'Aren't We Supposed to Be the Good Guys Here?'

"Democratic Senator Mark Kelly is fluent in insult, particularly when it comes to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth: "unqualified," like "a 12-year-old playing army." In November, Kelly and five other Democratic lawmakers-all of them military or intelligence veterans-released a video telling current service members, "Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders." President Donald Trump was predictably furious, writing on Truth Social, "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH.""

"Senator Kelly joined Radio Atlantic to discuss the implications of this brand of revenge: If the president can punish a sitting senator for making a video he doesn't like, what could that mean for the average dissenting American? Or the average service member if asked to do something they don't believe is lawful? Kelly elaborated on the personal reprisal but seemed equally exercised about the plight of the whole world."

""That would probably be the biggest mistake any president has made in the history of this country," Kelly said. "For us to threaten them, especially with force. That we're just gonna take your stuff; we're gonna take your territory. I mean, is that who we've become? That's Russia. We are not that kind of a nation.""

Senator Mark Kelly called Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth unqualified and compared him to a child playing at war. Kelly and five other Democratic lawmakers, all with military or intelligence backgrounds, released a video advising current service members that they may refuse illegal orders. President Donald Trump labeled the video seditious and Hegseth's department opened proceedings to demote Kelly and cut his pension. Kelly warned that punishing a sitting senator establishes a dangerous precedent for dissent and for service members asked to follow questionable orders. Kelly rejected proposals to seize Greenland as inconsistent with American values.

Read at The Atlantic