What the Democrats really think of the troops

[Monadnock]

John Kerry, Democratic Presidential Nominee in 2004, had the following to say about our troops:

On Monday, Kerry belittled the educational level of US troops, when he said to the assembled students: "You know education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. And if you don't you get stuck in Iraq."

http://www.theconservativevoice.com/article/19822.html

We are so fortunate as to not have him as Commander in Chief. What a dirtbag.

 

[Andrew Green]

Personally, I get enough smear ads on TV thanks.

 

[michaeledward]

Must get nation to stop thinking about election!

Must get nation to stop thinking about election!

We are asking Americans to think about that because how do you ask a man to be the last man to die in Vietnam? How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?

 

[crushing]

John Kerry, Democratic Presidential Nominee in 2004, had the following to say about our troops:



http://www.theconservativevoice.com/article/19822.html

We are so fortunate as to not have him as Commander in Chief. What a dirtbag.[/quote]


Out of curiousity, do you really think anything would be very different?

Also, is Sen. Kerry's comment any less thoughful of the troops than doing stuff like slashing war related injury budgets?

http://www.vfw.org/resources/levelxmagazine/0610_Brain Injury Center Budget.pdf

http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-2044177.php

 

[Monadnock]

Out of curiousity, do you really think anything would be very different?

Yes.

Also, is Sen. Kerry's comment any less thoughful of the troops than doing stuff like slashing war related injury budgets?

http://www.vfw.org/resources/levelxmagazine/0610_Brain Injury Center Budget.pdf

http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-2044177.php

You are not helping his case.

 

[Blotan Hunka]

Yeah. Because we all know that its the ignorant, "rural", Christian, gun tottin', tobacco chewing, rodeo watching, red state Republican types that join the military.

 

[heretic888]

I don't suppose anybody has some statistical data to support an assertion one way or the other, do they??

 

[TonyMac]

Shame on you monadnock for pandering.

 

[Monadnock]

The article in that link was very short. My appologies if it was taken out of context. If someone can put it into a better context I am all ears/eyes.

No offense to the Dems on the board intended. Politics is just a silly game anyways. The Dirtbag opinion still stands though.

 

[michaeledward]

If I recall, Michael, the combination of the military raising the age eligibility for enlistment intersects nicely with your life. You seem to be a relitively educated guy. Maybe you could prove Senator Kerry wrong.

http://www.goarmy.com/ChatIndex.do?redirect=true

EDIT - P.S. If I recall, at 42 years of age, I am still too old. Oh, yeah, and I oppose this war. - END EDIT.

 

[michaeledward]

Senator Kerry's response.

"If anyone thinks a veteran would criticize the more than 140,000 heroes serving in Iraq and not the president who got us stuck there, they're crazy. This is the classic G.O.P. playbook. I'm sick and tired of these despicable Republican attacks that always seem to come from those who never can be found to serve in war, but love to attack those who did.

I'm not going to be lectured by a stuffed suit White House mouthpiece standing behind a podium, or doughy Rush Limbaugh, who no doubt today will take a break from belittling Michael J. Fox's Parkinson's disease to start lying about me just as they have lied about Iraq . It disgusts me that these Republican hacks, who have never worn the uniform of our country lie and distort so blatantly and carelessly about those who have.

The people who owe our troops an apology are George W. Bush and Dick Cheney who misled America into war and have given us a Katrina foreign policy that has betrayed our ideals, killed and maimed our soldiers, and widened the terrorist threat instead of defeating it. These Republicans are afraid to debate veterans who live and breathe the concerns of our troops, not the empty slogans of an Administration that sent our brave troops to war without body armor.

Bottom line, these Republicans want to debate straw men because they're afraid to debate real men. And this time it won't work because we're going to stay in their face with the truth and deny them even a sliver of light for their distortions. No Democrat will be bullied by an administration that has a cut and run policy in Afghanistan and a stand still and lose strategy in Iraq ."

 

[Flying Crane]

After reading only that little snippet, even taken out of context as it may be, I don't see that as the Senator belittling the intelligence or education of our troops. I think rather that he was criticizing the educational and millitary systems, and how they interact.

