Graf: Leadership is “above my paygrade”

Link: www.azstarnet.com.

Asked if he believed the U.S. should engage in dialogue with North Korea, Graf said: "On that I can’t say. There are people way above my paygrade currently that have laid out the course. Our commander-in-chief is obviously in charge of that decision right now, and I’m going to trust his judgment."

In other words, Graf believes that the issue of war and peace is apparently not one for The U.S. Congress to decide. So much for Graf’s strict constructionist cred. The Constitution says of the House of Representatives’ power over military affairs:

  To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offenses against the law of nations;

  To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water;

  To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years;

  To provide and maintain a navy;

  To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces;

  To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions;

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the
militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the
service of the United States, reserving to the states respectively, the
appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the militia
according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

Does that sound like military affairs of the sort we face in NORK are ‘above the paygrade’ of our Representatives to the body Constitutionally mandated to carry out the above duties?

I would also remind Graf that "Our Commander-in-Chief" is not an office. The Presidency is, and it is a civilian political office which neither requires not deserves a military-like deferance by our elected officials. Our Representatives of tribunes of the people, not servants of the Commander-in-Chief.

Nor does this President warrant any confidence in his judgment. He has made numerous, compounded and subbornly maintained errors of judgment which have left this country weaker militarily, more dependent on foreign sources of energy than ever, in debt, and despised by friends and enemies alike in the world. Yet Randy proclaims that he’s "going to trust his judgment." He might be the last one in this country who does.

No, it’s not the issues around security in Korea are not above the paygrade that Graf seeks: it is his job to be active and participate in shaping this nation’s security policy. And that’s the problem. Randy is a follower, not a leader, on national security. He follows his base, he follows the polls, he follows Tancredo and the Minutemen, he follows his Commander-in-Chief. Korea is not above his paygrade: leadership is.