I hear alot of Republicans, and actually see a lot of Republicans, talking about our troops and driving all over town with their "Support the Troops" stickers. They tell us we don't have to agree with the war(s) but at a bare minimum we should support the troops. Okay let's support them.
Now, let us enter the Democrats into the equation. They have in the past only paid lip service to defunding the wars and haven't actually exhibited the cajones to do it. At the time, most Republicans came out in vocal opposition to that tactic because we didn't want to leave the troops without the necessary equipment that they needed at a time they were in harm's way. I guess that makes perfect sense.
We want to listen to the troops and hear what it is they have to say or what it is they might need that they are not getting. Hopefully we can agree on this point.
Herein lies the riddle:
If it is true that Ron Paul is wrong (so very very wrong) on his isolationist foreign policy then why is it Republicans, that according to Federal Election Commission reports for Q2 2007, Ron Paul was #1 in contributions from military personnel?
I thought we were supposed to support the troops. Seems to me they've got something to say about our foreign policy. Perhaps if you are not want to listen to Ron Paul then maybe you should at least listen to the troops of which you proclaim to support.
http://www.nationalpolls.com/2008/articles/ron-paul-best-q2-fundraising-from-soldiers.html
7 comments:
Hmm. Digging into this, we find:
$53,968 Obama
$48,208 McCain
$63,440 Paul
That's $165 thousand for just the top 3. This does not count Hillary, Romney, that frivolous lawsuit guy with the good hair, Lieberman, and others.
That's Paul getting much less than 38% of the donations identified in that original Houston Chronicle article. A small percentage.
Even then, this article is a measure of donation dollar amounts, not popularity.
I wonder what it was like during other quarters?
Mr. AOW is a veteran. Those who came here to donate their time and their materials to build a wheelchair ramp were veterans. Until that time, I'd never really appreciated the brotherhood of veterans. Among those veterans is not a single supporter of Ron Paul.
Okay, the sample is small. But you'd think that there would be at least one Ron Paul supporter in that group (about 100). There are some Dems in the group, so not all are Republicans.
That doesn't surprise me in the least AOW. With all due respect, the overwhelming majority of individuals who are beneficiaries of government largess are inclined to side with the state. The veterans of which you speak are in fact beneficiaries of the United States military industrial complex. Thus, it is probable they'd not wish to endorse a policy which undermines their relationship in that regard. On matters of domestic cuts (cuts to food stamps, cuts to section 8, and the like) I would bet the lot they'd be more than inclined to support those types of cuts.
Considering that, suppose we were to round up a bunch of unwed young single mothers with 3 kids all with 3 different men and propose to her that we make some cuts to defense spending. Do you suppose she'd object? Highly unlikely.
So then, let us propose to her some domestic cuts as previously mentioned. How do you think she'd react to that?
Therein, lies the problem.
December 16th, the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, will see a much bigger donation day however with over 22,000 people having signed up at www.teaparty07.com, pledging to donate over $100 dollars on December 16th. With two weeks still to go this indicates that the drive will once again possibly break the record for online donations in one day and ensure send the Congressman's campaign coffers far beyond the $12 million target for the quarter.
The media attention this will once again generate will also once again raise Ron Paul's profile, making him without doubt one of the front runners for the nomination.
Ron Paul is the only GOP candidate who has continued to attract popularity as the year has gone on. Paul raised more money in the third quarter than in the second quarter while none of the other candidates achieved this. With the 16th December "money bomb" coming up, it looks like the Congressman will raise more money this quarter than any other GOP candidate including Giuliani. This means he will have more cash on hand going into the primaries than any of his Republican opponents.
Yesterday saw Ron Paul soar above Fred Thompson's $9,750,821 mark and Mitt Romney's $9,896,719 mark earlier today (excluding money he has loaned to himself). Today will likely see Ron Paul pass a third milestone-- that of Rudy Giuliani's $10,258,019 fundraising mark for the end of the 3rd Quarter.
�It's a tremendous burden put on us and a responsibility,� Paul told MSNBC's Joe Scarborough recently.
�We have all this money now. We didn't plan to have this much money. Our obligation is to figure out how to spend it. We are doing our best.�
Before the record breaking November 5th donation drive which saw an infusion of over $4.2 million in one day, Paul had begun a modest $1.1 million television ad drive, mostly in New Hampshire.
Since then, the ad campaign has been expanded in Iowa. Prior to the money-bomb, Paul was airing three radio ads; now he has more than ten running."
Case you missed it, modern day Tea Party, before being co-opted by Republican/Neo-Con opportunists hungry to reclaim the reigns of power, began well before Santelli's February 2009 rant.
"Mr. AOW is a veteran."
Mr. Paul is a veteran too.
Here's what I don't get ... Politicians make war decisions. Politicians put soldiers lives on the line. Political decisions get soldiers killed.
Shouldn't veterans be the most vocal about the foolish policies of politicians, who get our brothers and sisters killed?
Seems logical enough but then logic is in extremely short supply in Washington DC.
"Shouldn't veterans be the most vocal about the foolish policies of politicians, who get our brothers and sisters killed?"
It'd be true if they had any idea what they were talking about. If they have become officers, gone to an appropriate defense-related college, or otherwise gained enough actual qualifications to look at the "big picture".
Just like the average line worker at Ford is not qualified to make management decisions.
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