The Pentagon has announced an investigation into Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly after he appeared in a video urging service members to refuse what the lawmakers called “illegal orders,” an extraordinary step that risks dragging the military into raw partisan politics. That move — threatening recall to active duty and possible court-martial for a sitting senator — is precisely the kind of intimidation that weakens our institutions and chills lawmakers who would question overreach.
Make no mistake: this is not a neutral, sober administration action — it smells like political theater designed to cow critics and reward a loyal base. When the Defense Department is used as an enforcement arm against a member of Congress for partisan speech, hardworking Americans watching from home see one thing: the weaponization of authority that should protect our nation, not silence dissent.
At the same time Democrats in Washington are scrambling to protect Big Tech platforms, pushing plans to keep TikTok online under new “safeguards” even as national security warnings persist. Senator Ed Markey’s proposal to let TikTok stay if it promises transparency and data protections reveals the party’s priority: preserving influence and platform access over taking decisive action to prevent foreign-backed manipulation.
Senator Kelly himself has a complex record on this front — he cosponsored the RESTRICT legislation aimed at foreign tech threats, and yet he has also publicly acknowledged the difficult politics around TikTok while warning of its ability to manipulate the American public. That contradiction is emblematic of a Democratic approach that talks tough about threats when it’s convenient and folds when the political cost rises.
Meanwhile Kelly has introduced bipartisan bills to crack down on cartel recruitment and illicit activity facilitated by social media, rightly pointing out that platforms like TikTok are being used to lure Americans into crime. If social media can be used to groom young people for smuggling and trafficking, then the easy, reflexive defense of these platforms by coastal elites looks less like community-building and more like reckless negligence.
Patriots should be angry and organized: defend our troops from politicized investigations, defend our national security from foreign-connected apps, and demand that Washington stop using law enforcement and armed forces as political cudgels. Conservatives must call out Democratic hypocrisy, insist on consistent action to protect citizens and data, and hold every official accountable who trades our safety for short-term political advantage.
