The Ugliness

It is Halloween, but right now I'm focused on a different holiday, Veteran's Day.  Less than two weeks from today we'll take a day to recognize and support the troops, active duty and veteran, alive and deceased, as well as their families.  It is the least we can do, but for some Republicans, they'll salute the troops only as long as they don't run afoul of the Republican's political agenda.

I remember in 2004, when John Kerry was running for President.  Among the many things which dotted his resume was some extraordinary bravery while he served in the Navy.  In Vietnam, in 1969, Kerry led an attack on the enemy as he commanded a Swift Boat and pretty much single handedly took on an enemy position and won, getting injured along the way.  For his bravery, he was awarded a Silver Star.  This was one of the many brave things Kerry did while serving.

In total Rove-ian politics, his military record of bravery became a weapon to use against him.  The Republicans recruited so called "veterans" to challenge Kerry and the US Navy's description of what happened.  They called him a coward and a liar, striking deep at his military record.  Right wing media jumped in, accusing Kerry of being a traitor to the country.  Some even said he should be prosecuted for falsely attaining a medal they felt he hadn't earned.

After the 2004 election, the same Republicans who spit on Kerry put on their fake earnest faces and insisted they never once questioned his bravery and honor.  They insisted they only questioned Kerry's record because of the "veterans" who had baselessly attacked him; they ALL saluted his bravery.  An interview conducted with some of the "veterans" after the election called them out for not actually being a witness to what happened in 1969, or even serving with Kerry in his unit.  The closest any of these "veterans" had actually gotten to Kerry was one guy served in the motor pool and occasionally saw Kerry.  They all lied.  They insisted they were innocent, that the Republicans orchestrated the attack on Kerry.  One was upset because the local military organization he was part of had expelled him for purposely lying.  Boo freaking-Hoo.

As a Veteran myself, the Republicans and so called "veterans" who attacked John Kerry can burn in hell.  That was the last election I voted for anyone Republican.

We all remember Benghazi, and the 8 investigations into the tragic deaths of four people at a US diplomatic mission in 2012.  Even after the first two investigations found no wrong doing by President Obama and then Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, Republicans conducted SIX MORE, all screaming they still had questions.  After all of them, they STILL found NOTHING, but they were already planning on two more investigations (9 and 10) if Hillary Clinton had won in 2016.

This due diligence doesn't exist with Trump in the White House.  In 2017, four US soldiers were killed in an ambush in Niger.  Trump took 12 days to even acknowledge the sacrifice of the brave soldiers.  Trump then got wildly disrespectful to the mother of one of the dead, and when the details of that conversation came to light, the Republicans machine went to war with the soldier's mother.  [Paraphrasing] 'How dare she not take Trump's crap ass condolences as the greatest moment in her pathetic life.'

There were A LOT of unanswered questions revolving around the ambush in Niger, and what exactly was the Administration's culpability (they clearly were guilty on certain levels), but not one Republican who demanded 8 Benghazi investigations asked for ONE investigation in what happened in Niger.  It seems when brave Americans die due to bad policy and lackluster leadership from a Republican White House, then "the soldiers knew what they signed up for!"

The latest outrage from the Right toward our military comes in the form of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman.  The Lieutenant Colonel, the Director for European Affairs for the US National Security Council, was called to testify in the Impeachment probe of Trump.  He was actually listening in on the call between Trump and the Ukrainians and was concerned about Trump's demanding political dirt on the Biden's in exchange for already approved US aid.  Not only did he corroborate the stories of others, he exposed the Trump Administration had omitted crucial elements from the transcript they'd released.

The response from the right?  Numerous Republican mouth pieces, including former Deputy Assistant AG John Yoo, former Rep. Sean Duffy, right wing talk host Laura Ingraham and Trump offspring Donald Jr., attacked Vindman, without any proof, calling him a traitor, a spy more concerned about Ukraine over the United States.  The only "evidence" they had against a HIGHLY decorated 20+ year Army career was that Vindman was born in the Ukraine and moved to America when he was 3.   That's it!

By the next day, after being brutally savaged for their misguided attack, the people who had called him a traitor were trying to walk back their allegations, implying they'd never questioned his patriotism.  Of course they did.

The Republicans, the same people who used to bash people over the head bellowing "Support the Troops," do not care about the active duty military, veterans, military deceased and the family members of service members unless they agree with their political point of view.  That is NOT supporting the troops!

Veterans and active duty military, the Republicans only suck up to you so they can use you as a prop.

This Veteran's Day, Republicans are going to eagerly get in front of soldiers, insisting they support them.  Considering the decreased quality of services and the lack of quality care Veterans and their families receive under the Republican's leadership, and considering the Republican party will CLEARLY turn on the soldiers in a heartbeat, maybe it's time for the Veterans to say "thanks, but no thanks."