President Trump's chief of staff, General John Kelly, fired back at the execrable insults of Rep. Luis Gutierrez, who called him "a disgrace to the uniform he used to wear," simply for serving as chief of staff after President Trump's decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and throw the matter back to Congress. A local radio station described Gutierrez's unprovoked attack as "DACA hysteria." Kelly was even more withering:

“As far as the congressman and other irresponsible members of congress are concerned, they have the luxury of saying what they want as they do nothing and have almost no responsibility,” Kelly told Fox News Sunday night. “They can call people liars but it would be inappropriate for me to say the same thing back at them.  As my blessed mother used to say ’empty barrels make the most noise.'”

Which is about right. Gutierrez has never served a day of his life in the military and as a far-leftist, has showed nothing but contempt for the military throughout his career. Kelly, by contrast, has served in a leadership capacity in Afghanistan and had a son killed in combat.

Gutierrez's attacks were so repulsive and detached from reality many a good man might not think them worthy of a reply, given Gutierrez's disreputableness.

But the little clown didn't  know Kelly very well, it seems, even though it's been widely reported in the press that he doesn't suffer fools, bullies, weasels or punks gladly.

Here's an anecdote about Kelly from a Pentagon source who went on a trip with Kelly when he worked with then-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta back in 2012. It never made the press. Kelly, according to the source, accompanied Panetta on an official visit to China. During the disembarking from the airport, Chinese officials, in a creepy welcome, began inexplicably roughing up members of the press pool and minor officials, to send some kind of bullying message. 

The members of the Panetta delegation were horrified but opted to maintain their cool in the fracas. There was one exception who came to the defense of the beat-up delegation members - by punching back, physically, at the Chinese goons roughing up the reporters. It was General Kelly. This surprised the reporters and other functionaries, because Kelly was so soft-spoken, and actually, quite a nice person. In that instant, he showed there was quite a bit of steel under that velvet exterior. He was made of different stuff.

The delegation wasn't bothered again by the Chicoms. And not surprisingly, Panetta was one of the first to defend Kelly in the wake of Gutierrez's repulsive, grotesque attacks.

Gutierrez got the same thing the Maoist goons got from Kelly, learning the hard way. How appropriate.