Tuesday - March 17, 2009

 A Politicized Military:  The Results are in

What do you get when the military becomes noticeably politcal?  Officially, the military is still strictly apolitical, but in the past 15 years the strict rule against expressing a political opinion has been generally ignored.  Today, officers often feel no need to refrain from discussing politics in front of subordinates.  This is a dangerous development for our nation, as I've discussed before, that our citizens will distrust the military and a Dreyfuss Affair mentality might split us apart.  That seems somewhat remote but a more immediate impact is being seen now.  

Our current commander in chief comes from the Chicago school of machine politics.  He got elected with virtually none of the military supporting him, or so we're led to believe.  Of course there are many democrats in the military, especially among the troops, and of course blacks in the military presumably voted for him.

But that won't stop Obama from punishing the military for not voting for him.  At the same time that he is advocating universal medical care he is now calling for the military to stop paying for the medical care of people wounded in combat.

That's right.  People who fought for our country, you know, the country that Obama's wife has never been proud of, and have the worst of injuries that require lifelong care, are being told to take a hike.

What's the worst that could happen?  That the military constituency that was so vocal, if unofficially, in not supporting him may not vote for him.  Well, they didn't vote for him anyway, so it's no skin off his teeth.

This kind of naked, bare knuckles politics is not new to our nation, but it has never been inflicted on those who served it and suffered physical pain and maiming because of it.  Perhaps it's just a bargaining chip to get a lesser concession from military benefits, but I suspect that will be an incidental consequence and isn't the primary intent.  

The military as an institution certainly should expect, rightly or wrongly, to be punished for not supporting such a dangerous politician.  That this punishment is being inflicted on veterans wounded in battle is unconscionable.

The lesson is for the military to return to its apolitical traditions, but I suspect that the antipathy of the democrat party towards the military would have left this same result regardless.  Clinton's aide famously "loathed" the military, Obama's crew goes beyond mere words.

Go Back to the Start, Do Not Collect $200   Send me your two cents
|