Anger Understandable but Cool Headed Thinking Needed
There’s a lot of understandable anger being expressed here at TAH and other military blogs about the treachery being enacted in Congress against the military community. Believe me, I agree that, once again, America has betrayed its military and the anger is righteous and expected. But as an old soldier in his seventies, I can assure you it’s nothing new. What concerns me, reading the comments here at TAH is the attitude by some of you who say the Republicans are equally responsible; yes, you are correct to a point insomuch as those Republicans we refer to as RINO’s are the ones who sided with the Democrats to stick it to you. But you should keep in mind that it was the most conservative Republicans in the House and Senate who opposed this move.
I would only caution that those of you who see no difference between the two parties don’t throw out the baby with the bath water by deciding not to vote for Republicans in the future. Just make sure you vote for CONSERVATIVE Republicans. For those of you claiming political equivalence between Democrats and Republicans, I say, “Fine, vote for conservative Democrats if you can find any of that species which for all practical purposes is damned near extinct. And even if a Democrat is personally conservative, he’ll vote with the rest of the donkey herd because of peer pressure and party support at election time.
As for the sentiment expressed by one commenter about not voting at all, not ever, that’s like throwing away all your weapons in a firefight, troop. It’s a sure way to help your side get overrun in the present battle and to insure your side never wins the war. If nothing else, your voting cancels out at least one vote cast by some low-information scumbag who’s definitely going to vote every chance he gets to make sure the political whores he votes for keep handing out the goodies and screwing the warriors out of what they’ve rightfully earned through blood and sacrifice. It’s a fact Jack that the best weapon you have in this fight is your vote so you should use it effectively as you would your primary weapon in battle: quit re-electing RINO’s because of their seniority and their ability to deliver pork. More importantly, get yourself and other military friends more actively involved in electing the right kind of politicians, conservatives with military backgrounds, the more service time the better.
I know I can’t possibly be as angry as those of you who, along with your families, will directly suffer financially for this traitorous legislation. But I do have family actively serving who are career, with four deployments and another approaching, so I am understandably angry and intend to do my best to help get rid of the remaining Democrat senator in my state. That will be one less liberal Democrat in the Senate so it’s a step forward on the long march.
Better yet, my guy is ex-infantry with two combat tours.
Category: Veterans in politics
The Republicans are a bunch of blithering idiots; they’re known as The Stupid Party for a reason. On the other hand, the demonrats are pure unadulterated evil; I will never ever vote for evil…
I am not mad or surprised by our political “leadership”. Why would you expect gutless weasels to become lions when it comes time to do the right thing. What raises my blood pressure is that they did this in order to preserve benefits for people who do not reside here legally.
Actually, this is a perfect representation of how this administration cares for it’s citizens. Those of tried and true allegiance are kicked to the curb, while those who are here for a free ride are taken care of at the expense of patriots.
“But you should keep in mind that it was the most conservative Republicans in the House and Senate who opposed this move.” The high point of the article, Poetrooper. We should keep that in mind in November.
I did tell my rep that I will, more than likely, not voting for either candidate in that race in November, if he doesn’t try to make this atrocity right. I have no problem letting him sink on this.
@#3, should have read, ” not vote for either candidate”. My bad, fat fingers, fat head.
Political parties should be outlawed. Period.
@2: My thoughts are along similar lines. I’m not mad nor am I surprised. I have just come to expect this from Congress.
I am fighting to get liberals removed from my state delegation to DC, but it’s a lot like trying to put toothpaste back in the tube or herding cats….
I keep after it, and I keep hoping to see some changes…on the national stage I will see who is presented and vote accordingly. Too many conservatives with decent financial plans get bogged down in religious dogma and fail to interest an increasingly secular electorate making those candidates almost unelectable. A military population of less than 1% of the electorate isn’t going to sway too many elections so finding someone who can win a general election while carrying a fiscally conservative plan to the nation requires some careful planning and foresight.
I posted this on another thread as well.
“If it were up to me, were I the Emperor of things, only legal, taxpaying citizens would be allowed to vote. All illegals…no. All welfare bums…no. All people receiving any entitlements…no. Plain and simple. I would have included only landowners but I know there are a lot of hard working, taxpaying, renters out there trying to eek out a living on minimum wage. I know my view would have the Democrats fainting at the thought and changing sides of the aisle because the ones keeping them in office would be out of the equation.” It would have a lot of Republicans crapping their pants as well.
I am a little mixed up here on the intent of the post here.
I will say that Conservative Republicans are screwing Vets more than their Democratic counterparts here in my state.
Sad, but true.
I will leave it at that.
I only mentioned establishment republicans, because they really don’t sound any different than the democrats, especially those who chastise members of their own party for trying to be responsible (McCain comes to mind). Their whole idea is to “go along to get along”, yet we’re stuck holding the check, as always. So, look at who votes for this steaming pile of shit and then tell them “fuck you very much”.
