Bob McDonnell's Republican Response to the SOTU: A Military Misstep

Last night, the MOMocrats hosted a live blog of the State of the Union address and the Republican response.  It was an inspiring speech by Obama and, I think, one of his best.  The Republican response, however, had me out of my seat hollering at the TV, and not in a good way.

The State of the Union is, I think, a marvelous example of how inspiring our political system can be.  I never fail to be moved when I hear the Congressional Cryer yell, "Madame (or Mister) Speaker, the President of the United States!"  It doesn't matter whether the President in question is a Republican or a Democrat; it's always a thrilling experience.  The State of the Union is required by Article II, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution, which states, "He shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient...." Since 1790, the State of the Union has been delivered approximately every 12 months.

All members of Congress, from both sides of the aisle, are present, as are some of the Supreme Court justices, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the President's Cabinet, with the exception of the designated survivor. (As an interesting side note, the designated survivor for last night's address was Shaun Donovan, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.)  While Congress invites the President to attend, it is typical for the White House to invite guests as well.  Last night, several military service and family members were in the box with Mrs. Obama and Dr. Biden. 

There are many perks to being President, one of which is having the military and military backdrops at your command.  This use of the military and its service members as props became much more common during the term of George W. Bush. The most prominent being Bush's landing on an aircraft carrier and then speaking with a huge "Mission Accomplished" banner in the background.

Make no mistake, the State of the Union, while definitely a political event, is not a partisan political event.  The Joint Chiefs of Staff and invited military guests attend as part of their service to our country.  The rebuttal to the State of the Union is another animal entirely.  It is completely partisan, begun only in 1966 and traditionally given by a representative from the party not currently occupying the White House.

Virginia Governor (of only 11 days) Bob McDonnell gave the Republican response from the Virginia capitol building in Richmond.  McDonnell had an audience of mostly regular people. (Oh, and some Virginia Republican legislators.  Bob apparently failed to invite any Democrats until about 2 hours before the drop dead RSVP time on the afternoon of the speech.)  There were even people behind McDonnell on risers as if it were a political rally.  The setting was a smart move on the part of Republican strategists.  It gave McDonnell and audience responding to him, giving the speech a much more "official" and emotional appeal than canned studio speeches given in the past.

The content of McDonnell's speech was not surprising.  It was rendered somewhat irrelevant by most of President Obama's speech, but that tends to be par for the course when you're responding to a speech you haven't yet read or viewed, with pre-loaded teleprompters.  Plus, I read the rebuttal before the State of the Union began, so I knew what was coming. No, what surprised me was the individual sitting behind McDonnell and to our left.

Do you see that guy in Army green behind McDonnell?  The individual in question is Staff Sergeant Robert Tenpenny, who apparently served with McDonnell's daughter in Iraq.

That's a problem.

Why is this a problem, you ask?  Because military service members are prohibited from attending partisan political events in uniform.

I'd like to point you to Department of Defense Directive 1344:10, Political Activities by Members of the Armed Forces on Active Duty.  It states, in part, "It is DoD policy that a member of the Armed Forces (hereafter referred to as "member")(including members on active duty, members of the Reserve Components not on active duty, members of the National Guard even when in a non-Federal status, and retired members) is encouraged to carry out the obligations of a citizen."

While on active duty, members are prohibited from engaging in certain partisan political activities.  Active duty members are, however, permitted to engage in such activities as voting, donating money to political parties and activities and expressing personal opinions as an individual.  Under the DoD Directive, members are expressly permitted to "attend partisan and nonpartisan political meetings or rallies as a spectator when not in uniform."  The key to that sentence being, when not in uniform.

Military members are expressly prohibited from appearing at partisan events in uniform to avoid the appearance of endorsement of a political party or issue.  "Partisan political activity" under the directive is defined as "activity supporting or relating to candidates representing, or issues specifically identified with, national or State political parties and associated or ancillary organizations."  Activity supporting or relating to issues specifically identified with national or state political parties is prohibited while in uniform.

I'm pretty darn sure Bob McDonnell's speech on behalf of the Republican Party falls under that definition.

In other words, SSG Tenpenny had no business being at Bob McDonnell's speech in uniform.  He had every right to attend, and Bob McDonnell was even free to identify him as having served in Iraq with his daughter.  But under no circumstances should SSG Tenpenny have been there in uniform.

Now, some may say that a rebuttal to the State of the Union is a fuzzy area.  But under the DoD regulations, it's not.  Directive 1344.10 is quite direct.  In fact, section 4.1.2.15 even points out the only time a military service member can attend a partisan political event in uniform is, "as a member of a joint Armed Forces color guard at the opening ceremonies of the national conventions of the Republican, Democratic, or other political parties recognized by the Federal Elections Committee or as otherwise authorized by the Secretary concerned."  That makes it pretty clear.

