Taylor Marsh – TaylorMarsh.com – News, Opinion and Weblog on Progressive Politics

On this Veterans Day I have a question for each of you. It’s simple really. What do you think you know about Hillary Clinton that distinguished veterans do not?

General Wesley Clark, Ret., a four star general and former Supreme Allied Commander,
NATO; as well as Major General Paul Eaton, Ret., Two Star General, commander
in Iraq; U.S. Congressman Joe Sestak, Veteran, Retired US Navy Admiral, commandor
of an aircraft carrier battle group, Afghanistan; Lt. General Claudia Kennedy,
Ret., three star general and the first woman in the U.S. Army to hold a three
star rank, and deputy chief of staff for intelligence; Mr. Bill White, President,
Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund are just five veterans I respect beyond all manner
of doubt. These veterans all support Hillary Clinton, but wait until you read the list below.

There’s no doubt Clinton, Obama and Edwards, as well as the other Democratic candidates, have equal respect and commitment
to our veterans and active duty soldiers. That’s not in question. But Clinton has more military support than her husband ever gained as candidate
or president, though no one in her campaign will state that fact. Does this matter to you, especially those of you who don’t “trust” her or question her honesty? Should the opinion of these veterans, who have put their lives on the line and know what our troops are doing right now, matter? The list is impressive, whether
you’re willing to give Clinton the credit or not.

I challenge the men who won’t
vote for Clinton “no matter what,” (link added) as it’s said in the press, to check
their prejudices. What do they think they know (or you think you know)
better than these distinguished veterans?

Since Vietnam, Democrats have had a hard time gaining the respect of our soldiers
and veterans. In the last years, watching the incompetence of the Republicans,
that has changed dramatically. Competency is important and these veterans all
now back Hillary Clinton. I received the list via her press office:

New National Co-Chairs are: General Wesley Clark, Ret., Four Star General, Supreme Allied Commander, NATO Lt. General Joseph Ballard, Ret., Three Star General, Chief of Engineers and Commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Lt. General Robert Gard, Ret., Three Star General, President Emeritus of the Monterey Institute for International Studies. Lt. General Donald Kerrick, Ret., Three Star General, Deputy National Security Advisor, Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Lt. General Frederick Vollrath, Ret., Three Star General, Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, Headquarters Department of the Army Major General Roger Blunt, Ret., Two Star General, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Last Command: 97th Army Reserve Command (ARCOM), Ft. Meade Chairman, President, & CEO of Blunt Enterprises, LLC Major General Edward L. Correa Jr., Ret., Two Star General, Adjutant General of Hawaii Major General Paul Eaton, Ret., Two Star General, Office of Security Cooperation in Iraq, Commanding General Rear Admiral Connie Mariano, MD, Ret., Two Star Rear Admiral, Navy White House Physician for three Presidents Major General Paul D. Monroe, Jr., Ret., Two Star General, Adjutant General California National Guard Major General Robert Scales, Ret., Two Star General, President and CEO of Walden University, Commandant of the United States Army War College, Rear Admiral Alan Steinman, M.D., Ret., Two Star Coast Guard Admiral, Past Director of Health and Safety of the Coast Guard Rear Admiral David Stone, Ret., Two Star Rear Admiral, Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for the Transportation Security Administration President & CEO, Alacrity Homeland Group Brigadier General Michael Dunn, Ret., One Star General, Clinical leader of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s Interoperability Project. Commanded the Walter Reed Health Care System in Washington, DC Brigadier General Belisario Flores, Ret., Assistant Adjutant General, Texas Air National Guard, Brigadier General Evelyn “Pat” Foote, Ret., One Star General Brigadier General Keith H. Kerr, Ret., One Star General, Commanding General, Northern Area Command, California National Guard Brigadier General Virgil Richard, Ret., One Star General, Recipient of the Distinguished Service Medal Brigadier General Preston Taylor, Ret., One Star General, Assistant Secretary for Veterans Employment and Training Brigadier General Dr. Jack Yeager, Ret., One Star General, Assistant Adjutant General of West Virginia Honorable Anthony Brown, Veteran, Maryland Lt. Governor, Past member of the Maryland House of Delegates, Served with distinction in Baghdad, Fallujah, Kirkuk and Basra, Iraq. Honorable Harold Naughton, Massachusetts State House Representative, Veteran, US Army Reserves, JAG, 8 months in Multinational Force Iraq Honorable Steven Hobbs, Washington State Senator, Veteran, Tours of duty in Iraq and Kosovo with the US Army and Army National Guard Mr. Roscoe Brown, Veteran, Tuskegee Airman, WWII Honorable Louis Caldera, Veteran, Secretary of the Army, President of University of New Mexico Honorable Edward Chow, Jr., Veteran, Past Vice President of Vietnam Veterans of America, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, U.S. Veterans Administration Honorable Jimmy Dean, Veteran, Past National Commander of the American Legion Honorable Ron Dellums, Mayor of Oakland, CA, Former Chair of the House Armed Services Committee Honorable Herschel Gober, Veteran, Acting Secretary & Deputy Secretary, Veterans Affairs Honorable Steven Honigman, Veteran, Navy Retired, Former Naval General Counsel (Iraq) Mr. Thomas Keefe, Veteran, President of The Keefe Group, Nationally known Veterans Advocate Honorable Robert Jones, Veteran, Deputy Secretary of Defense for POW/MIA Affairs Honorable Robert Perreault, Director, Medical Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs Joseph “Jake” Simmons IV, Veteran, Commander, White House Communications Agency Honorable Todd Weiler, Veteran, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs They Join Current National Co-Chairs: U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye, Veteran, World War II Combat Veteran, Recipient: Medal of Honor U.S. Congressman Charlie Rangel, Veteran, US Army, 1948-52 U.S. Congressman Joe Sestak, Veteran, Retired US Navy Admiral, Commanded Aircraft Carrier Battle Group, Afghanistan U.S. Congressman Ed Towns, Veteran, US Army, 1956-58 U.S. Congressman Jose Serrano, Veteran, US Army, 1964-66 U.S. Congressman Maurice Hinchey, Veteran, US Navy 1956-59 Honorable Togo West, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Secretary of the Army, North Carolina Native Lt. General Claudia Kennedy, Ret., Three Star General, First Woman in the U.S. Army to Hold a Three Star Rank, Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence General George Buskirk, Ret., Adjutant General, Indiana Army and Air National Guard, Honorable Eleanor Glynn Kjellman, New Hampshire State House Representative, Veteran, US Air Force Officer, Son served in Iraq Mr. Joe Wynn, Veteran, US Air Force, Viet Nam, Leader of the National Association of Black Veterans, President, Vets Group Mr. Bill White, President, Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, Nationally Known Veterans Advocate

