Letters to the Editor
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i feel so cynical
I've been a democrat ever since i can remember. I went to an dod school in frankfurt and i can remmber being scard to vote for dukakis in the school mock election because of the cultural icon reagan represented.
Military folks vote democratic? It only seem plausible in regional races.
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There are some things you have to understand about military people
Of the vast numbers of military veterans in the U.S., only a tiny fraction of them belong to either the V.F.W. or the American Legion. Even fewer still belong to the AmVets. Unfortunately, far too many of them belong to the D.A.V. but certainly not by choice.
The veterans who belong to patriotic clubs like the V.F.W. and the American Legion are not only few in numbers when compared with the pool of potential members, they are the most visible, the most vocal, and the most right wing of all veterans. They join these clubs for a lot of reasons, but bipartisanship is not one of them.
I have said this before, but here goes again: If you want to see how enlisted men and women feel about being in the service today, you need to subcribe to Army Times. It's an independent broadsheet that doesn't take orders from the Information Office at the Pentagon.
If you want to know how commissioned officers feel about being in the military, forget it. They are bound by oath and penalty of being passed over for promotion if they say anything untoward about the war or the Commander in Chief.
Many civilians who don't have any connection to the military assume in error that they are all a bunch of right wing Republicans. That's probably due to the V.F.W. and the American Legion. In fact, you will find among the enlisted non-coms, a seething resentment toward Republicans in general and Bush in particular. Only they are cautious when speaking out.
Republicans and idiots like Rush Limbaugh don't want to admit that there are thousands of registered Democrats serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Non-commissioned enlisted men and women are constantly having to tighten their financial belts and endure all kinds of extra hardships, including the damned "Stop Loss" program. Uber Gruppen Fuhrer Von Rumsfeld is the most hated man in the chain of command.
Our troops are getting screwed. They are screwed when they go over. They are screwed when they come back. They are really screwed by the Republicans in Congress who vote to cut VA hospital funding as they create as many as 200 to 300 permanent cripples every month.
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One Desertion Deserves Another
Since the republikan's "leader", Mr. Mission Accomplished himself, was a deserter, what could be more poetic justice than having the military votes desert his party. They stiff veterans, and they're killing about three soldiers a day with no end in sight. This Vietnam era vet won't vote for a republikan until they reanimate Lincoln.
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whatever
I work with a lot of Air Force people. At the risk of sounding like an ass....Air Force personnel are not the ones most likely to die in Iraq. By and large, they are still ardent supporters of all things Bush and "war on terra." Only when it is YOU who might die are you going to change your mind.
I am a cynic, a sore loser (Gore won in 2000) and a pessimist, and I don't think that the people who are actually going to vote or have their votes counted will turn against the GOP. Whenever I hear my co-workers bitch about this or that (funding for their pay, etc.) the anger is still focused on the Democrats and Bill Clinton(?) for cutting their pay or weapons funding and whatnot. My unspoken thought is "you voted for this, so you suck it up."
Let us not forget that GWB got 90% of the military vote in 2004. You wanted the war, you supported the war, so you die in the war.
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Wonder how secret these military ballots are?
Per the prior comment, this has always concerned me. Knowing someone in Iraq, a
year ago was rah-rah Bush, is not now. Yet, there is this visual distaste for him to actually SAY it. Seems like shame (on himself) for being "fooled" or changing his mind while in non-military company, but I wonder how deeply this feeling runs in active combat, while he's there.I would imagine that people might be bold stateside with their anti-GOP views, but when you're back in? I dont know.
Which leads me to this question. How secret are those active military ballots, I wonder. I have never read a story
about the "chain of custody" re the ballots. Does the person vote and seal it secretly while alone? Or does the formality
break down and it's done in a group setting? I would be curious. I can see the potential for trouble in a nonformal setting.
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military voters
As a Democrat and an enlisted Army NCO, I have a few observations to make. One, soldiers are Republicans. It's sad, but true. I wish it wasn't this way, but it is. In my branch, public affairs, the majority I have met are Democrats -- but, we tend to hail from the coasts, usually have college educations, and have superior reading, writing and speaking skills. (It's required to get into the job field.) When I go out to cover a story on infantry guys or tankers or artillery men or whatever, it breaks my heart. I talk to a lot of good people who are doing America's dirtiest work and getting so-so benefits in return who just don't and won't vote their interests. Yes, they're pissed off about this neverending war -- many of them have done three tours in Iraq and counting. I'm working on my first one right now and am already fed up. But they don't understand the Bush administration is actually cutting their benefits. If I tell them the pay raise Gore recommended for military members in 2000 was higher than Bush's, they laugh. And, yes, they may get fed up with Republicans, but they just aren't going to vote Democrat, period. In soldiers' parlance, they aren't fags. That said, the fact that the Democrats are competitive in Virginia Beach and Colorado Springs is stunning. I've lived in both places recently (Virginia Beach 2000 to 2003 and Colorado Springs 2003 to 2005) and it's hard to find more Republican areas outside of Texas. If this article is correct, and I have my doubts that it is, but if it is, all I can say is thank Allah. It looks like we're finally going to get to feast on elephant this year.