Dear Democrats, the Republicans are handing us the Military

[Baked Potato]

on a silver platter, through their insulting rhetoric and blunders. Take the Military and Patriotism, embrace it, and keep it forever. Republicans are showing themselves as traitorous, money hungry scum balls who besmirch even the most courageous and honorable public servants, in uniform and out.

A sea change is possible with this important group of Americans. Pound the corrupt turncoats hard. Expose their phony patriotism for what it is.

To those in uniform... You are loved and respected and appreciated!

[MineralMan]

1. Some in the military are standing up and doing their duty.

They should be saluted for it, not maligned.

[Baked Potato]

2. Yes! It's gonna take some work and time

But we got this!

[Baitball Blogger]

3. This is more important than anyone realizes.

I for one, look forward to supporting those military men and women who understand integrity and honesty, and the principles they're fighting for. When you add all the civilian civil servants that live by the same principles, our country will always be undefeatable, both from domestic and foreign threats.

[Baked Potato]

21. Yes, Trump is hanging them out

And we can give them a home.

[stopdiggin]

22. 1000%

and could we maybe hope .. a new crop of really appealing (and compelling) D candidates for office?

[lpbk2713]

4. They have always wanted to look like flag wavers and Bible beaters.

But Trump has unwittingly exposed them for the greedy thieving opportunists they are.

[Scalded Nun]

5. Speaking as a vet this would be nice, but

I sure didn't see much of a change when they trashed John Kerry and his service.

Why anyone in uniform (or any woman, POC or other true American) would support this treasonous, racist, misogynistic asshole is just beyond me.

[ooky]

7. I think most people in uniform or who have worn it would throw up

over the way he cut and run on the Kurds. That should brand him as a coward.

[Baked Potato]

13. The Military depends on Americans

Delivering them a Commander in Chief to respect and revere. When Trump came along it put those feelings on hold and it becomes simply one’s duty to serve and obey.

[Grins]

31. Or looked the other way..

When another “fortunate son” managed to get into an already full Texas Air Guard unit (aka the “Champagne Squadron”) make 2LT A WEEK later, get accepted into flight training after landing in the bottom 25th percentile of his class - and then went AWOL!

[UTUSN]

44. Also, but will the military go along with being handed?

[tinrobot]

6. More Iraq veterans run as Democrats these days.

The tide is already turning.

[Tertullian]

8. Still much work to be done.

The senior levels of the officer corps of all of the US military forces must be composed of the proper political persuasion. The effort to make this happen continues, but, will take time. Trump is retarding this process, for sure, but not much.

Once the senior officer corps of the military and all other intell and law enforcement agencies of the US Govt are of the proper political persuasion, real and concrete steps can then be taken towards progress.

[Baked Potato]

20. The Republican leadership is committing suicide

Following the buffoon to the end. Senior Officers tend to be conservative, but Trump is bypassing them and using his shadow Government. That pisses them off, but to remain apolitical they are tight lipped. They rely on Republican leadership to back them, but they aren’t. That’s where the tide can turn.

[calimary]

42. Good! I look forward to it!

And yes definitely we need to exploit this. WE’RE the ones who appreciate their sacrifice and their love of country. Democrats don’t tend to view our fighting forces as mere pawns - dispensable, disposable tools to use and then discard.

I just can never seem to avoid one particular thought every time I see one of our soldiers, alive, wounded, or in a flag-draped coffin: that person had a mother.

[Baked Potato]

49. Well put!

President Obama and Michelle did a lot for the Troops. The military seemed pretty darned happy with Democratic leadership. Republicans don’t have a lock on the military vote.

[calimary]

50. I think there's an additional reason why they were happy.

During bush/Cheney’s wrong-headed Iraq War-of-Choice, the decision was made NOT to show anything regarding the war dead. No photos. No coverage of the REAL cost of war that come wrapped in a flag-draped coffin with sorrowful women and children following behind. Oh no. Those images were baaaaaaaaad. Don’t want people to see. They might not want to support the war! And we can’t have that because we’ve gotta grab the oil - and beat Saddam (“9/11! 9/11!”!) who, btw, had nothing to do with 9/11. But we need the “Rah! Rah! Rah!” for the damn war!

So somebody there (wouldn’t surprise me if it was cheney himself) gave the order that no photography was allowed. No coverage of soldiers’ burials at Arlington National Cemetery. No shots of coffins loaded onto transport planes. No nothing that would remind the public of the blood, death, dismemberment, widowhood, any of that. After all, we can’t have the public turning against the war!!! Remember how all the coverage of Vietnam sunk public opinion? And ruined LBJ? Nope! Can’t have that! Can’t go there!

