Military kin split on Bush

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ^ | Published on: 03/07/04 | By MONI BASU

[beaureguard]

When President Bush toured ground zero in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Donna Bramblett cried openly.

She liked that he mentioned God in his speeches. She was thankful she had voted Republican the year before.

This November will be very different.

"I am angry. I feel betrayed," said Bramblett, 41, a nurse from the small Emanuel County town of Adrian. "I won't vote for Bush again."

Bramblett plans to cast her ballot for likely Democratic nominee John Kerry, even though she and the Massachusetts senator are on opposite sides of many issues. As the wife of a National Guardsman, Bramblett cannot forgive President Bush for the war in Iraq.

As the first anniversary of the war approaches, disgruntled military families are speaking their minds on the justification of the conflict and the treatment of their husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, sons and daughters who are risking their lives.

They say they are fed up with a war that some believe was unnecessary. They are frightened by a steadily mounting death toll. They are angered by tales of inadequate supplies — a lack of bulletproof vests, clothing or clean drinking water — for their loved ones and a belief that Bush reneged on campaign promises made four years ago to help overstretched and disaffected armed forces.

Supporters of the president, however, cite a recent Military Times poll of 993 active-duty troops that showed 56 percent backing Bush, even after a year of grueling tours and constant casualties.

Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) said uniformed personnel and their families have traditionally voted Republican because national security is seen as one of the party's greatest strengths. But Chambliss, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, acknowledged "there was a lot of discontent out there," especially among families waiting for their loved ones to return home.

"It's interesting, the men and women in uniform are so fired up," he said. "But when you talk to their spouses, that's where the problem is."

The National Annenberg Election Survey, an academic election poll, found support for Bush dropping among military families, from 62 percent in October to 59 percent in February.

Those are the people with the greatest potential for crossover voting, said Peter Feaver, a Duke University political scientist who studies military voting patterns.

"Military families are usually Republican but not solidly in the Bush camp," Feaver said. "While the morale of the soldier in Baghdad may be high, the morale of his wife in Alabama or Georgia may be the opposite."

The Web site for Military Families Speak Out, an anti-war group formed last year, is teeming with complaints about long deployments, budget cuts and "misinformation" from the White House.

"The war in Iraq has taken their loved ones from them," said Nancy Lessin, one of the group's founders. "So that is a very powerful motivator in terms of many things."

Chambliss acknowledged that long deployments are part of the problem.

"If they know their spouse or father or child will come home, they feel better about things," Chambliss said.

The military bloc counts 2.7 million active-duty and reserve troops, 25 million veterans and roughly 3 million family members. They could be decisive in states that had close votes in 2000 and are expected to be battlegrounds again.

It's the widest opening the Democrats have had in a long time, said Diane Mazur, an Air Force veteran and law school professor at the University of Florida.

"I think there is a sense among military voters that they have been let down by the party they thought deserved their allegiance," Mazur said. "People are reconsidering that allegiance."

Barbee Smoot, a native of Blackshear, grew up in the shadow of Fort Stewart and met and married her husband there. But when Army Staff Sgt. Lawrence Smoot, now with the Fort Hood, Texas-based 4th Infantry Division, was sent off to Iraq a year ago, Barbee Smoot's political outlook changed.

She will walk into a polling station in November and vote for a Democrat.

"I have voted Republican all my life," Smoot said. "But I'm not voting for Bush again. He put American men and women in harm's way. And for what? Where are the weapons of mass destruction?"

About a fifth of the approximately 130,000 troops in Iraq now are Guard and Reserve forces, and the percentage is likely to rise considerably under a new rotation plan.

Guard families were as unprepared for Iraq as the soldiers themselves, Bramblett said. Since husband James' unit, the 878th Engineer Batallion, based in Augusta, left in June, she has cared for four children and endured difficult surgery by herself.

"My husband is trained to take care of hurricanes and tornadoes — not this," she said of the war.

"I consider myself patriotic," continued Bramblett, dressed from head to toe in red, white and blue. "But if I could talk to Mr. Bush, I would tell him about all the wives who cannot pay their bills, who cannot make it alone. And I would take my children with me so he could explain to them why their daddy is over there."

[Puppage]

They are frightened by a steadily mounting death toll

Gee, then they must also have been frightened at the 600+ murders in Chicago last year, too.

[Conspiracy Guy]

Why doesn't the media interview me? I could tell how offended I am by John Kerry's traitorous activities since coming home from Nam. I could discuss the fact that I have no idea where Kerry stands on any given issue at any given time since he appears to have no stand.

Though I feel for the families who lost someone on 9/11, the attacks are not their private property. The attacks were aimed at every American. I am sick of people acting like because they lost someone, this is private. Their loss is private but the attacks were not. I will never forget that it was an attack on me, my family, my friends, my nation. I take it personal as should every American.

If George W. Bush wants to use 9/11 in his campaign, that is his right. He was attacked too. His response to the attacks shows the character and courage his predecessor did not have when we were attacked so many times during those 8 dark years.

God Bless America and George W. Bush.

Conspiracy Guy 3/5/4 I wrote this later in the day. "We Remember" We saw the look upon his face, Through whispers he was told. We knew he felt just what we felt, We wouldn’t sit here cold. We knew this time that we would act, And not just turn our head. This time we’d go and we’d go big, We wouldn’t bomb some shed. He called them faceless cowards, He vowed we’ll hunt them down. We watched as he spoke to us all, Sincerely, not some clown. His eyes assured us he’d not rest, Until they paid the price. Yes we’d turn over every stone, Until they were on ice. He warned the battle would be long, That many would forget. That some would say, let’s just move on, Not him, his mind was set. We backed him then, we back him now, The fight must still go on. We can’t back down, we can’t let up, Until the threat is gone. God Bless our troops as on they fight, Each day for them we pray. We thank them all, for all they do, “They are the best”, we say. We will support our President, He’s proven he will stand. We’ll vote for Bush this coming fall, We will protect this land. Conspiracy Guy 3/5/4

[ilgipper]

Manufacturing the news through polls and 'random' quotations. Going to be the story for the remainder of 2004. Where are the articles about traditional dem voters who support GWB due to 9-11? I speak to people like that all the time. Somehow the ACJ and NYT can't find those people on the street.

