January 14, 2025

Pete Hegseth wore "an Old Glory print pocket square" and "star-spangled socks and a flag belt buckle. His only jewelry was a wedding ring..."

"... a lapel pin representing the crest of the 187th Infantry Regiment, and a Killed in Action bracelet worn in honor of a soldier, Jorge M. Oliveira, who lost his life in Afghanistan — a series of accessories that served as a form of value signaling. His hair was gelled back without a strand out of place. During the occasional interruptions from the crowd, his jaw was heroically clenched. Hidden were almost all of his tattoos: a large Jerusalem Cross, a 'Join or Die' snake, and an American flag with a stripe replaced by an AR-15.... Just a hint of ink reaching from his right forearm to his wrist peeked out from a carefully buttoned shirtsleeve. (It seemed to be the tail end of his 'We the People' script.) Left behind was the stars ‘n’ stripes cowboy hat. Unseen was the Uncle Sam jacket linings that Mr. Hegseth [has] occasionally flashed.... Certainly he did not look like the hard-drinking, adulterous, budget-mismanaging person that critics of his nomination had described. He looked clean-cut, not politically correct but patriotically correct.... Amid all the theatrics and speechifying by the many committee members and Mr. Hegseth himself, his uniform offered an argument of its own...."

Writes the NYT fashion critic Vanessa Friedman, in "Pete Hegseth Dresses for Defense/The nominee for Secretary of Defense wore his patriotism on his sleeve during his confirmation hearing — and his belt, his socks, and his pocket square."

I like the topic of politics and fashion. And this is fine. Good to see it aimed at a man, as it should be maybe half the time (or a bit less, men's clothing lacking much variation). I like the reference to the "theatrics and speechifying" by committee members, but it should specify Democrats on the committee. Good lord, they were rude! I rarely watch Senate hearings because I can't tolerate the nastiness. But for some reason I sat in front of the TV for over an hour. I'll just offer Tim Kaine as one example of the undignified badgering:


I guess that yelling and pointing and smirking would have paid off if Hegseth had snapped and responded in kind. But he didn't. And why would he? He knows he only needs to put up with this, even as Kaine knows he needs to make something happen.

97 comments:

Lem Vibe Bandit said...

Didn’t Kane lie about serving in Vietnam?

The Dems picked the wrong gunslinger.

Jerry said...

Seems to me like it's not Hegseth that has to prove he's worthy of the job at this point - there were a lot of people there who showed that (IMO) they'd have been better off as actors in a telenovela.

So - is it the water in DC? Or just the company they're keeping?

ron winkleheimer said...

I was only able to watch about ten minutes. I've said it before, if Elizabeth Warren is the face of your party, you have problems.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

Didn’t Kane lie about serving in Vietnam?

No, that was Blumenthal.

Lewis said...

That Senator is a freakin asshole. I wanted to jump into the video and beat the ever lovin crap out of him. So disgusting.

Captain BillieBob said...

Mark Wayne Mullen got right up in the grill of the self righteous virtue signaling dems. Good for him. All the dems have is the politics of personal destruction.
Kane is a spinless worm. Horono is a clown. They're all drunks.
I want to know who using the funds from the special hush money fund they use to payoff any and everyone with knowledge of their escapades.Lets have some names.

Dude1394 said...

That senator should GFY. The standard for morality in the Democrat party is shoving a cigar up and interns vagina in the Oval Office. So GFY

rehajm said...

Sorry to harp on age but try to appreciate how striking it is for someone not from the elder generation- to see all the trappings of the broken-hip-set in full battle mode- PBS even, up against a guy still in his productive years. It could be any guy his age really…

Aggie said...

Could we just save some time and have the Senators tape their invective for future optional viewing? It's not a very good use of the American Public's time. Or maybe we could allow spectators to bring their rotting vegetables - purely for casting votes of course.

john mosby said...

Hegseth showed admirable restraint when the one Senator asked him to define "jagoff."

I would hope in the same situation that I would have the suicidal courage to reply, "Sir, the rules of this house forbid me," while staring straight at him.

Or perhaps, "Certainly, sir! Do you have a mirror?"

JSM

Bob Boyd said...

If his detractors are to be believed, Hegseth's randy exploits cut the throat of chastity.
Kaine, looking like an old drunk from a 70's movie set, was actually licking his lips over Hegseth's sex life. It was repulsive.
The Senate is crawling with disgusting sleezeballs of every variety. So ridiculous to watch their moral posturing over this stuff. You could tell by the glum and sullen expressions of the people behind Kaine that they were losing on this one.