I remember stories of news people getting fired because they dared to show photos of a funeral, the flag-draped coffin, the grieving widow, the fatherless children (usually small children). One woman photographer almost had her head handed to her, risked her career, to get a shot of some dozen or so coffins just loaded into the back of the plane. She caught hell for it and almost lost her job. This happened at newspapers big and small, as well as the big networks.

By contrast...
One of the earliest acts of the then-new President Obama went to Dover Air Force Base to meet the coffins of the dead when they arrived from overseas. In the middle of the night. Then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accompanied him, dressed in black. Remember the two of them standing together hand-in-hand near the open back end of the transport plane, where the ramp had been set up to carry soldiers’ coffins one-by-one gently down to the tarmac? And there was coverage of those solemn moment when their Commander-in-Chief personally acknowledged their sacrifice by BEING RIGHT THERE TO MEET THEM WHEN THEY FINALLY WERE BROUGHT HOME FOR THE LAST TIME. All the cameras were there. And it got coverage alright. Lots of it. Live coverage.

President Barack Obama wasn’t afraid to have America see this, as bush/cheney were. It wasn’t kept a secret. And it shouldn’t have EVER been kept a secret. Not EVER.

I’ll always love and respect him for that. And another reason why I'll always love Hillary, too.

[Baked Potato]

51. Yes, I remember those days well

The Repubs thought they were going to be all clever with Vietnam “lessons learned” and not show the deceased soldiers. Another phony move on their part. They thought they would have glory days with Iraq, and of course it was a disaster. The Democrats showed compassion and respect that was not forgotten.

There will always be a portion of the upper echelons of the military who will be hawkish. Our job is to pressure them and tamp down unjust wars. We should fund base housing projects, base daycare centers, upgrade morale programs and the like. The MIC will want their money and there is compromise there. The stupid Republicans are the ones who forced Sequestration during President Obama’s tour and caused severe cuts in the military budgets.

Thank you for your thoughts.

[patphil]

9. That's the trouble with Trump.

He doesn't know how to increase his base, but he sure knows how increase his opposition.

[Baked Potato]

18. He's incapable of showing "need" of anything

Right on !

[mopinko]

10. yup.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100212626497

[Baked Potato]

17. Thank you for that

Good!

[Tennessee Hillbilly]

11. Draft-Dodger Trump ...

Draft-Dodger Trump likes big military parades.

He said he wants to greatly strengthen the U.S military, but then he stole money from the defense budget to use for building the wall.

[Baked Potato]

16. His rally crowds are more important

Than military families living in crappy base housing ran by outsourced companies who bid the lowest for the job.

[Johnny2X2X]

12. I don't buy it

Trump gave huge tax cuts to disabled vets. They love him.

[Baked Potato]

15. Disabled Veterans don't pay taxes on disability pay

I haven’t met many rich Vets who would benefit from his tax cuts. They may love out of ignorance of world affairs. This is changing too, as the red hats are few and far between at the VA hospitals lately.

[Johnny2X2X]

19. They used to on their settlement

He retroactively cut this to zero. Best buddy here at work got $30K extra back on his taxes last year because of it.

[RainCaster]

23. $30K back???

In my community, we have no vets who even pay a total of $30,000 in taxes per year. That includes two base commanders.

Count me as skeptical.

[Johnny2X2X]

25. Hurt his back

Hurt his back in the Air Force, was an officer, got a settlement and then full retirement. Paid taxes on his settlement and got all of them back.

[blue-wave]

14. Oh Yeah! +1000

"Pound the corrupt turncoats hard. Expose their phony patriotism for what it is."

Thank you to all who serve our country.

[OliverQ]

24. I will never understand why so many military veterans

support the Republican party. Republicans hate them. Republicans are betraying everything they're risking their lives for.

[LeftTurn3623]

26. I do not understand why the Democrats do not start releasing ads

strike while the iron is hot

[Baked Potato]

29. Exactly!

Democrats need to capitalize on events as they unfold. There is an opportunity now, no time to be meek.

[H2O Man]

27. True.

Recommended.

[Pluvious]

28. But I thought the Scrotal Tumor tweeted that

All the military, bikers, and something something all backed him ?!!

[Baked Potato]

30. He's dreaming...

He thinks Melanie admires him too.