It's going to be a long year. There is going to be nothing as satisfying as heading Kerry's November concession speech.

[WorkingClassFilth]

This is the pink-o press is doing it's pink-o job:

"They say they are fed up with a war that some believe was unnecessary. They are frightened by a steadily mounting death toll. They are angered by tales of inadequate supplies..."

This is the effect on the audience of the pink-o press:

"It's interesting, the men and women in uniform are so fired up," he said. "But when you talk to their spouses, that's where the problem is."

My question is:

WHERE IS THE SEDITION ACT?

[MJY1288]

Where is the proof that "Military Kin Split on Bush" in this article?

[Conspiracy Guy]

HTML is my sworn enemy,

Why doesn't the media interview me? I could tell how offended I am by John Kerry's traitorous activities since coming home from Nam. I could discuss the fact that I have no idea where Kerry stands on any given issue at any given time since he appears to have no stand.

Though I feel for the families who lost someone on 9/11, the attacks are not their private property. The attacks were aimed at every American. I am sick of people acting like because they lost someone, this is private. Their loss is private but the attacks were not. I will never forget that it was an attack on me, my family, my friends, my nation. I take it personal as should every American.

If George W. Bush wants to use 9/11 in his campaign, that is his right. He was attacked too. His response to the attacks shows the character and courage his predecessor did not have when we were attacked so many times during those 8 dark years.

God Bless America and George W. Bush.

Conspiracy Guy 3/5/4

We Remember

We saw the look upon his face,
Through whispers he was told.
We knew he felt just what we felt,
We wouldn’t sit here cold.
We knew this time that we would act,
And not just turn our head.
This time we’d go and we’d go big,
We wouldn’t bomb some shed.
He called them faceless cowards,
He vowed we’ll hunt them down.
We watched as he spoke to us all,
Sincerely, not some clown.
His eyes assured us he’d not rest,
Until they paid the price.
Yes we’d turn over every stone,
Until they were on ice.
He warned the battle would be long,
That many would forget.
That some would say, let’s just move on,
Not him, his mind was set.
We backed him then, we back him now,
The fight must still go on.
We can’t back down, we can’t let up,
Until the threat is gone.
God Bless our troops as on they fight,
Each day for them we pray.
We thank them all, for all they do,
“They are the best”, we say.
We will support our President,
He’s proven he will stand.
We’ll vote for Bush this coming fall,
We will protect this land.

Conspiracy Guy 3/5/4

[x1stcav]

I feel sorry for the miltary men married to the two women mentioned in this article. If their morale is this low, you can imagine what their husbands are hearing. Bad enough being deployed without hearing about how difficult things are at home.


Then again, if all they quote are two wives, I wonder how much real discontant there is?

[beaureguard]

In the author's mind, I guess. Seems to be a lot of stretching to reach this conclusion from just two interviews. But, I just post! :-)

[HankReardon]

Chicago's homicide rate for 2003 was 599. before the Iraq War a pompous Senator from Massachusetts predicted the military would need 10,000 body bags for it's casualities. They also predicted Afghanistan would be another Vietnam, a quagmire. These people never admit when they are wrong, they just move right on to the next thing to be wrong about. The Iraq War has been, and is the most successful war in U.S. history. Who do you think the terrorist want to win the election in November? Who would Osama cast his vote for, Kerry or Bush? Don't let your neighbor live on sound bites, show some compassion, feed them some Truth!

[MJY1288]

It's amazing the editors of these newspapers allow such misleading headlines to go to print

[Puppage]

Who do you think the terrorist want to win the election in November?

I hear ya, Hank. I've asked that question a million times. It quietly says a lot.

[beaureguard]

"Why doesn't the media interview me?"

You wouldn't make for a good story now, would you? Everyone is supposed to be upset about the war, not supporting it.

/sarcasm off

[boxerblues]

Then again, if all they quote are two wives, I wonder how much real discontant there is?
These 2 are clueless if they thought their husbands never trained for war with the NG. If they felt that all they were training for was hurricanes no wonder they were unprepared

[Honcho]

found support for Bush dropping among military families, from 62 percent in October to 59 percent in February.

Isn't that within the margin of error?

[Poseidon]

Where's the BARF Alert??? This is such a pile of crap...

[KC_Conspirator]

The National Annenberg Election Survey, an academic election poll, found support for Bush dropping among military families, from 62 percent in October to 59 percent in February.

If John Kerry just got 3 straight months of unchallenged "war hero" coverage and he only gained 3 points, Bush is a lock on military and their families. They know who cares about them.

[Conspiracy Guy]

I like to ask questions that I know the answer to.

CG

[Rays_Dad]

They are frightened by a steadily mounting death toll


__________________________________________

Compared to what Haiti or Grenada or even Waco. Give me a damn break. I guess we need to go back to WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam style fighting so these people can see what the loss of life means. We lost more men in the early hours at Normandy than we have during the first year of Iraq. I say thank God for the low number of casualities.

[jmaroneps37]

If the urinal thinks it can make the case that military families will vote for lurch ( with the exception of a small portion of the minority enlisted segment )they're wasting ink.