashed. CW2 Hal Reichle and SPC Mike Daniels never came back and everything got very real, very fast.

Two very good men doing their duty.

That was 34 years ago today, February 20th, 1991.

What is your choice?

So, now it gets real here in America. Members of Congress getting death threats. Influencers being hacked and doxxed. Lawsuits flying from MAGA world. Now we have Kash Patel all but certain to become the FBI Director and execute his plan of retribution. The Department of Justice has been turned in to Trump’s personal attorney’s office to carry out his political maneuverings and paybacks. Elon Musk has access to literally all of our personal data including IRS records and Treasury payments.

It seems hopeless. Where does one turn?

Now is the time of courage.

We must continue to resist. We must organize. They cannot stand the light of day. They are still afraid of the courts. Public opinion is quickly turning against the extreme measures and cuts and they haven’t even gotten to cutting the ugly stuff like social security and Medicare.

But, we have to be honest. There will be a price for many who stand up. I fully expect that there will be a time when some sort of Fed knocks on my door with some made up stuff to scare me. They will attack my reputation. They will drain my bank account defending myself. It’s been done before.

When I became Executive Director of the Lincoln Project someone delivered an opposition research file to the Washington Free-Beacon who ran a series of stories smearing me and trying to harm my reputation. To this day MAGA chuds love posting them as some kind of ‘own.’

Go for it.

I have no doubt there will be more death threats to come and even someone might get the bright idea that they should take it upon themselves to handle it for Trump.

I’ve already had two cars idling outside my house chased off by police in the last year.

This is the moment you read about. I am urging our elected leaders to stand up. Get security. Hire someone to monitor the online threats. (I can recommend a few good firms). Train your family to be more aware.

Don’t shrink from the moment. They want you scared. They want you to freeze until it’s too late.

This is the time to find your spine or we will lose it all. We are so far beyond political fallout or the next election. We are talking about lives being lost as healthcare is cut. Programs removed that support millions. Hundreds of thousands of jobs simply cut with no plan and no idea who is being fired.

Will you stand idly by in your comfort zone or step up?

I made my choice. Do you?