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02/02/2004 Archived Entry: "The Military loves El Residente....."
The Military loves El Residente.....
Well, maybe not.
President Bush's war in Iraq faces growing opposition from those who are on the front lines: soldiers, their families and veterans, including high-ranking officers.A bipartisan poll published by Business Week in December showed approval for the president at a mere 36 percent among soldiers, their families and veterans.
"I think the American people were conned into this [war]," said retired Marine Corps Gen. Anthony Zinni, a Bush supporter in 2000. Zinni, who was chief of U.S. operations in the Middle East until three years ago, also charged the administration with failing to plan an occupation that would rebuild Iraq, provide internal stability and advance democracy.
Despite the capture of Saddam Hussein, there has been no let-up in U.S. casualties. As of mid-January, 500 U.S. soldiers have been killed--more than died in the first three years of the Vietnam War. Up to 22,000 more have been evacuated from Iraq for medical reasons. Twenty-one have committed suicide.
[...]
MFSO member Jessica Salamon of Cleveland, whose husband was recently deployed to Iraq, defended her protest work as "the best way that I can think of to show that I do support the troops; I support each and every one of them coming home now. I can't just sit back and make care packages."
Replies: 2 people speak up
I went and dug up the original Business Week article to make sure these poll results were being accurately reported...and you know what? It sounds WORSE for Bush than I originally thought. Keep in mind this was originally published in early December and the poll itself was taken in September, back when deaths were at a "mere" 400 instead of their current 519 and rising:
"But if Bush expects nothing but salutes at the polls in 2004, he may be in for a surprise. Soldiers, their families, and the great horde of veterans are beginning to question their leader's policies. Approval for the President among military relatives was a shockingly low 36% in a bipartisan Battleground poll by Lake, Snell, Perry & Associates Inc. and the Tarrance Group conducted on Sept. 7-10.
More than 400 casualties in Iraq and exhausting deployments are responsible for only part of the backlash. On the home front, a budget-strapped Pentagon is pinching pennies on military perks. And by yearend, it will lay out standards for shedding 25% of base capacity. That could shutter more than 100 facilities and further disrupt thousands of families' lives. While the final decisions won't come until 2005, the families' anxiety might dog Bush in 2004. Democrats could claim "the Administration has a plan to close many, many bases and is not telling the public until after the election," says Loren B. Thompson, COO of the Lexington Institute, a conservative think tank.
To many active-duty troops, reserves, National Guard units, veterans, and their families, the Bush-Cheney campaign promise of 2000 -- "Help is on the way" -- looks more like help is on the wane. "There is a corrosion of trust," says one active-duty Army officer who lives in Virginia. "I think it's going to turn on Bush during the election."
In a closely divided nation, a small shift in the military vote could have a tectonic political impact. The 1.5 million troops on active duty, 1.2 million reserves and National Guard, and 27 million veterans account for 23% of voters. With spouses and parents, the potential military bloc is enormous.
Moreover, in 2000, Bush narrowly carried seven states with a big defense presence, including Florida, Louisiana, and Missouri. "If Eglin Air Force Base were in Alabama instead of Florida, Al Gore would be in the White House," notes Thompson.
Matthew J. Dowd, pollster for the Bush reelection campaign, suggests that the President's approval rating among military families is driven by ethnicity and income. And he thinks parochial issues such as veterans' benefits won't swing the election. "The major drivers of voter behavior are dominant issues such as the economy, the war on terrorism, Social Security, and health care," Dowd says...."
The highlighting is mine because I think this says something very interesting. First of all, that "approval ratings are driven by ethnicity and income"...can Our President's Pollster say any more clearly "These are just a bunch of dumb n*ggers who vote Democrat anyway, or else they're poor and we all know poor people are too stupid to vote at all" ?
Secondly, if the "major drivers of voter behavior are dominant issues such as the economy, the war on terrorism, Social Security, and health care", and you're screwing service members on numbers 1, 2 and 4 directly, this does not seem like a great way to win their support.
Sorry to run on so long about what was after all a one-sentence part of the original story, but I was blown away to see a story like this in Business Week, not exactly a hotbed of left-wing anti-war sentiments as a rule.
Posted by Xan @ 02/02/2004 08:35 PM NY
Very interesting post...thank you.
Also, i might add that in 2000 when 70,000 voters were Not allowed to vote, no one has really adressed that, and why?
As the saying goes..."It's Homogeny, stupid!"
People are waking up but will there be enough to make a difference? I can only hope.
Posted by Joni @ 02/04/2004 12:42 PM NY