Bob Boyd said...

The burning question of course is, What do Jennifer Rubin and Norm Eisen think about this?

wendybar said...

Hopefully it will be released now, since Progressives lawfare like this okay. Don't throw rocks if you live in a glass house, and all that!!

Jim at said...

Let them scream. Call for the vote. Shove it up their asses.
Next nominee.

Lem Vibe Bandit said...

Internet: "Blumenthal received five draft deferments during the Vietnam War"

Reminds me of a hilarious comic bit.

wendybar said...

The Jerusalem cross...which was on the front page of the program for Jimmy Carters funeral....

wsw said...

Kaine, the Walz of yesteryear.

Oh Yea said...

Is Kaine so dense to think we don't remember who her 2016 running mate's husband is and he calls Hegseth a slut?

Sebastian said...

"Good lord, they were rude!...I'll just offer Tim Kaine as one example of the undignified badgering" And these same people presume to judge Hegseth on his character and lecture the rest of us about norms in politics. They care nothing about dignity or civility or, for that matter, the country or its defense. (D) is all that matters.

Big Mike said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Big Mike said...

We Virginians are stuck with Smarmy Tim Kaine through 2028.

Skeptical Voter said...

Tim Kaine was a rookie compared to the female harridans who went after Hegseth hard. As a former infantry soldier (1969-1971), I can not understand why these female Senators are so obsessed over women in combat roles. There may well be a place for women in combat--say in the cockpit of a jet or a helicopter or on a Navy warship. But out in the hard world of frontline infantry grunts women have no place. It's hard and physically demanding and is essentially a young man's game. And in today's world where 75% of American youth are not physically qualified for any military role whatsoever, pressing for women in combat is beyond stupid. But hey, these are Democrat senators and they sure know how to do "beyond stupid".

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

I heard Gilibrand's rant and all I could think of is the fit she'd throw if one of her daughters (or granddaughters) faced being drafted and the prospect of combat.

Mason G said...

"I can not understand why these female Senators are so obsessed over women in combat roles."

If you're locked into the belief that a woman can do anything a man can do, you don't have much of a choice but to insist on it (women in combat roles), do you?

Narr said...

IIRC, Blumenthal became a Marine lt. afterwards, and served stateside. Like Walz, he let people think he had been in 'Nam if he didn't actually tell them so (I am not an expert). Then there was Tom Harkins, who flew jets TO Vietnam but didn't fly combat. Jesse Ventura also had a penchant for embellishment.

Joe Bar said...

The stuff on X is so great:
https://x.com/bennyjohnson/status/1879222356624945198
https://x.com/Cernovich/status/1879253290678104368
https://x.com/AnthonyAbides/status/1879238599784501470
https://x.com/KarluskaP/status/1879199431276568633

BUMBLE BEE said...

Even if just the dollar amount were published.

BUMBLE BEE said...

Devil with the blue dress, blue dress, blue dress,
Devil with the blue dress on.

BUMBLE BEE said...

IIRC women in Navy warships do crash into each other on occasion.

Jerry said...

Back in the day it was considered essential for promotion consideration. Which is understandable - the candidate who'd been shot at was likely to understand what the front-line folks needed more than the guy who had never been in-theater.

But now - fresh off a loss in Afghanistan - we don't need folks rising through the ranks who's expertise is political instead of military.

Oso Negro said...

" hard-drinking, adulterous, budget-mismanaging person". So basically a Democrat.

BUMBLE BEE said...

Mentioned on The Five, congress critters now have their own bar "in house".

RideSpaceMountain said...

And wouldn't you know it, CODE PINK IS BACK! So good to have you back losers, not only didn't we miss you, we've been wondering where you were all this time what with the world on fire.

Now that we know what your priorities are, we'll know better when to expect you next time...at confirmation hearings apparently.

BUMBLE BEE said...

LAFD response "He got himself in the wrong place if I have to carry him out".
Gung Ha?

Narr said...

You watch, the "Anti-War" folk will be out in force now that there's an R administration.

Kakistocracy said...

Matt Gaetz saw resistance because many on the Hill knew him, and did not like him. That, was personal. So the unknown, and unqualified Hegseth will get through just fine.

