He is just simply dishonest. Read this latest column on attracting military voters.
But it failed. Partly that's because Kerry lacked a clear, compelling message on Iraq and the struggle against extremist Islam. Partly it's because the right smeared him as a duplicitous radical who had fabricated parts of his military record and betrayed his fellow soldiers when he came home. But it's also because in the four years before Kerry was nominated, while Rove was relentlessly reaching out to Hispanics and African Americans, the Democrats hadn't done the same for veterans. Between 1996 and 2004, the percentage of black and Hispanic delegates to the Republican National Convention more than doubled. In the same period, the percentage of veterans serving as Democratic delegates actually fell.
He is as bad as Bush. He claims the war against Saddam is the war against "Islamic Extremism"! Saddam may have been an asshole, but he wasn't an Islamist. The people who won the election in Iraq are Shia Islamist who intend to impose Sharia on Iraqi women. That means stoning adulteresses. Saddam never did this. Beinart is deliberately spreading and encouraging ignorance just like Bush. Here's more BS from Beinart!
But the biggest problem is cultural. Democrats should acknowledge that at times the left's understandable anger over Vietnam degenerated into a lack of respect for the military. And they should make amends in very practical ways -- most significantly, as the Progressive Policy Institute's Will Marshall has pointed out, by shaming America's colleges and law schools into letting the military recruit on campus. Liberal students, faculty and administrators have the right to criticize the Pentagon's discriminatory policies toward gays and lesbians. But it is outrageous for them to treat the U.S. military -- especially in a time of war -- as a pariah. And Howard Dean should go to the college towns where his most stalwart supporters reside and tell them so.
Link to story
OK, but we think this war sucks too, as do most Americans according to polls, so why do we want to help the military recrute for it? Also one should not conflate the military as a whole with recruters. He is deliberately dishonest yet again. Also Liberal Hawks like Beinart who actually like this war should set an example and encourage their own sons and daughters first.
As for our problems attracting the military. I believe there is just peer pressure to be conservative there. MOst of the officers get jobs in the defense industry when they retire, so war is good for them. It is also psychological. Those that are directly involved in the combat, like active duty guards just can't admit to themselves the war is stupid, and and no Democrat could change it. Even Wesley Clark would have been dissed. The Draft also reduced the number of Dems in the military. The guards are more likely to come from red states than the regular military, so it is red state culture we are dealing with, as well. If we got 41% of regular military and veterans we should be pretty proud.