Support for Bush overwhelming at Marine Corps base

Boston Globe ^ | October 8, 2004 | Thanassis Cambanis

[Cincinatus' Wife]

...........The ease with which on-duty enlisted Marines discussed politics, and the near-uniformity of their views, exemplified the extent to which the military vote has become Republican since the draft was eliminated in 1973.

Studies that track political attitudes in the military indicate that the officer corps has historically been far more Republican than the general population at large, and that gap has grown in the last two decades.

According to a 1999 study by the Triangle Institute for Security Studies, a consortium sponsored by three North Carolina research universities, Republicans outnumbered Democrats in the officer corps by a ratio of 8 to 1. By comparison, the general civilian population has a roughly equal proportion of Republicans, Democrats, and independents, according to the group.

Richard H. Kohn, formerly the chief historian of the Air Force and a professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was one of the authors of that study and said the gap appeared to be growing.

Military officers since the Vietnam War have perceived the Republican Party as more in tune with their values and interests, Kohn said, and many exhibited a ''visceral, personal dislike for Bill Clinton."

In the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, headquartered at Base Kalsu, the enlisted ranks appear to be following the same trend.

''It's the military; people are going to vote for Bush," said Lance Corporal Rick McClusey, 19, who said he seeks out political debate with fellow Marines...

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Why this veteran is voting for Bush

America's veterans and citizens have a clear choice to make in this year's presidential election. I spent 25 years in the uniform of our country, and I'm voting for George W. Bush. Let me tell you why.

I'll gladly stipulate what we recently saw in the first 2004 presidential debate: Bush is not a polished, smooth talker, such as the lawyer and U.S. senator of 20 years that John Kerry is. What Bush is, however, is a principled, consistent leader who sees the world as it is today and isn't afraid to take action to make it a freer and safer world for us tomorrow.

Despite what Kerry, Ted Kennedy, Tom Harkin and plenty of others supporting Kerry have said or implied, Bush isn't a liar who deliberately misled the American people. He's a commander in chief who looked at the best possible intelligence available from multiple sources and decided to act, rather than naively hope the intelligence was wrong.

This was the very same intelligence that the president's current Monday-morning quarterbacks, including Kerry, had access to, and which led them to the same conclusion. The Kerry campaign and its surrogate attack groups are trying mightily to obscure that fact today with their spin and intellectual dishonesty, but the truth remains: The intel was persuasive enough for John Kerry to vote in favor of the president's authority to strike preemptively.

Intelligence in the real world isn't a perfect discipline, and those of us who have worked with it, including Kerry, know it. But rather than focus on the apparent fact that the intel was wrong this time, ask yourself: What if the intelligence had been dead right?

What if Saddam Hussein had both the will and capability of striking our country with weapons of mass destruction nearly two years ago and was preparing to do so?

What would Kerry have done?..........

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/orl-edpmyword07x100704oct07,1,6084690.story?coll=orl-opinion-headlines

[Drango]

But Kerry was in Vietnam...

[GailA]

IF our Military can't trust and love you, then you are UNFIT FOR COMMAND of them and the rest of the country!

[Diogenesis]

Any American with an IQ greater than room temperature is for President Bush.

[Guard Dog]

Well, most democrats tend to be mealy mouthed wimps who avoid difficult tasks at all costs. The military is no place for such people. I was in the Marines for the 88 and 92 elections and Bush 41 was very strongly supported in both enlisted and officer ranks.

[gunnygail]

Voted absentee for Bush 41 and Bush 43. Always made sure that my Marines voted as well. 99% of them were for Bush. That other 1% I had cleaning crappers on Election Day! HAHA!

[Guard Dog]

OOO-RAH, good place for them!

[gunnygail]

Thanks. It is amazing how the youngsters change when they come on active duty and realize that it is US against THEM! They quickly realize that Dems are NOT their friend. Especially collaborators like Hanoi John.

[ProudVet77]

Thanassis Cambanis? Sounds like something a lib would smoke. I see the Boston Globe/NYTs continues to hire less than mainstream thinkers.

[Coop]

The type of people who serve in the military - patriotic, often called to serve the public before themselves - just do not comfortably fit in the Democrat party.

[Tamzee]

But Kerry was in Vietnam...

Good heavens, are you serious? You'd think the man would have mentioned it by now...

[Bellflower]

Would it be against the rules for massive amounts of military personal to let the American people know that they want George Bush to remain our President? I think this election stands to impact them tremendously and they should have a right to campaign for whom they want for President. After all the President is their Commander in Chief.