Hegseth is a light weight who has no experience befitting the position he is nominated for. However, it makes no difference. The Republicans in the Senate have self neutered themselves and will rubber stamp any nominee out of fear of being primaried.

robother said...

We have to remember that Sen. Kaine ran as Hillary Clinton's VP, and proudly served in the Senate with Ted Kennedy. It is only natural that one on intimate terms with the Clintons and Teddy Kennedy would hold everyone to a high moral standard.

narciso said...

https://x.com/cdrsalamander/status/1871590084530889028

Quaestor said...

As Megyn Kelly, an in-person eyewitness, as said, "Why do the women have to be so shitty?"

Quaestor said...

The link above doesn't work for some reason. Try this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFaWr0M9xzM

rhhardin said...

I watch if they're playing the piano and the performance isn't bad. Then women's fashion is interesting. The first question is what's being done about breasts. The something to watch extreme is Yuja Wang, the opposite being Martha Argerich.

RideSpaceMountain said...

I can't wait. Those people are walking caricatures. Did you see them? Some even had pink peace blemish patches! How symbolic, they must read Althouse blog.

Clyde said...

Kaine reminded me of Jack Nicholson's Joker, without the makeup.

DINKY DAU 45 said...

I dont get it, this fella is perfect for a trump admin1 A bonafide $$$ manager, an adulterer and spousal cheater, A FOX couch assembly person,a FAKE Christians,,Christians aren't supposed to have tattoos of anything(you gotta read the book) a misogynist who thinks and says women are a inferior sub species ,a confirmed alcoholic(Don must not care for that but oh well ,He is completely subservient and will do what the Don says but most of all the guy is in over his head and has no experience in such an extensive department and have we mentioned totally loyal to the King. Joanie gave him absolution today so he's in.Perfect just as Iran finally gets their Nukes,Putin playing trump like a banjo,(watch with a fake meeting on ending the war(24 hours no less) BETS? and more to come.. My pick .send him in coach he's ready to play today!

rhhardin said...

Women style in senate hearings is pretty much limited to padded shoulders or not, on the pant suit.

rhhardin said...

Adulterer means wife not getting the job done.

Prof. M. Drout said...

Tim Kaine has the most obvious pedo-face you'll ever see. I can't figure out how people even make that weirdo Grinch-smile.

I was not the slightest bit surprised when Neil Gaiman was exposed as being a serial abuser if not an actual rapist of young women, and I wouldn't be thatr surprised if skeletons were found in Kaine's back yard.

bob said...

I watched the show without sound while riding a bike at the gym. The Democrats were unintentionally comical, full-on kabuki theater, eyes bulging, faces red, looking like the wacky tube man at a used car dealer, waving arms, flailing about, hoping to grab your attention, Hegseth calmly waiting for their clock to run out. Not a good look for them. I wondered what the joke was with Sen Warren, found out later on X. Not surprisingly, she ended up with egg on her "high-cheek-boned" face.

RideSpaceMountain said...

democrats are the party of women and gays, if they act like emotional actresses it's because that is what they are.

Dave Begley said...

Princeton defeats Harvard.

Clyde said...

That second one, with the female Senators bitching at Hegseth, reminded me of the Guns N' Roses song "Coma," where a bunch of women are bitching at Axl Rose.

Joe Bar said...

Here's Blumenthal directly "misspeaking" about serving in Vietnam.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAwf2Q3NvLA

Jersey Fled said...

“If you're locked into the belief that a woman can do anything a man can do, you don't have much of a choice but to insist on it (women in combat roles), do you?”

Especially if you can’t define what a woman is in the first place.

Michael Fitzgerald said...

Hillary's running mate. His son got arrested for hacking Palin's email.

Peachy said...

He cleaned the floor. The democrat party is the party of petty leftist a-holes.

Peachy said...

Be sure to watch Pete answer a Q from Kristen Gillibrand. OMG - the lols
and Her highness queen tomahawk. Elizabeth Warren is a fool.

ga6 said...

Đồ ngốc.

Peachy said...

Oh s t f up - penzy. We just had 4 years of losers not qualified for their jobs. Get lost.

Peachy said...

yep

Peachy said...

Radical leftist females are the epitome of shitty. Joy Behar(D-pure shit)

Quaestor said...

Many of those senators came to the hearing woefully unprepared. Warren evidently hasn't the foggiest notion what the Secretary of Defence does or his position in the military establishment org chart.

walter said...

She's tracking the tats he isn't showing. She married a finance guy.

walter said...

