GW Bush - decided that a six-year Nat'l Guard commitment really means four years. Still says that he's "been to war." Huh?Dick Cheney - several deferments, the last by marriage (in his own words, "had other priorities than military service")
Karl Rove - avoided the draft, did not serve , too busy being a Republican
Rudy Giuliani - did not serve.
Fred Thompson - did not serve.
Mitt Romney - did not serve in the military but did serve the Mormon Church on a 30-month mission to France.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY - did not serve
Senate Assistant Minority Leader
Trent Lott, R-MI - avoided the draft, did not serve.
Senate Republican Conference Chairman Jon Kyl, R-AZ - did not serve.
National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair John Ensign, R-NV - did not serve.
House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-OH - did not serve.
House Minority Whip Roy Blunt, R-MO - did not serve.
House Republican Conerence Chair Adam Putnam, R-FL - did not serve.
House Republican Policy Committee Thaddeus McCotter, R-MI - did not serve.
National Republican Congressional Committee Chair Tom Cole, R-OK - did not serve.
Former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert - avoided the draft, did not serve.
Former House Majority Leader Tom Delay - avoided the draft, did not serve "So many minority youths had volunteered ... that there was literally no room for patriotic folks like himself."
Former House Majority Whip Roy Blunt - did not serve
Former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist - did not serve. (An impressive medical resume, but not such a friend to cats in Boston.)
Rick Santorum, R-PA, formerly third ranking Republican in the Senate - did not serve.
Former Speaker Newt Gingrich - avoided the draft, did not serve
(from http://awolbush.com/whoserved.html)
8 comments:
Let it go...give up this argument. There are plenty of reasons to disagree with W and the war; no doubt plenty of mistakes have been made. But the chickenhawk theory, I say, I say, is full of holes (one of which was scoped today).
Obama - never served
Hillary - never served (yes, I realize women weren't drafted; but could've volunteered at some point)
Biden - never served (and has called for force to be used in Darfur)
Edwards - never served.
If any of these people are elected and send troops into battle, are they c'hawks?
Bubba - deferments; never served; sent troops into battle. C'hawk?
Or is the only definition one that is related to Vietnam, and not actually volunteering to serve the country as so many people do today? If so, your definition is fairly narrow (were all of the people in your research even age-eligible to serve in 'Nam?)
Obama has actually stated the need to be aggressive against terrorists and go on the offensive...but if he's elected and sends troops anywhere, I'm going to fly the coup!
This idea of service should've ended with Bubba. People trusted him to be commander in chief regardless of his past. Let's all get past this...and criticize W for the mistakes made regardless of his. It's not as if we're invading Grenada, Mongolia, Canada, Suriname and Tanzania at the same time.
One more point...some of those aforementioned Dems and many still serving in Congress authorized the use of force...Bawk Bawk Bawk!
No, I'm not going to let it go. It is a valid argument. All the people on that list PUSSIED out of serving their country, yet they are more than willing to send other peoples' children to fight for a bullshit war. Of the Republicans and Democrats that served their country when the time called, most of them are against this war, this stupid, senseless war.
The Democrats you mentioned? They're not advocating war. At least not this pointless war.
Bottom line: my argument holds.
The "so did Clinton" argument doesn't hold because he was smart, W is a dumbass, and Clinton didn't make stupid decisions and go to war lightly.
On this discussion
Marc 1
Anonymous (-10)
Havingalaugh
Is your mom keeping score again?
I have no problem making the case that W is a dumbass, I do have problems with the chickenhawk.
Were you in all of the deliberations about going to war? How do you know he made the decision lightly? Only history and mountains of declassified documents can make that case.
How about McCain? War hero...supports the war. If he were president and made the decision, what argument would you use against him? (Rumsfeld - also a veteran)
Many of the Dems authorized using force...of course, it's easy to change positions now, but they were willing to send troops before.
And if Obama/Biden/Edwards or any other non-serving Dem ever sends troops into battle (one in which there is any opposition), I want to
see you dressed as the San Diego Chicken parading outside the White House.
Do you realize that some of people you listed weren't even old enough to have served in Vietnam. Adam Putnam is what, 28 years old. He may have chose not to serve, just like myself, you, presumably, and so many others, but that doesn't give him any less right to support a foreign policy decision. If such policy proves unpopular, he can be voted out like everyone else.
I'm not a firefighter, I've never trained to be one, nor do I like immense heat, but if there's a building on fire, I sure hope people who have chosen to do the job risk their lives in a place I won't. Does that make me a chicken hawk?
Let me save your mom a few minutes:
Marc - +398,000
Anonymous - -5 million
Now I need to get back to my Gilligan's Island marathon.
Anyone that supports this war is ignorant. I don't say that to personally insult anyone. It is clear that this adminstration duped everyone (except me).
Again, you miss understand the chickenhawk argument. A chickenhawk is anyone that beats the drum for war but is at the same time too cowardly to go himself. Hey, Adam Putnam is not too old to join. Maybe he should enlist next.
As far as keeping scorce, try this:
Marc +398,000
Anonymous (against the war) 50 million +
Anonymous (for the war) 5 million
As for McCain, he served in a horribly unpopular war. He is a hero, but McCain is brain dead. May be too much time in the Hanoi Hilton (as Bush once suggested) is finally catching up to him. He is losing support in his home state.
I never said I was necessarily for the war I was just against this argument.
But I do have concerns about leaving quickly...
Sarcasm aside, do we have a moral obligation to not let near-genocidal violence occur after our pullout, the way it did in Vietnam and Cambodia after our exits there?
What happens if the government cannot sustain itself - are we worried about the influence of Iran, and to a lesser extent, al Qaeda?
While no one wants to see any more American soldiers die, I think these are legitimate questions that need to be answered, among many others.
Another...would our quick exit be seen as a victory and inspiration for Islamic extremists, the way it was in Somalia, encouraging future attacks against a weak America?
Maybe Miss Cleo can help...if Nick Saban is too busy.
Those are good questions, which we should have thought about before we got in there. We lose regardless of what we do. We've already inspired more Islamic terrorists.
Bush could take the Nick Saban approach and just quit without finishing his contract and move to Alabama. Actually, he did that during his guard service.
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