The message that I got from those couple of sentences, was that if you get a good education, then you have more choices available, while if you don't get a good education, you have fewer choices available. With fewer choices, you may not be able to get a good enough job to make a decent living. Joining the military becomes an option, because it's a way to put a roof over your head, food in your belly, and hopefully, experience that can translate into a better job in the Civilian world once you get out. But joining the military at this point in time, may well mean that you end up in Iraq. So if you want to have choices that don't include the military, I think he was saying that students need to study hard and get the best education they can.

Come on, folks. At least the senator showed up for his military service, served in a war zone, and was even wounded by enemy action. I don't think he is one to belittle the soldiers, tho he can see the problems with the military system and the war debocle.

How many serving in the current regime served? let me think...NONE! Well, Dubya did put on his uniform a few times, but couldn't manage to show up for the duration even tho his unit never went overseas. The others, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Co. managed to get deferals and such. None of them served at all. Chickenhawks, all of them.

 

[CoryKS]

Meh. This isn't as revealing as it seems. Anybody who has served knows about the stereotype about military intelligence. I've seen it from all sides, though it's usually younger, less mature people who actually voice it.

That's okay, though... the military has quite a few stereotypes about the silly-vilians too.

 

[Touch Of Death]

Barock OBama (spelling) pointed out in an interview today that there are a lot of histrionics in politics these days. This is one of those cases.:soapbox:
Sean

 

[michaeledward]

And it is better to be talking about histrionics, than the facts in Iraq. Where the Iraqi Prime Minister has demanded the the U.S. Military remove checkpoints from Sadr City.

A United States Service member apparently, against regulations, married an Iraqi girl. While visiting his wife and in-laws, he was kidnapped by what many believe is a representative of the Mahdi Army. That is Al Sadr's militia.

Al Sadr is a member of the Iraqi Government; part of the ruling coalition.

So, the United States military, under orders of the elected leader of Iraq, must withdraw and halt a search for what should be termed a P.O.W.



It is much better for this country to be challenging John Kerry's patriotism. Somebody might notice we've lost the war.

 

[Touch Of Death]

And it is better to be talking about histrionics, than the facts in Iraq. Where the Iraqi Prime Minister has demanded the the U.S. Military remove checkpoints from Sadr City.

A United States Service member apparently, against regulations, married an Iraqi girl. While visiting his wife and in-laws, he was kidnapped by what many believe is a representative of the Mahdi Army. That is Al Sadr's militia.

Al Sadr is a member of the Iraqi Government; part of the ruling coalition.

So, the United States military, under orders of the elected leader of Iraq, must withdraw and halt a search for what should be termed a P.O.W.



It is much better for this country to be challenging John Kerry's patriotism. Somebody might notice we've lost the war.

Amen.

 

[shesulsa]

The article in that link was very short. My appologies if it was taken out of context. If someone can put it into a better context I am all ears/eyes.

No offense to the Dems on the board intended. Politics is just a silly game anyways. The Dirtbag opinion still stands though.

Short? Uh ... yeah, it's short all right.

Am I the only one who, when clicking on the link, pulls up three sentences of what amounts to a person's opinion sans any actual quote from Kerry?

Does this remind anybody else here of the old game, 'Telephone'? TCV says Kerry said it, but I don't see the quote.

michaeledward, good find on Kerry's retort - one I happen to agree with. Why didn't he have that much passion when he was running???

 

[SFC JeffJ]

One thing, even if you take Kerry's original comment as an insult to the men and women serving in the military is look at the military he served in. It wasn't a well educated one. That's very different today.

I remember in my first platoon among the enlisted men, there were four members with bachelors degrees and another two with masters. That's not counting the NCOs and the LT.

Jeff

 

[TonyMac]

The only thing I want to hear from a bonesman dem or rep is I quit, I was wrong and I'm sorry.

 

[mrhnau]

I'd just love to see it if a Republican said something like that... how fast the tables would turn