Honestly, I’d like anyone who says they will not vote for Clinton for any reason
to explain what they know that the individuals above do not. Whether you are
for or against Clinton, no one can say that she isn’t respected and more importantly
trusted by many in the military; the list above being a beginning count of that support.

Democrats have gained ground in national security, foreign policy and military matters, because the facade of the Republicans being the “pro military party” has been unmasked through their incompetence, neglect of active duty and reserves, as well as the blatant disrespect revealed by Rush Limbaugh in that any soldier who doesn’t parrot the Republican party line will be swiftboated. No doubt Clinton,
Obama and Edwards, but also Joe Biden and others running in ‘08, have the respect of our military, which
means the Democratic party has truly bridged the Vietnam gap, which now belongs
to Republicans through the Iraq war gap. The Republicans’ dereliction of duty on the hunt for bin Laden, as well as the unraveling of Afghanistan, the one righteous war we’ve fought in the last years, has now left us in a more precarious position than before the Iraq war. The collapse of Pakistan is part of their foreign policy and military incompetence, as Bush allowed A.Q. Khan to go unpunished and without U.S. interrogation in order to prop up General Musharraf, who is our ally on the one hand, but certainly not worthy of resting our entire terrorism policy on in lieu of an actual policy on Pakistan itself. Then there are the nukes. We haven’t even gotten to the lack of respect Republicans have for generals like Shinseki, to name just one, or the refusal of the Republicans to listen to our serving soldiers on the front line, and put the long term strength and priorities of American national security in front of saving their party’s ruined reputation on the altar of a surge in Iraq that is breaking our military further as you read this post.

All of this is something to think about as we honor our men and women, both veterans and serving,
and as we ponder the rescue of the U.S. Armed Forces, which has come under abject neglect under George W. Bush and the Republicans, and think about who the Democratic party leader for our veterans will be. Whether Clinton wins the nomination or not, earning
the respect of the soldiers above impresses me more than I can express. All of us should
be proud.

We’ve come a long way, baby; the Democratic party, that is.

So again, tell me what you, oh wise men and women who won’t vote for Hillary for any reason, know that the above distinguished veterans do not. Why do they trust her and are willing to place our soldiers’ lives in her hands, but you think she is not honest? What do you know that they do not?