Colorado Republican Lauren Boebert has suggested that the Pentagon believes that she’s a “security threat”.
“Apparently the Pentagon thinks I’m a security threat because I oppose Biden’s plans for a woke military. Call me whatever you want, but I’m not backing down today or ever,” she tweeted on Saturday.
Author Kurt Eichenwald responded: “Well, given that the Pentagon doesn’t designate individuals as security threats, I highly doubt this. Another unconnected agency does that, but I’m sure the minute I tell you which one, you will claim they have done it.”
Lincoln Project co-founder Rick Wilson said: “Bless your slow little heart.”
The Biden administration launched an initiative early on in its term attempting to combat extremism in the military, including individuals such as Jack Teixeira, an Air National Guardsman with past incidents of violent and racist acts who now stands accused of perpetrating one of the largest leaks of classified material in the modern history of the US.
Two years have now passed since the Defense Department initiated its anti-extremism efforts, and the Countering Extremism Working Group has disappeared for unclear reasons, according to CNN.
The network reported last month that the Pentagon abandoned the effort when faced with the political pressure coming from Republicans over “wokeism” in the military.
Progressive political organisation Vote Vets told Ms Boebert on Twitter: “Define woke, Lauren? Because it sounds like you’re bashing the strongest military in the world. The fringe right wants to impose its extreme social agenda on our Military by alienating and kicking out LGBTQ+ Troops. They’d sacrifice our security and Military for their extremism.”
“No. They think that because your family life and your political affiliations with insurrectionists make you an obvious target for blackmail and manipulation. Also you’re dumb,” Hal Sparks wrote.
In February, the White House avoided answering the question if President Joe Biden was “woke”, from James Rosen of Newsmax.
“And so, we hear so much talk about ‘woke capitalism’, a ‘woke military’, and so on. And by way of trying to clarify this for the American people, I wonder if we couldn’t begin with a threshold question to wit – is President Biden woke?” he said.
As a subtle sense of amusement spread in the press briefing room, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre sidestepped the query.
“So, let me tell you what the president cares about and what’s important to this president,” she said.
“The president doesn’t – doesn’t concern himself about what Republicans are trying to do in creating political stunts, in making an issue out of the things that they feel benefits them politically, not the American people, not what matters to the American people, but what benefits them politically for their own, for their own ability to move forward.”
“So you wouldn’t describe him as ‘woke’?” Mr Rosen asked.
Ms Jean-Pierre pressed on, saying that the GOP wanted to cut major social programmes, such as social security and Medicare.
“That’s not what we’re about,” she said at the time. “We’re about fighting for these programmes. And that’s what you’re going to see from the president, and that’s what he cares about.”