Warren and her hubby should have a beer with him.

gspencer said...

"I'll just offer Tim Kaine as one example of the undignified badgering"

More helpful would have been a reference to the fact that this guy was Hilary's choice in 2016. The DEMOCRAT choice.

Peachy said...

Of course finding a good link on leftist google-owned YouTube is not easy.

Elizabeth Warren makes an ass out of herself.

Quaestor said...

Althouse writes, "But he didn't. And why would he? He knows he only needs to put up with this, even as Kaine knows he needs to make something happen."

Althouse endorses some excellent political tactics. To get ahead in our constitutional republic, it is necessary to suffer fools gladly. Nevertheless, I long for a cabinet nominee who doesn't give a fig for the respect and difference some politicians believe is theirs by right regardless of their stupidity and mendacity, someone who would reply to a stupid question (Elizabeth "Fauxcahontas" Warren can ask nothing but stupid question, being nothing but stupid herself.) with a suitably disrespectful and sardonic reply.

Peachy said...

I think Dinky Dick is the perfect modern democrat-Soviet.

Joe Bar said...

He is the junior senator from my state, unfortunately. His performance will play well in the DC suburbs.

planetgeo said...

The Democrats clearly don't realize how pathetic their impotent flailing looks and how old and slow-witted their senatorial leaders sound. Hegseth's youthful vigor and coolness under fire just emphasized the gaping difference. It was like a pack of mangy, toothless old hounds baying futilely at a young mountain lion that didn't even see the need to climb up a tree to evade them.

Iman said...

Kaine has obviously got a drinking problem. He’s got a drunken leprechaun look about him.

Michael Fitzgerald said...

LMAO- Look at Kaine's fahking nose! I knew he was piece of shit Party member, but I didn't know he was a boozer too. That purple breezer, the sloppy collar, the uncombed hair, he looks like a comic strip alcoholic!

MadisonMan said...

What an ahole. I refer to Sen Kaine.

Drago said...

Interestingly, LLR-democratical Rich, like a certain New Soviet Democratical Supreme Court Justice, STILL cannot give us a definition for the word "woman".

Rich also believes "climate change" is an actual being that prevented CA commies/dems (but I repeat myself) from filling reservoirs with...water.

Rich, like the entire LLR-democratical Brigade at Althouse blog are a strange and weird bunch.

Original Mike said...

It's clear what Hillary saw in him.

MayBee said...

All I could think about was when Gillibrand invited Mattress Girl to the SOTU. How can anyone take her seriously about anything?

gadfly said...

"An over-the-top Christian Zionist, Hegseth, whose body is covered with Christian cross tattoos, denies that Palestine or even the Palestinians actually exist. He calls the West Bank Samaria and Judea. He is also a so-called Third Temple activist who believes that the al-Aqsa mosque and other Muslim holy sites on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem should be torn down to rebuild the Judaean Temple allegedly destroyed by the Romans in the Second Century."

So the site of the next all-out war will be at the Holy Mount and Jerusalem religious sites just as long as someone else is doing the fighting. But Hegseth will get on the wrong side of MBS and the Wahhabi with this kind of thinking.

wendybar said...

It's been epic on X!! Progressives are so much fun to watch and mock...They are so idiotic, you just have to. If these idiots are running the country...no wonder why we are fucked. 32 trillion in debt...the pentagon audit shows that they are missing $824 billion, and yet these fools are saying Pete isn't professional enough to handle doing the job. WHAT job?? It seems NOBODY is doing their jobs. They all need to be fired, sent to Gitmo if they are corrupt (after we investigate their lives, like they do ours) and a new batch of Congress critters that LOVE America need to be elected. It's time to Make America Great Again by getting rid of the chafe.

wendybar said...

Courtesy of House Drunk....Nasty Fedsurrection Nancy!! https://thehill.com/homenews/3490643-peloton-booze-delivery-perks-for-house-staff-draw-gop-ire/

wendybar said...

What they do is worse than Nancy's fedsurrection people who walked peacefully through the velvet gates they had set up in the Capitol. Maybe Code Pink needs to be put in the DC gulag for Trumps term with no due process and no trial. Precedent has been set already, so they can't really bitch about it.

wendybar said...

And the dike looked like a linebacker. If it can't do the job, it should join a circus.

wendybar said...