Now, I have no idea if SSG Tenpenny is retired or no longer on active duty.  However, even if retired, he is prohibited from attending partisan events in uniform.  Section 4.1.4 of the DoD Directive states:

Subject to any other restrictions in law, a member of the Armed Forces not on active duty may take the actions or participate in the activities permitted in subparagraph 4.1.1., and may take the actions and participate in the activities prohibited in subparagraph 4.1.2, provided the member is not in uniform and does not otherwise act in a manner that could reasonably give rise to the inference or appearance of official sponsorship, approval, or endorsement.

(SSG Tenpenny was quite actively applauding during the speech, I might add.)

In other words, if SSG Tenpenny is still on active duty, he should be in trouble.  He should also know better.  Bob McDonnell is a former Lieutenant Colonel in the Army.  McDonnell should definitely know better.  The question is, will anyone call him on it?

Comments

[Daisy]

Will anyone call him on it? I think you just did.

[annie]

I didn't know about this. Should the governor have known? What will happen to this man then?

[Sue Himel]

Yes and all those regulations actually prohibited your father from voting in a presidential election one year....aren't you proud of that. I was the one who called the press and told them...and aren't you embarrassed by that. So that aberrant uniform...who cares. Democrats have tried to eliminate the military vote because no postmark is allowed from ships or combat zones. When you tell me that will be taken care of we might have comon ground to talk. You are a hippocrit.

And, yes I know you will eliminate this comment as fast as you can....you would NEVER allow your liberal friends to see this.

[Kristen]

I came by here hoping to see an analysis of the Citizens United case or the President's misstatements regarding it or even a lively discussion on whether or not Alito was in the wrong to mouth "not true." Instead I found this article about a Iraq war veteran wearing a uniform at what might constitute a political event. Don't get me wrong. If the soldier violated the military code, punish away. It just seems slightly disingenuous.

[Lawyer Mama]

Sue aka Mom - Nope, I'll leave it here so you can embarrass yourself. The reg doesn't prohibit soldiers from voting. But don't let facts get in the way of your righteous indignation.

Kristen - I'm not sure how the title about Bob McDonnell's military misstep led you to believe this was a discussion about Alito or Citizen's United. I tend to make it clear what my posts are about in the title.

[Kristen]

I meant Momocrats in general, Stephanie, not your post. Your titles always clearly state the subjects of your posts. :-)

[Lawyer Mama]

Kristin - Part of the problem is that we're all busy people; we don't make money on this site; and we write when we want about what we want. Consequently, we can't cover every issue tht comes up. We did, however, live blog the state of the union & there were many rousing discussions in that post. It's still up on the site if you're interested.
Thanks for reading!

[Annette]

He should be punished. I was part of the military and its Orders should be obeyed no matter if it is Republican or Democrati. I think the military would be taking a political posture if he is not punished.

[T]

Governor McDonnell most assuredly should have known better. Furthermore unless he actually resigned his commission he could/should be held accountable as a senior officer for placing enlisted personnel in this position. When the LTC asked the E-6/SSG to attend, put yourself in the SSG's place and see if you could have or would have said no. The DoD Inspector General would have cognizance over this matter or if the SSG is indeed still AD it would fall to his current commands IG....lets see if anything happens..

Personally I feel that members of both political parties are guilty of gratuitously using the military and service members a political stage props, this event just really highlights the problem.

[Karoli]

Kristen, the President's comments around the Citizens United decision were not as erroneous as claimed. Even Politifact and Media Matters for America can't agree on that, which should tell you that there is a wide berth for disagreement.

But fear not, there will be a post worth reviewing about today's House GOP retreat and the question of whether it will change anything. I'm guessing it won't change the behavior of the crew on Capitol Hill, but it should certainly bring it out into the light a bit more.

[Gaylene Kanoyton]

Also, the African American women (Lisa Hicks) sitting behind Gov. McDonnell worked for him and was in his campaign commercials. http://hamptonroads.com/2009/10/state-employees-appear-ad-mcdonnell

Organized Diversity...

[Bano]

Has anyone else called him out on it besides you? I certainly hope so.

[Dino]

whow was the cute chick sitting on the other side?

[WhyMommy]

Wow. I'm late to the party on this (just saw the link in the newsletter), but WOW.

Was this later covered anywhere else?

[Lawyer Mama]

The day after I wrote about it, it popped up on a few more blogs but I haven't seen anything in the MSM. I had a couple of people tell me that, personally, they thought it was no big deal. Sigh....

[eddie radillo]

It is a great thing that you have posted this article on your blog. I reported this violation promptly to the Army's Dept Public Affairs the morning after the Republican's response. Please take a minute to remember we have many residents and citizens in this country who fled from their country where they feared their military rulers. We don't need to put the fear into anyone with images such as those of our military applauding as he did in uniform. It is scary to say the least. Also, is the Gov allowed to use the assembly chamber to hold a political partisan event? Is there a state law against this. The State Capitol is paid for by the tax payers of Virginia regardless of political affiliation. I bet you there is a law against this too!

[saul]

very nice yor blog