x-posted from TexasKaos - where we're taking Texas back!
I'd like to draw everyone's attention to Box Turtle's most recent SUSA polling numbers:
Do you approve or disapprove of the job John Cornyn is doing as United States Senator?
SUSA sampled 600 adults on March 9-11, and released the numbers a few days ago. Let's keep in mind that these numbers are from before Cornyn's pro-troop-killing vote on March 22.
Clearly, with numbers under 50% nearly a year from the Republican primary and nearly two years before the election, Cornyn is vulnerable.
What interests me most is the whopping 14% of people who aren't sure whether they approve or disapprove. These low-information voters are the ones we need to be targeting.
If there is one thing that cuts across political lines in Texas, it's a sense of patriotism and an obligation to support our men and women in uniform. I strongly suspect that those voters don't realise that Cornyn has consistently voted against our troops.
Let's not forget - because this is important - that Cornyn has cast quite a few troop-killing votes:
06/02/04: Cornyn votes against expanding TRICARE to members of the National Guard and the Reserves.
04/21/05: Cornyn votes against $213 million in funding to up-armor Humvees in Iraq.
03/10/04, 06/23/04, 09/29/04, 03/17/05, 04/12/05, 05/26/05: On all these dates, Cornyn cast votes against increasing VA funding for our wounded veterans.
There is no reasonable, rational justification for voting against bills that truly support our troops.
See, for too long, the GOP has equated "supporting the troops" with "supporting the war". You and I know that's bullshit, but it's time to make that clear to the 14% of undecideds.
Supporting the troops means making sure they have the equipment they need to do their jobs. When did it become acceptable to this Republican President and his GOP Congressional rubber stamps to send troops into battle with Humvees armored with scavenged plywood?
Supporting the troops means making sure that when they get home, they aren't forced to live in substandard conditions or get substandard medical treatment. At what point did the GOP-led Congress decide it was okay to let our most gravely wounded soldiers heal in mold-infested dumps?
Supporting the troops means making sure they have enough time to rest and enjoy their families between deployments. What world do the GOP rubber stamps who keep voting to break our military live in? Oh wait, I forgot, NeverNeverLand.
It is well past time for us to start hammering home the message that the party that truly supports the troops is the Democratic Party.
Yesterday's Senate vote, which KP wrote about here, was an important step in the right direction. The new Democratic-led Congress is demonstrating that our party will do right by our military.
For a man who claims to support the troops, Cornyn sure didn't seem to have any problem voting against a bill that ensures that troops sent to battle are fully trained, provides funding for fully armored humvees and body armor, and ensures that our troops are not re-deployed without proper rest periods.
No, Cornyn would rather vote to keep our men and women fighting in a war without end. Cornyn would rather vote to break our military.
It's just another day in the life of a Republican rubber stamp. And it's time for us to start hammering that message home.
Note: Cornyn's challenger is going to need some money. Please consider making a donation to the eventual Democratic nominee by clicking here.