@8
I’m with you on the illegals, they are criminals by definition.
The rest is a little harder to implement my friend….by entitlements I suspect you don’t mean tax breaks your are entitled to from the government for certain behaviors, like mortgage interest breaks or deductions for reproducing or deductions for medical benefits or deductions for engaging in income strategies that provide capital gains or for attending college….
I’ve exercised my right NOT to vote for years now. I am happy with my choice. I have that right, and I don’t judge those that do or don’t. The “You don’t vote so you don’t have a right to complain” doesn’t make sense to me. Those that do vote are complaining all the time anyway, and I’m not a whiner. I’ve been lied to enough, and lead down the path of slippery slopes too many times. They can have at it. Life is too short.
At this point in time the entire US government is a danger to every citizen no matter which party.
There is after all no difference between the three parties, power mad and incompetent as hell.
Every politician is speaking with a forked tongue and two faces.
Buncha floggin’ clowns the lot of them.
I would not fight for any of them.
Absent our ability to throw every one of those critters out of office today, I agree that TRUE conservatives are to be supported. Many citizens are learning of late that there is not a dime’s worth of difference between members of one party and the other in DC. I cannot argue with them. What is the essential difference bewteen John Bonehead calling me and mine all the names in the book and giving The Emperor what he wants and, say, Nancy Pelosi doing the same thing? Yeah, I know, Bonehead looks better in a dress. Aside from that, there is no difference.
You are absolutely right. I continue to vote for the Republican that is running even though they usually stink like a mule’s a$$ based on their actions in office.
I am chagrined that it was Paul Ryan that put this mess together, but being on the front lines in Wisconsin I know that it was really the only way they could get any kind of a deal through. Many conservative Repubes tried to get it taken out about the military cuts and I am certain that they will do something to fix that one part of the bill.
The Republican party is a leaderless party that is flailing around like a ship without a rudder. For that, I fault the voters who for so many years kept voting the RINO’s back in because they liked the pork they brought home to their states.
It is truly time to get involved at the local level and steer this country and the Republican party back to the vision that it should be holding of limited government and limited regulation and taxation of the US.
Good post, thanks.
I am quite pissed …
I wish Ronnie was here!
1966: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LE3sNY-niiA
Compilation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O968FMrcOuY
Reagan on Carson 1975: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDHoSl_PFTI
@11 VOV no, I did not mean the ones you mentioned. I meant federal and state hand out entitlements (Wrong term I think because no one is “entitled” to any of them) like Section 8 housing, welfare and the like. There are a lot of programs, such as those you mentioned which are legal ways of protecting our income through legal deductions and income saving strategies which I do not consider “entitlements”. Though we are entitled to use them.
Better still I propose a weighted voting system. Everyone gets one vote as now. If you prove you are a legal citizen, it counts as an additional vote. If you prove you file federal and/or state income taxes as they are now with any and all allowed deductions, it counts as an additional vote. So, a legal citizen who files taxes has a vote that counts as 3.
Just my humble opinion. I am tired of illegals and those on welfare being able to have the same volume of voice in an election as me.
The Senate just passed it. From WAPO:
The Republican senators who joined with Democrats were Saxby Chambliss (Ga.), Susan Collins (Maine), Orrin G. Hatch (Utah), John Hoeven (N.D.), Johnny Isakson (Ga.), Ronald Johnson (Wis.), John McCain (Ariz.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Rob Portman (Ohio).
Can someone direct me to where I can see how my reps voted on this?
Disregard, I found it
Though it should not surprise me I am disgusted that John McCain, as a veteran, joined the Dems on this. He is an embarrassment to his military service, his state, this nation and a big poke in the eye to every veteran he would try to call “brother”.
This deal blows. I will advocate and lobby and call my Congressman and Senators. BUT, it is shortsighted and foolish to assign this to one party or the other. Right now, we are ammunition in a war of ideas. Convenient, cheap, and expendable. Sound familiar? There is good in the overall deal to keep from having another shutdown and at least build some stability into the system over the next 24 months or so. Never let the “perfect” get in the way of the “good”. That’s part of the reason we are in the mess we are in. Too many people ON BOTH SIDES do just that. There will be an examination of this issue by many of these legislators on both sides of the aisle next year. We have some time to walk this back and I believe that if we are calm, organized and efficient, we can.
@ #22. You said what I wanted to.
@17 MCPO I could not agree more and thank you for the links. I would give a whole lot to have Ronald Reagan in the Oval Office. The shitbag sitting in the chair now is a disgrace to the Office of the President, to our nation and himself. He is the most self serving, self absorbed individual ever to hold the office. A man who I believe actually dislikes America, what we stand for and where we came from. He is joined by many legislators. I sadly some from my own Republican party.
