My Republican's Friends comment - Troops are Republican

Hi. One of my friends who is an avid republican/Rush Listener/Fox watcher made a comment today. I had sent her a link to anysoldier.com cause I was making some packages up, and I thought she might be interested. Anyhow, I mentioned it today cause we were talking about a kind of food - and I had a bunch of them left over and I was going to bring her a bag. She said - that she had a link she wanted to send me (she hadn't looked at the one I sent her) it was from Soldiers who told what the war was really like - not the news media.

I joked that I hadn't sent them boxes of Kerry stickers - and she said you know most of the troops are Republicans.

Anyhow, it's just a shame we can't have a non political discussion about sending the troops care packages. She is a good person, who I think has been brainwashed. Anyhow -do you really think that's true anymore, that most of the troops are Republicans? Sorry it took so long to get to my real questions.

For me it didn't matter - I just wanted to send something to them - cause they are overseas in in danger and probably missing home.

Meg

what facts? My guess is it's wishful thinking, a wild guess, or more swill from Rush or O'reily.

all liberals

except the wanna-be troops...you know the ones who talk about 'killin a-rabs', yet never seem to enlist.

my brother is in the navy, and most of his friends voted for kerry.

My grandfather was in the navy back around WWII. He didn't fight in WWII because his brothers did (and died at sea) so he didn't have to but he still served and he thought Bush was a moron and voted for John Kerry. I have no idea who my uncle voted for if anyone (he was in the navy too).

I think most of those are Democratic, right?

last I heard

Eight out of nine running for Congress who are Iraq veterans are running as democrats. The nineth one is an indie I've heard. My district is having a veteran from vietnam run as a democrat against our current congressman.

What happens when their commander in chief admits to violating the laws of the constitution?

...in this quagmire - one of them still over there. Both Dems.

NGU.

then I guess you can't feel sorry for them as they're getting what they voted for. A coffin to go home in. Too bad.

I can't remember which pollster did it, but it was part of an exit poll for the presidential election.
It's what you would expect. What liberal would join the army right now with Shrubbie in charge?

but now I suspect that number is down to about even.

and he's a soldier. Most of the soldiers I know aren't republicans. Even those that are, are not fans of Bush. Quite the opposite.

and they didn't disclose for which presidential candidate the troops voted.

If soldiers had overwhelmingly preferred the Chimp, they'd probably be shouting it from the rooftops.

I'm betting the military vote was largely for Kerry.

who knows?

it would be nice to have a poll to base the discussion on.

and it's disturbing, although they get censored truth when they are in the military. They are told what the Bush Admin's Pentagon wants them to know. They listen most notably to Republican talking heads on Armed Services Radio. They don't get a chance to hear about dissent at home without being told first about how it endangers them there. Their superiors make us out to be villians, some likely act as if we are traitors (like the Right Wingers do) and that we are somehow "terrorist sympathizers".

How can they have an opinion of their own when they are not allowed to speak against their President or superiors by military order?

Free speech and free thought does not exist there and thus one side of the story is all they are allowed to know.

OF COURSE they're Republican....

Now, if we take back Congress and the White House in 2006/2008 we need to change the atmosphere and information dissemination in our military ranks to provide balance.

We who speak of democracy and free will enforce it with soldiers who for the most part are not allowed to be a part of either.

Rp

is that the higher in command the more republican a solider is. Of course I'm not in the military so I don't know.

i thought everyone knew that....

most of them have families that, while they might be rightwing in the sopranos sense (mess with amerka, you mess with me) depend upon a good economy, they also like liberalism in that no one always watching them, like a good time, like to get paid decent money, like lotsa freedom and they like choices, hate rigid doctrinaire bs, hate hypocrisy, hate thieves and liars and bullies (everybody, i mean everybody, right left or libertarian, hates bullies) and many are in the military to 'defend' what's sacred, not to impose bs on some hapless 'enemy'...timothy mcveigh was almost the prototypical america enlistee: he wanted at first to make the army his life's work, but a whole buncha things, not the least the 1st gulf 'war' (mcveigh killed 2 iraqi soldiers who were too far away to fight back, he later counted it as cold blooded murder) ...it's interesting to note that the 'republican' tim mcveigh became friends with ted kaczinsky, the unibomber, who decribed a young fellow who realized that he'd been had (mcveigh said that it was rightwing hate radio/cnn fox etc who inspired his scheme to attack the murrah building, something the ratwing bastards never did get credited with)
so no, most soldiers in any army are not rightwing thugs, they're liberals and socialist more then anything (one reason the upper class twittery must ALWAYS, according to aristotle/plato etc be the officer corp of any military, because the troops will side with the downtrodden)

YMMV

all Democrat"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2318375

:shrug:

She wasn't in the military. She has alot of ideas that I just shake my head at like many more soldiers were killed in Vietnam (She lost her brother in Vietnam) but that somehow there being less killed in this war maked it ok. And that the Iraqi people want us there. She is lost in fantasy world about these things I think. There is just no reasoning with some people.

I try my best not to bring up politics at all with her, cause we just argue, and there is just no arguing with some people who just will not hear the truth. I figured the packages would be a safe subject, but apparently not.

I really was honestly wondering if what she said was true. I believe perhaps in the past it was - but I had a feeling that because of this war soldiers might be turning more liberal.

I was thinking again about how they are trying to get Liberal Radio on in Iraq. I made a point not to say anything against the war in any of my letters with the packages - cause I don't want to be forcing my beliefs on them - just wanting to send them something for the holidays, and I do think that was the right thing to do. I guess the difference though, if they get a radio station, they can always turn it off or choose not to listen.

Thanks for the responses.

Meg

Why are they all running as Democrats?

Well there is the problem - I don't want to ask her, because having a conversation with her about politics is just too maddening. I figured this package thing would be a safe topic, but apparently not. There is just no reasoning with her on this subject. All that comes out of her mouth are talking points.

We are ok on most other topics - but I just am no the type of person who likes to argue, so I stay away from it with Republicans I know.

Meg

Dec. 5, 2005 issue - A few days after last year's presidential election, Ladda (Tammy) Duckworth was piloting her helicopter north of Baghdad when she saw a ball of fire at her knees. A rocket-propelled grenade had struck her Black Hawk at its chin bubble, close to her seat. When she awoke 10 days later, at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, she found she had lost her legs, but none of her desire to serve. For the next year, as she recovered from her devastating injuries, she became one of the capital's favorite troops: an inspirational war story amid the grinding violence of Iraq. She was a senator's guest at the State of the Union and a witness before a congressional hearing on health care for war casualties. As Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson put it, she was simply "a true American hero."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10219754/site/newsweek/