I think that one of the memes that a lot of people seem to have, including many of us progressive liberals, is that the United States Military is a mostly conservative organization that tends to be a solid voting bloc for the Republican Party. I’ll admit that I had this same outlook in the past, but a combination of experience and the long view of history have shown me that where the Republicans bought and paid for their support, the Democrats have earned it back, and earned it back in spades.
A little about me first, so that you know where I’m coming from. I was an Active Duty, Enlisted Marine in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. I served during, but was not directly involved in, the Kosovo conflict and 9/11. I was actually on the Rifle Range on 9/11, and that week was the first time in my enlistment that I qualified as a Rifle Expert with the M16A2. I DID participate, indirectly, with the East Timor Independence vote (and aftermath) and the downing of the EC-130 in China. I got out right before the Iraq War started, but was called back (voluntarily) in early 2004 to participate in an exercise as a reservist. I was released a month later for health reasons. I was never recalled for the war, but would have gone if called as an obligation to my Marine brothers and sisters to help keep them safe.
I will admit, in 2000, in the Gore/Bush race, I didn’t know who to vote for. The military culture still leaned to Republicans, and while I have always been a social liberal, growing up in the Bay Area, I believed myself to be an "economic conservative" and thus more of a moderate. I’ll admit I was buying the "Compassionate Conservative" BS that was being tossed around at the time. I also believed very heavily in John McCain that year, gravitating toward his experiences and service before he turned it into a get out of jail free card and started voting against the culture and community he came from. I figured that if I could break with my Democratic family and actually like a Republican, maybe he wasn’t so bad. Ultimately, I didn’t vote that year. A last minute deployment and poor planning on my part kept me from sending in my absentee ballot.
The peacetime military is very different than the situation we find ourselves in now. I joined up to get some direction in life and money for school. War was not something that weighed heavily on my mind, and honestly, the Marine Corps was a great gig. I worked essentially a 9-5 job, got every federal holiday off (sometimes as a 4 day weekend), 30 days of paid vacation a year, and a steady paycheck, with raises at least annually. Sure, the pay was small, but they took care of housing, food, clothes (what kind of tree shall I dress like today), medical care, recreation... everything. You might wonder how the biggest, most socialist program in the US was predominantly Republican? Easy. It was all because of Ronald Regan.
Remember how I said, "...bought and paid for..." earlier? Reagan gave the military a 20% pay increase, IN A SINGLE YEAR! The legacy of this has lasted almost 30 years, but is coming to an end... hell it HAS come to an end.
You see, the military is one of those things that will always be a key part of American culture. There will never be a shortage of men and women who will volunteer with the best of intentions and sense of duty, but they expect the nation to take care of them back. They (we) are not stupid. The stereotypes that many civilians have just don’t fit, like many stereotypes. They are not mindless drones, but Americans like you and me. They see the mismanagement of the war. They see Walter Reid. They see the lack of body armor and equipment. They see the privatization of the system. They see the push for sexy equipment that never sees the light of day over investing in the servicemen and servicewomen directly. They see their fellows redeploying time and time and time again. They see the suicides and the lack of veterans care, and the wounded dying. They see the homeless Vietnam vets and now actually can sympathize, because the same is happening to them! They see, "one of their own" run for president, but also see how he time and time and time again has thrown his own people under the bus for political expediency, but still expects the, "Good Soldiers" to fall in line and vote for him.
Want to know what else they see?
The same thing I did when I was looking through the speakers list at the Democratic Convention last night.
They see Lt. Gen (RET) Claudia Kennedy, the first female Army 3-star, former head of Army Intelligence, speak at the convention.
They see Command Sergeant Major (RET) Michele Jones, the first female Army CSM, speak at the convention.
And they see more.
They see General (RET) Wesley Clark, an outstanding and respected General, who accomplished his mission without a single American combat loss, endorse Obama.
They see Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps (RET) John Estrada, who recently retired last year from the highest enlisted position in the Marine Corps (Oorah!), endorse Obama.
They see many, many other retired flag officers and senior NCOs endorse Barack Obama and hammer the Republicans for the war and their treatment of the military.
They see a party fight for their rights and well-being who have walked the walk while, "one of their own" has just talked the talk.
And they have contributed to Barack Obama by a 6-1 ratio over John McCain.
The Reagan legacy that was bought with money and squandered through lack of respect is over. That money is now being given back to the candidate and platform they support.