[libs_kma]

Kerry said back in 1971 that our military was full of murderers, cutthroats and thugs. And even today Lurch and breck girl denigrate our military every time they say wrong war. Their mantra is to say that our troops have done nothing good in Iraq, nothing.

Well, if the only thing you have is the lame stream media reporting you might think that..but ask the soldiers over there and they'll tell you they're doing a lot of good things that are not being reported. It just came out last week that the soldiers on the ground are upset that these things aren't being reported. And for good reason they are upset. Kerry's days are numbered and I think the media's days are numbered too. Media is changing as we speak. Its easier to share information than ever before without having to depend on liberal rags and liberal reporting to get your news. Anyone see CBS news ratings lately? They've tanked and they may still go down further.

[where's_the_Outrage?]

Adding that ''I know I sound like a medieval conservative," McClusey said he had only met one Democrat during his nearly 16 months in the Marines.

I was kind of suprised it's only 8 to 1 Republicans over the RATS. However, it could just be the type group I hung around, Combat Arms Types.

[Uncle Jaque]

Gee; too bad few if any of their absentee ballotts are going to be counted...

IF they entrust them to the USPS again, that is.

Were it up to me (and it certainly ain't) I would hold elections in theater on the Regimental or Brigade level, then deliver results and ballotts via express Military Courier under armed Marine guard to a central US clearing point, possibly at the Unit's Home Base stateside for verification and reporting to National Election HQ.

That way, if any Comminazi PC/DU dope sucking Union-thug flag-p!$$ing maggott wants to steal the Marine's vote in this election, let 'em frig face to face with a Marine to do it - not while lurking like a Rat in the cover of a backdoor sorting room of some "Union Label" Post Office.

And no; I don't just SUSPECT the PO; after coming as close as they did in 2K to stealing the election for GORE, it's pretty bloomin' safe to assume that they'll just try harder in '04.

As long as they are entrusted with the Military Absentee Vote, though (as alas; they certainly will be again) I have no doubt whatsovever that bloody few of our heroic Servicepeople's ballots will ever be counted in this election.

And again, after all the hue and cry over this blatent, in-your-face and "whaddaya-gonna-do-about-it, huh?" heinous violation of National trust (Not to mention our Constitution) and institutional, systemic, organized criminal activism by a Union-controlled Government Beauraucracy from the GOP and US, not a bloody dang thing will be DONE about it.

AGAIN!

And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, has this ol' Yankee Veteran FReeper downright wroth! }B>{(~

GRrrrrrrrrr....!!!

(When I'm really mad I tend to run sentances out into whole paragraphs. Can you tell?)

[Uncle Jaque]

Re. #4:

..."Any American with an IQ greater than room temperature is for President Bush."

Well, yes...

BUT, according to Sen. EDWARDS (He's a Lawyer, and Lawyers are reeeeally smart, y'know!) anyone who votes for BUSH is "Out of their mind".

So lemmie see if I've got this right, here...

Idiots for Kerry; Lunatics for Bush.

Stupid... Insane...

Ignorant... Crazy...

Hmmmmm....

Somebody help me out here! (Duh!?) {B^{*~

[Uncle Jaque]

Oh; BTW...

Back in the War Between the States (1861-65) didn't the MILITARY (Both Union and Confederate, as I recall) run their OWN Postal Service?

And from what I gather, the Troops got their mail to and from Loved Ones back Home a lot quicker than our Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are now.

And all they had for transportation back then was horses, steam trains, and steam/sailing ships.

Gee; I wonder why?

Any Postal Employees here on the FR want to address that issue?

Or are you too BUSY until after the election, "sorting out" absentee ballotts, hmmmmm?

Oh; BTW & FWIW;

Voter Registration lists, at least here in ME, (printed and/or on CD media) are issued by the Town/City Clerk gratis to the Chairperson of each Party's Town/City Committee, and for a copying charge of about $25 to anyone who wants it.

You don't suppose that one of these lists makes it to the sorting room of YOUR local PO, now do you?

If you are a registered Republican, then try mailing an absentee ballot with your correct name and address prominently displayed on the return address about 10 days before the election (assuming that normal delivery time is about 2 days) and see if it ever makes it to the Clerks office in time to be counted... it at ALL.

Then let us know, won't you?

Oh; Wait!; The Dems see to it that all disqualified ballotts are promptly destroyed, don't they?

Well, never mind then; We'll never know.

[PatriotGirl827]

But Kerry was in Vietnam...

Good heavens, are you serious? You'd think the man would have mentioned it by now...


Correction... He is a Vietnam "Hero"....Yeah, right