I had the privilege of speaking with an Army soldier last evening who was just back from Iraq as we rode the SkyLink between terminals at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport.
- He told me the vast majority of our troops are disappointed that there hasn’t been stronger diplomatic engagement before engaging in war.
- His view is the same as mine: Putting Americans in harms way should be done as a last resort, not a first step.
- He indicated that our troops get to vote and the vast majority are supporting Barack Obama. He said that, while they have to support the Commander in Chief, the good news is they get to vote for their next Commander in Chief and they are looking forward to getting a new one.
I told him that my sense is that all Americans support the troops; few Americans support the war and that there’s a huge difference between the 2 positions. He understood and agreed with my assessment.
He’s not sure whether he’s going back to Iraq or off to Afghanistan. He knows his visit home will be short.
I thanked him for his service to our country. We shook hands and went our separate ways.
Pray for the safety of our troops. And, pray that Barack Obama is our next President. Democrat Dave
Democrat Dave's Blog 
Well, that’s your word. One of my fellow co-workers has been re-deployed in Iraq for the third time and he said anyone who has served in the military would not vote for a Democrate after seeing how they had taken funding away from the troops. Our reserves are over there now because the Clinton administation cut so much from the defense budget there is not enough “regular” military to support the campaign.
Yes, I pray for safety of our troops, especially if another Democrate is elected to cut spending even more and we have another crisis arise (Iran, China, Pakistan, etc.) but tell this tale to someone who will believe it.
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Response to honeycat22: I know that the Huff Post is just a lot of left-wing, liberal nonsense to McCain-ites, but you should go on the post today and see exactly what John McCain’s voting record is re:military and veteran’s benefits. HE has voted NO for increased funding (like your wife loves saying about Obama) for the War in Iraq as well as consistently voting NAY for increasing funding for veteran’s health benefits, etc.
I think that more military people should speak up against McCain and for Obama. I have seen some videos put out by veteran’s as well as military parents and spouses. Is there a gag rule on soldiers serving in Iraq?
McCain and Palin’s aggressive, no to diplomacy, no to talking, shoot first, consider later (maybe) foreign policy is as dangerous as it comes.
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Jamie…you are absolutely correct; honeycat22 is incorrect. Please see my post at https://democratdave.wordpress.com/2008/09/27/mccain-voting-record-at-odds-with-his-support-for-veterans/. Also, go to VoteVets.org and learn more. While one would think McCain would support vets, he doesn’t. He’d rather support George Bush than our vets. To me, that is absolutely despicable. Honeycat22: minds are like parachutes–they work best when they are open. Be open to the truth about John McCain. Democrat Dave
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Nothing I said was incorrect. I repeated what someone who is now SERVING in Iraq told me. Not what a bunch of blathering liberal idiots want to repeat. When John McCain voted no to anything pertaining to our troops it was legislation that also included pork which he also included in the debate. Why don’t you people actually go to the Libray of Congress and READ and instead of just REPEAT.
Jamie, I don’t know who’s wife you are referring to.
Dave I pray for this country day and night.
Republican Honeycat
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John McCain is “claiming” that he voted against legislation due to “pork.” But, did he reintroduce legislation without the “pork” to take care of the veterans? If he didn’t (and I know he didn’t), then shame on him. Not supporting our troops to the fullest extent possible is about as un-American as it gets. Democrat Dave
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Democrat Dave how much time did you serve as a POW?
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Honeycat22…spending time as a POW does not entitle John McCain to be President. He gets what all people who serve do: my sincere thanks for their service to our great country. I’ve spent no time as a POW. I just played Taps for families who lost service men and women in Vietnam. I also honor our veterans by doing the same on Memorial Day. Back to the issue: Did John McCain reintroduce any legislation that he voted against due to there being “pork” in the bill? What can you offer up? Democrat Dave
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From the Congressional Library under Senator McCain:
S. RES. 70
S.32
S.663
S.AMDT.3087
S.AMDT.3089
Getting off work now, so this is all I had time to find.
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Honeycat22…before you spend a lot of time here, are you representing that each and every item that you are providing in your list specifically deals with active duty soldier or veterans issues? Or, is this just a list of “stuff” that John McCain was associated with? Democrat Dave
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Active duty and veteran issue bills that were proposed by John McCain. This was all I had a chance to pull and I did not get a chance to pull any of the bills that were proposed by others and supported by John McCain. I would be happy to research that for you after work tomorrow if you would like.
Honeycat22
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