If you thought General Kelly was some kind of fine upstanding defender of the United States Constitution, this short video should disabuse you of that thought.
In this little speech following the one where he tells the moving story of his son's death and how they embalm and how they inter and how they notify and how it's really compassionate to tell grieving family members that their loved one knew what he was getting into and wanted to be in that place at that time more than anything else, Kelly forgets that elected officials are actually the representatives of the people as defined in the Constitution he claims to have defended.
In the process of telling this story, he twice describes Rep. Frederica Wilson as the "empty barrel making the most noise," as if elected officials exist to sit idly by and lick the boots of the President, like Kelly did today.
May I remind General Kelly that Representatives are elected to serve the people of their district, whether that means mentoring a young man into the Green Berets, comforting his grieving widow, or getting an FBI office built?
Rep. Wilson is already receiving death threats. She does not have the benefit of living in the ivory tower that Kelly currently occupies with the Orange Dictator. This little speech of his is completely disrespectful to Rep. Wilson, her constituents, and the Constitution he claims to revere.
Rep. Wilson was doing her damned job unlike his boss, who can't be bothered to pay attention to that sacred document unless he's trampling on it.
In April of 2015 while still on active duty I went to the dedication of the new FBI field office in Miami. And it was dedicated to two men who were killed in the a firefight in Miami against drug traffickers in 1986. A guy by the name of Grogan and Duke. Grogan almost retired, 53 years old. Duke I think less than a year on the job. They got in a gun fight and were killed.
Three FBI agents were there, wounded, now retired. We go down and listen to James Comey give a brilliant memorial speech to all of the men and women of the FBI who serve our country so well and law enforcement so members there. Some of the children were only 2 3, 4 years old when their dads were killed on that street in Miami-Dade. Three of the men that survived the fight were there and gave a rendition of how brave those men were and how they gave their lives.
And a congresswoman stood up and in the long tradition of empty barrels making the most noise stood up there in all of that and talked about how she was instrumental in getting the funding for that building. Now she took care of her constituents because she got the money and just called up President Obama and on that phone call he gave the money, the $20 million to build a building and she sat down.
And we were stunned. Stunned that she had done it. Even for someone that is that empty a barrel, we were stunned. But none of us went to the press and criticized. None of us stood up and were appalled. We just said okay, fine.
So I still hope as you write your stories and I appeal to America that let's not let this maybe last thing that's held sacred in our society, a young man, young woman going out and giving his or her life for our country, let's try to somehow keep that sacred.
Too late, General Kelly. You just defiled it.