Nasty Nancy is an alcoholic and you love her. She made sure it was easier for her to get booze anytime she ran out. They have 24/7 delivery!! Isn't that special Dink?? Funny how THAT never upsets you...or the Bill Clinton rapes don't upset you. But of course that is because they have a "d" next to their name. You are a fool.

Tina Trent said...

He’s a mean one, Mr. grinch.

That said, Matt Gaetz is not qualified to serve. He’s a personal mess, a drunk, and sexually predatory.

RoseAnne said...

Not a good day to promote women in government. All looked like they were reading a script prepared For them not BY them. Suddenly puritanical they wanted wanted the "gotcha" moment so badly they accused Hegstreth of saying things without giving him a chance to say anything. He won simply by comparison. When one senator's screaming at him didn't work, the next senator simply screamed longer and harder. They leaned nothing from what others said and did. If, say the third one, had taken an approach like Senator Kennedy from Louisiana, they may have tricked him into saying something unfortunate but trying to out macho a combat vet was a poor choice. Duckworth squandered her own military credentials by playing the victim rather tvictim rather calm warrior.

pacwest said...

I still don't understand why Trump picked Hegseth. He doesn't seem qualified for the job to me. Don't understand Gabbard either. Burgum, Patel and many others are phenomenal picks. Spot on for the positions they've been nominated for.

The Defense Dept is a huge organization and requires a CEO's mindset as well as a knowledge of the inner workings of the Pentagon imo. Hegseth doesn't even come close to that. Wouldn't someone like Flynn be a much better choice?

Not that these soap operas are going to delve into substance anyway.

I get that the point of a lot of Trump's picks are to change the way government operates, but Hegseth nor Gabbard seem to have enough background to effect that.

Not really a fan of Rubio either. Government experience is a two edged sword. Go along to get along isn't going to cut it.

typingtalker said...

"He knows he only needs to put up with this, even as Kaine knows he needs to make something happen."

So the taunter put himself into a win-or-lose position ... and lost.

mikee said...

Wendybar suggests reprisal against Code Pink equal to the suffering of J6 protesters. I would amend that slightly. Since their protests are preplanned with the Capitol Police for these in-session events, to allow the protests, the gently handled removals, and the later dropping of charges, I'd suggest charging them with RICO and conspiracy as well as interruption of government activity. And maybe tackle the first one to stand up at the next meeting with a half dozen 6"2" security officers to make sure no violence is allowed to be perpetrated.

Narayanan said...

Government experience is a two edged sword
=================
now do Pentagon inner working experience

Kakistocracy said...

Having mastered submarine engineering, Russian military history, and large language models, Drago like to give you a careful estimate of how many gin and tonics one can safely drink before noon...

GRW3 said...

Operation Enduring Karen... The meme gif of Pete sitting stoically while the Dem harpies are screaming at him is powerful at showing his steadiness. Sure they were crazy and threatening but they don't equal AK 47 small arms fire or roadside IEDs. His past problems, tied to his service, tell me he really understands the challenges a soldier faces.

Narr said...

"getting rid of the chafe."

Isn't there an ointment for that sort of thing?

Lazarus said...

"I like the topic of politics and fashion."

I don't. It's a distraction. It means we're not serious people. Maybe we stopped being serious people when we started wearing clothes that would attract that kind of attention, but time spent on people's clothes is time not spent on more important matters.

Narr said...

Go easy on the Dinkster. Every time he jumped from the chopper in 'Nam, he landed head-first.

Aggie said...

Tim Kaine has always reminded me of that cartoon character 'Jiggs', from Bringing up Father

Lazarus said...

Separated at birth: Tim Kaine and Tim Walz? Tim Kaine, drunk or just Irish (one not excluding the other)? Blumenthal let people think he was a Vietnam veteran (the way that John Kerry let people think he was Irish for years)? Not quite, Blumenthal actually told people he served in Vietnam (Kerry made a career and a whole life out of telling people that he was in Vietnam, but he actually was there -- whether he made that secret mission to Cambodia is less certain).

Drago said...

Note: no definition of "woman" offered up by LLR-democratical Rich.

Nor will there ever be.

DEEBEE said...

Would have loved Pete “slip up” and say “no Senator McCarthy, sorry Senator Kaine”

MaxedOutMama said...

The Republicans just gained another percentage point or two among male voters. When did the Democrats decide that doing an imitation of Church Lady would be a good political tactic?

Most of us remember Pence taking hit in the press and by the Dems for his ultra-cautious, walk-the-line behavior. I guess you get it either way.