You should be a tax paying veteran before you can vote. Period. You have a vested interest in where your money is going, and you have proven you put the needs of others above your own. And, no I am not a veteran, but respect like hell
Well, since part of this post is directed at me (I think), I feel obligated to explain myself a little more. I don’t begrudge anyone’s decision to vote, not vote, get involved, stay on the sidelines, whatever. I just feel that, for me, its a waste of time. I know the Dems cheat like crazy, while the Republicans would probably cheat if they could get away with it and there seems to be no viable alternative for those two groups. If voting makes someone feel like they are fighting back, more power to them, I won’t criticize anyone for exercising their rights as a citizen. It just feels wrong for me, for a bunch of reasons. These days, I feel like a stranger in my own nation. I also think that something really bad is coming down the road for this country and only after we go through whatever it is will we get back on the right track. When its time to pick up the pieces and put America back together, I’ll be ready for action. But until we’ve had our wake-up call, I feel that going through this charade of voting for congresscritters, senators and presidents who don’t give a fuck about anything but personal power and self-enrichment is just an exercise in frustration. Hell, I used to admire the hell out of Jim Webb, back when he was Reagan’s SECNAV and writing books. Now? I wouldn’t piss on him if he was on fire. He became totally corrupt, like every other jackass in D.C. Same thing happened to Randy “Duke” Cunningham, the last Ace this country ever produced. Look at what John McCain turned into, after all he went through in SE Asia. Sadly, being a combat-proven patriot seems to offer very little protection from the corrosive environment in D.C. So, are there any politicians I trust? Not really, I’m too suspicious of the whole system. Alan West seems like a stand-up guy, but I thought that about Webb, back in the day. I did come close to voting in 2008 and even contemplated sending some money… Read more »
I’m not angry. But I AM cynical.
Politicals positions = power. Power is addictive, just as addictive as any controlled substance from a drug dealer. The only way to get the power-addicted off the hog trough is to vote them out of office. If you don’t vote, you’re doing your own Constitution a disservice.
Chill, At Ease, take five, if you’ve got em, smoke em. I was as equally pissed at a couple of my Republican Congressmen until I heard Tim Griffin (Army Reserve LTC JAG and a personal friend since 98′) on the radio today explaining his vote. He is a level-headed conservative and explained why the yes vote was necessary. I didn’t take notes but the short version is the cola reduction does not kick in immediately, will be revisited in two years (when hopefully we either have a Republican President or a majority in both the House and Senate) and was necessary to stop something worse from coming down the track. It ALSO compared to a civil service retirement change. I will obtain the facts from Congressman Griffin for my MOAA Arkansas January newsletter and pass them to Jonn. Or, Jonn can call his office, use my name (i.e., Stu from Arkansas) and publish the facts here. I hate what happened because it screws two of my kids, but if Tim Griffin thought it was the only way to go, I have to accept it. Let us have all of the facts before falling in the firing squad.
@22 McCain is the new Murtha… Dirtbag
There are choices: Tom Cotton (LTC) in Arkansas (Senate), Jim Carr in Tennessee (Senate), and Mark Bircher in FL (USMC BG).
Remember who “compromised” and who wanted to cut deeper, but don’t vote for a replacement that will only make it worse.
This is the last straw in the burden that broke the camels back. I will see the Republican Party in Hell first, before I ever vote for a Republican again. I don’t care if the candidate is a conservative or not, anyone who would associate with the Party of Utter Stupidity will never get my vote. I now loath the R’s as much as I do the D’s.
@18 Sparks, and I’d suggest an additional vote for those who served honorably in a military service.
So long as the media controls the news feeds regarding candidates — or thinks it does, anyway — the candidates will be limited to media darlings. And the media is composed of a large number of people whose brains are in their crotches.
People vote with their gonads. It’s crude. But it’s true. And I’m being polite when I say that.
There are four parties in our Congress. Republicans (to include RINO’s), Conservitives (to include TEA party), Democrats, and Liberals. The Conservitives I believe are the lesser of two evils once they rid themselves of the RINO’s
Thunderstixx is correct. Put this on the back of paul ryan who wrote the bill then left town. It then went to the senate and jeff session tried in vain to strip this out and replace it with not giving illegal aliens tax credits. However if any changes would have been made it would have been sent back to the house but they had already left dc. Paul ryan and any Republican and every democrat which was every single one in the senate is to blame.
These are shameless disgusting people. What goes around comes around.
You know mid-term elections are coming up. If you’d have the patience to deal with that first, things may change a lot more than you are anticipating, and for the better.
For Pete’s sake, stop assuming everything is going to hell in a handbasket, ’cause it isn’t.
