Supporters of a strong national defense recently heard the most alarming news for the military since former Rep. Patricia Schroeder (D-CO) almost destroyed the Navy after the 1991 Tailhook scandal. Hillary Rodham Clinton, liberal senator from New York, is now a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC).

When Schroeder served on the House Armed Services Committee, (HASC), she used the committee’s "power of the purse" to advance her own feminist agenda: women in combat, homosexuals in the military, and severe punishment for Navy men (but not women) for sexual misconduct. As a member of the SASC, Hillary Clinton will be in a position to wreak similar havoc and much, much more.

Members of the SASC have the power to confirm or reject the promotions of all flag officers and high-level Pentagon officials. In the 2000 presidential campaign, then-Vice President Al Gore announced that he would only select officers for the Joint Chiefs of Staff if they were in full agreement with his intent to accommodate professed homosexuals in the military. Al Gore lost, but Hillary will have inordinate influence on the selection of the next generation of three- and four-star generals and senior leaders of the Departments of Defense and all the services.

It is likely that Hillary will work her will not with open votes, but behind-the-scenes manipulation, intimidation, and legislative trade-offs. SASC Chairman John Warner (R-VA) and other Republicans on the panel, including formidable freshman Elizabeth Dole (R-NC), could counter Hillary’s influence. But as Pat Schroeder demonstrated long ago, a single determined congresswoman frequently can get what she wants without a public fight.

Mrs. Clinton, whose changing styles of hair and dress used to reflect a chameleon personality, is out to create a new and more credible “Commander in Chief” image. Watch for her to tour military installations worldwide that are ideal backdrops for senatorial “photo ops.” Hillary will also try to pose as a pro-defense advocate by voting for legislation favored by some veterans groups and defense contractors, in order to gain their support for her presidential campaign in 2008 if not 2004.

As savvy as she is, however, Hillary will not be able to hide her radical agenda indefinitely. Not as long as CMR is there to expose and comment on her actions as a member of the SASC. With so much at stake, the junior senator from New York must not be allowed to impose her doctrinaire views on America’s military, which she is so eager to command.

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