Stuck in the middle with you
Nimnil extraordinaire, Justin Raimondo at Anti-War.com, who has been a flake for a very long time, linked to our Note To Paul Rieckhoff in his piece defending Jesse Thorsen. Raimondo claims that he’s a Libertarian, one of those Ron Paul Libertarians who touch the line with anarchists, so it’s natural that he’d defend Thorsen, because Thorsen supports Paul. But Raimondo, who was born four years before me and was certainly eligible for the draft during Vietnam, somehow avoided service according to his Wiki-bio.
Typically, for those who haven’t served, the Thorsen discussion is about freedom of speech, but it really shouldn’t be…it’s about the laws that govern behavior among members of the military. And it was against the laws that govern members of the military for Thorsen to take to the stage and endorse Ron Paul…it was against those laws for him to even be present at the rally in his uniform. But raimondo doesn’t see it that way;
Soldiers are allowed to “participate in some political activities” – as long as they are the right people participating in the right political activities. After all, in 1970 Al Gore campaigned in military uniform with his father, Albert Gore, Sr.; Richard Nixon campaigned in uniform, touting his status as “Lt. Commander Richard M. Nixon,” against Helen Gahagan Douglas;
Yeah, 50 years ago was like three generations of military regulations ago. I’m sure Raimondo would would crap himself if members of the military began publicly supporting Romney or Gingrich in their uniforms.
But Raimondo does criticize Paul Rieckhoff for his bit in the Huffington Post, so we find ourselves in agreement on that portion, but I want to make it absolutely clear that this blog, in no way, shape or form, supports Thorsen’s actions last week, no matter who drags us into the debate.
Category: Ron Paul
It’s precisely the APPEARANCE of support for one candidate/party over another which DoD has sought to avoid since I was but a little baby boot nearly 3 decades (oh God, I’m old) ago.
The military, at least in theory (ha!) is supposedly an apolitical organization. When the C-in-C gives us an order, we salute smartly, and say, “Yes, sir.” Then we do that job to the best of our abilities, regardless of who occupies the White House, or how badly they eventually fuck us over in the process or aftermath.
The only people who DON’T get the “no politicking in uniform” bit are those assholes so self-absorbed that they put themselves over the mission, and really aren’t exactly stellar performers in a military environment in the first place.
There’s nothing to worry about, historically things always work out when a country’s leader has the public appearance of military support with the threat to democracy that it implies. There’s a reason why Adolf and Benito dressed their supporters up in military styled uniforms.
Yeah, Bobo, but like Obama’s election…
… Adolf and Benito were expensive lessons.