Military Service

[mikoyan29]

Perusing some of the Facebook statuses, it seems that military service is important for a politician again. If that's the case, how can a guy like Saxby Chambliss get away with calling a guy like Max Clelland unpatriotic? After all, while Saxby Chambliss was going to law school, Max Clelland was out there serving our country. Or take Mr. "Other Priorities" Cheney. That didn't seem to bother the right wing goon squads either. Didn't bother them as they were tarring and feathering someone with Purple Hearts while worshipping someone that served in what amounted to a champagne unit. So color me confused.

[HYHYBT]

Democrats get maligned as war-cowards, anti-military, unpatriotic, etc. no matter what they've done. Republicans get a pass on such things very nearly no matter what they've done. Conclusion: it isn't the military service that's the issue.

OK, to be fair, that's not all of it. Part of it also is that some people are eager for war. If I remember right, Cleland was against the Iraq war, and Chambliss was for it. Cheney got us into war. People who see fighting as inherently virtuous are going to like that.

[crashhelmet]

I think the divide comes down to Democrats are typically looking to cut military spending, appraently showing a lack of support for the military and Republicans are typically looking to pay out their lobbyists and endorsers in the Defense Industry. Umm.... I mean show their support of the military and increase Military Funding.

[Tanasi]

I don't hold someone's military experience against them until they start interjecting themselves into the process beyond policy and rules of engagement. After those are established get out of way and let Uncle Sam's bad boys and girls get the job done in the most efficient method.
Basically it's "Don't you start the war and then criticize how I fight it for you, after all, you started it."
I've found that those that do the most whining know the least about the military and how it does things. Perhaps before whining one should try to find out why something was done in that manner in which it was done. What doesn't make sense to one person can be perfectly sense-able to another.