@29. Chill? Griffin is a conservative? The Griffin who was Karl Rove’s aide? That Griffin? The Griffin who was the RNC’s research director for McCain’s presidential bid? That Griffin? The Griffin who sponsored legislation to give Obama the legislative authority to do what obama did unilaterally, and illegally, by fiat? That Griffin? The Griffin who voted to screw retired military by saying, ‘Well, gee, we can undo it later.’ That Griffin? Give me a freakin’ break. He’s one of the weasels.
@29: I understand that there are times when a compromise is the way to go, but to sell it like your buddy did, without addressing the illegals getting to keep their funding intact speaks loudly. THAT is what needs to be addressed and why many of us are as angry as we are.
I can guaran-damn-tee you that none of those sniveling bastards will actually answer that question, let alone acknowledge that someone is asking them that question. They are very good at ignoring their constituents when it comes to answering the hard questions.
Fuck ’em all in the ass with a cactus.
I’m not surprised Lisa Murkowski voted for this. I vote against her every chance I get.
It is discussions like this that remind me of why I’m an Independent, and happy to have refused swearing a loyalty to any party, and hence able to vote for the best candidate, rather than the letter behind their name.
That trust has indeed been betrayed, but just as it is wrong of civilians to fear all Veterans are stricken with PTSD, it is wrong to assume that all with a given letter behind their name will vote with one mind.
And if those here find it reproachable that “their party” sold them out, the answer is not to swear off ever voting for someone with that party again, but to run to replace their politician, or find someone else that will, regardless of the letter behind the name. Take back BOTH parties, not just the one that compromised with the snake.
Further, fear of that massive campaign warchest is unwarranted in today’s reality. A good social media campaign is cheap in comparison, and can overcome the largest warchest, as on election day, it is votes, not money that determines the results. Campaign dollars are ONLY the means to get the message out on TV/etc, in hopes of getting the votes. YouTube is a far more effective means of getting that message out, IF campaigns will use it.
I like this post much better than yesterday’s.
Ironically, I feel the same way about the Democratic party. I’ll never conceal that I’m a registered Democrat to the fine people who haunt the comment section here. But I’m one that looked to Milton Shapp (late governor of PA, a Democrat that did wonders for transparency and introduced (gasp!) our flat tax) as a political hero. Or Bob Casey, Sr. These guys would never be allowed to be Democrats with a national profile today. They had integrity and courage to back conviction.
I’m increasingly despondent within the Democratic Party. You guys rightly criticize Paul Ryan. Nobody from the Democratic side is criticizing Murray. Every promise this administration made to veterans has been rendered false. We still don’t have an honest accounting over Benghazi, and even I, who once supported ACA, have had my mind changed in part by writers on this blog, and the experience working with the federal exchange with one of my clients who is an insurance broker. The administration, to the day, is still lying about the repair of healthcare.gov.
I want my party, instead of rallying around Obama, to start helping Republicans make him a lame duck. He is quite simply the most ineffective leader we’ve had in office since Carter, and at least Carter had the good sense to lose a 2nd term.
I’m, frankly, exhausted with the binary definition of American politics. I stake my positions on either what I derive from Torah, research, and experience. Representative Joe Pitts will get my vote for the fourth time in 2014, and he’s as conservative as they come. When I wrote him about the Jewish War Veterans being asked to send our DD214s to the national headquarters to satisfy the IRS, he immediately jumped on that. I know he doesn’t support this budget compromise, either. I may not have liked his vote on VASA and stuff, but people need to vote on the merits of whether a candidate represents what is individually important to them instead of a party platform.
Thanks for these engaging posts.
I agree with the first part of your post (41) there TN, but I have to disagree with the second part.
The hype surrounding ‘social media’ is still mostly that, hype. I believe the number of ‘real voters’ you are able to reach via popular social media is actually pretty limited.
Right here at work, in an office full of 30yr old to 50yr old professionals, we have maybe 3 people who pay any attention to popular social media, and a number of people who have computers in their homes for their children who don’t actually use it themselves. In my own home, a household of 5 with two adults and two older teens, we have a grand total of only one ‘smart phone’ and 3 old school flip phones. I have friends who don’t have a cell phone at all.
I believe the so called saturation of the new tech is mostly a myth perpetuated by the industry as a marketing model. I also believe that people are right to fear the ‘war chest’ since all evidence still points to money having the heaviest influence of any single factor in an average campaign.
TV and radio are STILL the most effective way to get a message out to the masses.
“I have friends who don’t have a cell phone at all.”
I didn’t have a cell phone at all until I became a Platoon Sergeant. My wife got sick of all the calls going to the house phone so when I unwrapped one of my Christmas presents I found a brand new cell phone with my alert roster already programmed in it.
@44 Twist
LOL! SOP change directive from HH6, indeed. 😉
I’m for a “You first” policy. We will discuss reducing military retirement once Congress reduces Congressional retirement in an equal amount.