# Thoughts on nomination of Mattis **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [December 5, 2016, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-nomination-of-mattis/773974 "2016-12-05T23:41:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Steken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Steken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steken)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2016, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-nomination-of-mattis/773974/41 "2016-12-09T19:27:23Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Mattis is a non-interventionist. I think you will find him less likely to advocate for war unless there is no other option. He understands the cost. I sure hope so. But his hard-on for Iran is extremely worrying. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2016, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-nomination-of-mattis/773974/42 "2016-12-09T20:22:07Z")
> [@BrerRobert](#): > > [Republicans force Mattis issue in must-pass spending bill](http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/republicans-force-mattis-issue-in-must-pass-spending-bill-232287) Deceptive little shits don’t even want to have an honest discussion about it. Are there _any_ Republican Congresscritters out there not willing to kiss Trump’s ass, or have they been told to be good Trumpeters…or else? ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2016, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-nomination-of-mattis/773974/43 "2016-12-09T21:09:36Z")
I imagine most Republican members of Congress think Mattis will be a great Secretary of Defense, so it’s not really an issue I’d expect them to ‘stand up to Trump’ on. Find something where they may disagree with him, possibly an infrastructure spending bill or something like that, and we can see if they’re willing to oppose him or not. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2016, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-nomination-of-mattis/773974/44 "2016-12-09T21:17:56Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I imagine most Republican members of Congress think Mattis will be a great Secretary of Defense, so it’s not really an issue I’d expect them to ‘stand up to Trump’ on. Find something where they may disagree with him, possibly an infrastructure spending bill or something like that, and we can see if they’re willing to oppose him or not. Civilian oversight of the Dept. of Defense is not a small thing to be brushed aside. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2016, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-nomination-of-mattis/773974/45 "2016-12-09T21:37:17Z")
BTW, it appears that this issue (Mattis’ waiver) will still get a debate and a vote, with a filibuster option, sometime in January. From the Politico article: > [@](#): > > The procedure for Mattis’ waiver in the spending bill would limit debate in the Senate over the matter to 10 hours and require 60 votes for passage. The waiver legislation itself can be introduced by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) or Senate Armed Services Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) within the first 30 days of the new Congress. That bill would be referred to McCain’s committee, and if it was not acted on within five days would go directly to the Senate floor. **Czarcasm** , you said the Republicans were being “Deceptive little shits” and that they “don’t even want to have an honest discussion about it.” Do you still hold that view? ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-nomination-of-mattis/773974/46 "2016-12-11T00:31:36Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Big. > Fucking. > Deal. > > People have been exposing this little lying shit since day one and it hasn’t made a difference. The asshole even wrote a book on how to take advantage of rubes, and they still believed him when he said, “But _you_ can trust me-_you_ ain’t no rube, right?” _wink_ There is a difference between “exposing him” and “getting directly fucked by him”. I seriously doubt he got any votes from any of the people he actually fucked over, and a lot of people are about to get fucked over by him. ---
**Author:** ![ganthet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de0a6/32.png) [@ganthet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ganthet)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-nomination-of-mattis/773974/47 "2016-12-11T05:41:05Z")
> [@Steken](#): > > I sure hope so. But his hard-on for Iran is extremely worrying. Mattis is smart enough to know that there aren’t that many good military solutions in any Iran situation and that a full scale war would be very messy, very bloody, and would cause huge instability for everyone. The bigger worry is whether Mike Flynn knows any of this outside of his paranoic conspiracy fever dreams about Iran. You’d think that even his and Trump’s love of Russia would make them a little more skeptical of it given their military cooperation with Iran. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-nomination-of-mattis/773974.md?page=2)