Republican Hypocrisy on War and Serving in the Armed Forces
That never made much sense to me.....John Kerry is a legitimate, decorated officer of the Vietnam War and Al Gore, scion of a wealthy Tennessee family, voluntarily enlisted in the Army in 1969 at the height of the Vietnam War. George Bush, meanwhile, opted for a six-year tour in the National Guard...a tour that no one can prove he completed.
Look at what I found this morning at Mike Craig's blog, The Void that Binds....an attention-riveting list dubbed "Anyone See Any Hypocrisy Here?"
With this list, though, it all makes more sense to me: today's Republican leadership supports the directionless, deadly, bankrupting War in Iraq precisely because they don't understand the hellish nature of war, they've never experienced war and they have no intention of their children or grandchildren experiencing war. (That's why there's no military draft, despite the Army missing its 2005 recruiting quotas.)
Today's Republican leadership seems to support the Iraq War for personal ideology and corporate financial gain....but only as long as someone else fights that war, and it's fought in some distant land, faraway from their own homes. And they can still have their lucrative income tax breaks from the Bush goodie bag for the wealthiest Americans.
Yes, Mike, I do see hypocrisy in this list.....
Republicans --
* Dick Cheney: did not serve. Several deferments, the last by marriage.
* Dennis Hastert: did not serve.
* Tom Delay: did not serve.
* Bill Frist: did not serve.
* Mitch McConnell: did not serve.
* Rick Santorum: did not serve.
* Trent Lott: did not serve.
* John Ashcroft: did not serve. Seven deferments to teach business.
* Jeb Bush: did not serve.
* Karl Rove: did not serve.
* Saxby Chambliss: did not serve. "Bad knee." The man who attacked Max Cleland's patriotism.
* Paul Wolfowitz: did not serve.
* Richard Perle: did not serve.
* Douglas Feith: did not serve.
* Eliot Abrams: did not serve.
* Richard Shelby: did not serve.
* Jon Kyl: did not serve.
* Tim Hutchison: did not serve.
* Christopher Cox: did not serve.
* Newt Gingrich: did not serve.
* Don Rumsfeld: served in Navy (1954-57) as flight instructor.
* George W. Bush: failed to complete his six-year National Guard; got assigned to Alabama so he could campaign for family friend running for U.S. Senate; failed to show up for required medical exam, disappeared from duty.
* B-1 Bob Dornan: Consciously enlisted after fighting was over in Korea.
* Phil Gramm: did not serve.
* John McCain: Silver Star, Bronze Star, Legion of Merit, Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross.
* Dana Rohrabacher: did not serve.
* JC Watts: did not serve.
* Jack Kemp: did not serve. "Knee problem," although continued in NFL for 8 years.
* Dan Quayle: Journalism unit of the Indiana National Guard.
* Rudy Giuliani: did not serve.
* George Pataki: did not serve.
* Spencer Abraham: did not serve.
* Lindsey Graham: National Guard lawyer.
* Arnold Schwarzenegger: AWOL from Austrian army base.
* Ronald Reagan: due to poor eyesight, served in a non-combat role making movies.
Democrats:
* Richard Gephardt: Air National Guard, 1965-71.
* David Bonior: Staff Sgt., Air Force 1968-72.
* Tom Daschle: 1st Lt., Air Force SAC 1969-72.
* Al Gore: enlisted Aug. 1969; sent to Vietnam Jan. 1971 as an army journalist in 20th Engineer Brigade.
* Bob Kerrey: Lt. j.g. Navy 1966-69; Medal of Honor,Vietnam.
* Daniel Inouye: Army 1943-47; Medal of Honor, WWII.
* John Kerry: Lt., Navy 1966-70; Silver Star, Bronze Star with Combat V, Purple Hearts.
* Charles Rangel: Staff Sgt.,Army 1948-52; Bronze star,Korea.
* Max Cleland: Captain, Army 1965-68; Silver Star & Bronze Star, Vietnam.
* Ted Kennedy: Army, 1951-53.
* Tom Harkin: Lt., Navy, 1962-67; Naval Reserve,1968-74.
* Jack Reed: Army Ranger, 1971-1979; Captain, Army Reserve 1979-91.
* Fritz Hollings: Army officer in WWII; Bronze Star and seven campaign ribbons.
* Leonard Boswell: Lt. Col., Army 1956-76; Vietnam,DFCs, Bronze Stars, and Soldier's Medal.
* Pete Peterson: Air Force Captain, POW. Purple Heart,Silver Star and Legion of Merit.
* Mike Thompson: Staff sergeant, 173rd Airborne,Purple Heart.
* Gray Davis: Army Captain in Vietnam, Bronze Star.
* Pete Stark: Air Force 1955-57
* Chuck Robb: Vietnam
* Howell Heflin: Silver Star
* George McGovern: Silver Star & DFC during WWII.
* Bill Clinton: Did not serve. Student deferments. Entered draft but received #311.
* Jimmy Carter: Seven years in the Navy.
* Walter Mondale: Army 1951-1953
* John Glenn: WWII and Korea; six DFCs and Air Medal with 18 Clusters.
* Tom Lantos: Served in Hungarian underground in WWII.
------------------------------
Related articles -- Iraq & National Security Statistics, September 2005
Army Uses Aggressive Tactics to Recruit Teenagers
------------------------------
Technorati Profile
Comments
How about the ultimate “Chickenhawk/coward, right winger and has been guitarist Ted Nugent who admitted in the Detroit Free Press (July 15, 1990) to urinating and defecating in his pants for an entire week to avoid serving his country during the Vietnam War. He now earns “Blood Money” speaking around the country about the Constitution and the right to bear arms - hypocrisy at its finest.