[CanonRay]

32. +1000

Wish I could rec more than once

[Trueblue Texan]

33. We started losing them when Trump took office.

One of the saddest things I've ever seen was an emotional display of a military widow who's deceased husband had served in numerous conflicts around the world, a career military man. When she saw what was happening at the border with the babies being torn from the arms of their parents she choked back her tears and said, "We used to be the good ones. But not anymore. We're not the good ones anymore." Most of her adult life she had taken pride in being a military wife and supporting the mission of the U.S around the world. But that day she hung her head in shame. It was heartbreaking.

[Baked Potato]

37. Trump sent the military to the border to involuntarily involve them

In his charade. Those troops didn’t want to be there. Thanks for your story. The pride will return.

[Skittles]

34. with all due respect to the military (I am a veteran)

if they were/still with Trump, they make me SICK

the man is a five-time deferred, pussy grabbing con man CHICKEN HAWK

[bdamomma]

35. K&R

nt

[Catch2.2]

36. This 1000%

The Dems for so long have been viewed as the anti military party. Taking advantage of this will be one step closer to losing that "Dems are spineless" image.

[TlalocW]

38. I think I heard that by their own internal polling, military support for Trump is at 45%

Which is... yuge.

Anyone else hear/read that?

TlalocW

[Baked Potato]

39. Check out this recent article concerning the top military brass and Trump

It’s a little lengthy, but enlightening.

Mark Bowden
The Atlantic
November 2019

“Having never served or been near a battlefield, several of the generals said, Trump exhibits a simplistic, badly outdated notion of soldiers as supremely “tough”—hard men asked to perform hard and sometimes ugly jobs. He also buys into a severely outdated concept of leadership. The generals, all of whom have led troops in combat, know better than most that war is hard and ugly, but their understanding of “toughness” goes well beyond the gruff stoicism of a John Wayne movie. Good judgment counts more than toughness.”

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/11/military-officers-trump/598360/

Times may be a’changing.

[riversedge]

52. Great article---deserves a OP of its own so I posted in Editorials. Thanks

[Baked Potato]

53. Thanks, good deal!

Very important.

[Lithos]

40. I do not think it's an exclusive thing

Rather, the Military will grow suspicious and be more adverse to allegiance.

[Baked Potato]

41. Trump's brand of sloppy, unconventional style causes suspicion in the ranks

The allegiance will always be grounded in regulation and the Constitution. Trump is causing social upheaval at many levels and that uneasiness naturally crosses over into the military. The balance will return with a new Commander in Chief.

[TrollBuster9090]

43. Handing us the Military...AS WELL AS...

--The Military
--The FBI
--The CIA
--Employees of the State Department
--Employees of the IRS (Ever since they started kicking the shit out of Lois Lerner, before Trump even took power)
--Immigrants
--Latinos
--Half the police departments (specifically, the half that have to deal with f-ing crooks and gang bangers that get their guns from straw man purchases in Georgia, Arizona and Texas.)
--Russia haters


Seriously, I can't believe what a bunch of sh--theads the Republicans are being about this. Trump is TOXIC to all of these groups. They have to decide whether to kick him off the ship, or GO DOWN WITH HIM. But they're too spineless to throw him off the ship, because he might make a mean tweet about them.

Also, I suppose they have reason to be afraid. They've spent 20 years turning their base into a rabid, homicidal mob. But, as YASSIR ARAFAT found out, once you BUILD a base like that, you can't just turn it off. Arafat's own PLO started turning on HIM when he tried to make a deal with Israel. Republicans are now finding this out. They've turned their base into a monster, and they can't turn the monster off.

But this is pretty impressive! Ever since I was a boy (hell of a long time ago), the GOP has WRAPPED THEMSELVES IN THE FLAG. The GOP used to claim (hypocritically) that they supported the Military (despite throwing them into war after war, and not paying their medical bills afterwards), law enforcement officials; and also claimed to be the only ones 'tough' enough to stand up to Russia. As false as it was, it took them a good 30 years to build the illusion that they supported all those groups; and their dogged support for Trump is costing them all of that in just four or five years!

[Baked Potato]

45. Hear Hear!

You put a nice big ribbon on what I was going for.

Thanks!

[Nitram]

46. "handing us the Military" I would live to believe you are right, but I think we should not

underestimate the number of military personnel who are hard core conservatives. Many will end up blaming Trump, not the party. There is a powerful culture in the military that is not easily changed. The intelligence services have on the whole been much less partisan than the military.

[Falcata]

47. I believe the military

swears an oath to the Constitution not political parties

[Baked Potato]

48. Yes, and they are people

and have the right to vote, and I would like to see the Democrats capture more of that vote.