A significant number of people I've met in the military who say they are Republican have no idea of politics or the positions of the various parties, but they believe what they're told about the Democrats not liking the military and the Republicans liking the military. Most of the people I've known who actually really think about politics, a distinct minority in the military just like in the civilian world, tend to be liberals or independents. A significant number more don't see any difference between the political parties.
I was talking to a coworker earlier today. My enlistment runs out in 2007 and I'm not planning on re-enlisting. He asked me why, and I told him it was because I wanted to get involved in politics. He asked what party, and I told him Democrat. He looks all shocked and makes a disapproving noise and says "Well, be sure you don't attack the military like Democrats do".
I cleared him up on that, on how many Democrats in politics and in the media have military experience and are prior military, naming off a few, and how so very very few Republicans do, and then I named off some of the prominent Republicans who got deferments or who boldly guarded Texas. Then we talked about the Iraq war, and we both complained about the money that is being wasted here on contractors, and how we should have the military do many of the jobs we contract out. The thing is, he knew that Republicans, especially Bush and Cheney, were making mad cash off the war, and he wasn't happy about it, but he was still Republican (until he talked to me) simply because he always accepted what he was told: Democrats hate the military, Republicans like the military.
After explaining to him that Democrats, in general, support the military and support using it for the right reasons and in the right way, and that Republicans use the military to make money for their contractor friends, I think his mind was definitely fast approaching changed. I pointed out that Clinton got us in and out of Bosnia and Kosovo without a single combat death, and even the Somalia mess paled in comparison to the clusterfuck that is Iraq. We talked about how the Iraq war did get Saddam out of power, and that was a good thing, it was incredibly mismanaged and done in what was very likely the worst way possible. The mess that going on over here right now is clear evidence of that.
His position on the Iraq war is that we should leave now and let the Iraqis handle their own country their own way. Now, for him being a Republican, does that sound like a very Republican position?
So, there are two things the Democrats can do if they want to get more military Democrats.
- Make it clear that they support the military. Detail it, in simple and in complicated terms. Simple fact is, a lot of people in the military believe what they're told, and what they're told is that the Republicans are their friends. Friends don't send friends to drive and die in the desert. We need to clear up that misconception, and the sooner the better. This will help with the Republican military.
- For the independents and "there's no difference" crowd, the Democrats have to work to set themselves apart from the Republicans. They have to provide a clear alternative. I know a lot of moderates say we need to shift more towards the center, well, in America the far right has pulled the country so far in one direction that the so-called "Far left" or "radical left" is the center. We have to make it clear that we are not the corporate shills that the Republicans are, and that we offer a clear alternative. If we have corporate shills and DINOs in the party, we gotta kick them to the curb.
So, across the board, educate, educate, educate. Military members as a whole have a lot of misconceptions about politics, not surprising considering how our attentions tend to be focused on other things, and it is through reasonable and rational informing that we will correct the misconceptions. It doesn't help that statements in the media from and to the military ae cherrypicked to be friendly to administration viewpoints. You'll never see someone on the Pentagon Channel saying "Well, war was a mistake, we should never have come out here without a plan." No, instead you'll see things like a special with old Vietnam Vets talking about how they hope public support for the war/troops will remain strong, and that we'll stay the course this time. The Republicans have a captive audience for their indoctrination and propaganda, and the Democrats are going to have to work hard to overcome that.
Update [2005-8-16 13:2:33 by jabbausaf]: Something I just remembered, when we were talking about how much the contractors have made, he also mentioned how messed up it was that not everybody has body armor but we're wasting lots of money on fatcat contractors. I was so proud. Oh, and at the end of the conversation, he asked why the Democrats weren't trying to stop the Republicans. That should tell us something significant right there.
[Update] A lot of people are talking about how the military is inherently conservative and/or inherently authoritarian, and how we can't change that overnight if at all. And I agree. BUT... that's not the issue. The issue is not whether the military as a whole is conservative or liberal, but what political party the military member's support. Authoritarian or not, the military members like whoever gives them the best benefits and lets them know it. We need to hound the Republicans when they fail at that, and we need to get the word out about what the Democrats do for the troops. You're not going to change the military overnight and I don't know if we even should. It's a question of changing the minds of individuals servicemembers one day at a time. That's the key.