There are vets on both sides of the aisles in Congress and we honor their service. But there are two facts about vets in Congress that make the current crop of Fighting Dems an even more vital force than some might have thought. After showing the figures on the decline of vets in Congress, I will compare in a general way some of the characteristics of the current incumbent Fighting Dem vets that we want to keep in office and the challengers who will join their senior colleagues in 2007. Finally, I will touch on what this means to a future congress.
1. The number of vets in congress has been steadily dwindling.
The Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) have tabulated the declining military experience in Congress from the 103rd Congress (1993-1994 until the present 109th Congress (January 4, 2005 to present). Here are their figures:
Declining Military Experience in Congress
Senate House
103rd 60% 41%
104th 56% 37%
105th 48% 32%
106th 42% 31%
107th 38% 30%
108th 35% 28%
109th 31% 25%
The 105th Congress (1997-1998) was the watershed. For the first time since the post-World War II era, both the House and Senate fell below the 50% veteran level. The decline continued from the 106th to the 109th Congress. The MOAA warned that "the trend is likely to continue into the foreseeable future."
Well, that indeed may not be the case. And this brings us to the second point.
2. We now have over 50 Dem vets running for Congress - a dramatic surge in participation of vets in politics for the first time since the post-Vietnam era. And just as importantly, the profile of the new Fighting Dems is very different from that of the current incumbents. Here are some contrasts looking now only at Democrat incumbents and hopefuls.
2.1. The current incumbent Dem veterans are 13 Senators and 52 Representatives (by my count; see the Muster Roll here) represent an aging group. The periods of service runs from 1942 to 1983, with the exception of 4 who continued service in the reserves beyond their active duty service: (Senator Carper of Delaware served in the US Naval Reserve until 1992 and 3 representatives served until recently (Faleomavaega of American Samoa, (1983-present); Murtha of Pennsylvania (1967-90) and Tanner of Tennessee (1974-2000). Less than a dozen of these were combat veterans and only one a career active duty officer (Boswell of Iowa), though a number served more than one tour of duty and/or served for a long period of time in the reserves. You may see these Fighting Dem vet incumbents here.
This is not to discredit their service to our country in any way, but to point out that their service was for the most part some time ago. And this is in stark contrast to the Fighting Dem candidates for congress, many of whom will join their senior colleagues in Congress next January.
2.2. The candidates running for the Senate or House at the present represent a younger generation of military men - yet with many more vets who served full military careers and are now retired from active duty and with a great proportion of vets who were directly in combat or in other duty during wartime. The terms of duty run from the Vietnam era (the end point of the incumbent Dems) except for 1 WWII vet and two Korean War vets. More than half of those running served in the period from the first Gulf War through the present war in Iraq. Another contrast is that while the older Fighting Dems are largely army vets, the newer group include a much more varied group of vets from all branches of service, including the Coast Guard. You can see the Muster Roll of the Fighting Dem Vet challengers for Congress here (updated every couple of days).
3. Conclusion. The new group of vets have more recent active duty military experience, a greater proportion of combat or combat supportive duty, more retired career military vets, a wider spread across the various branches of service, and a fresh view of what the role of the military in the world is. They are not hawks and they are not chicken hawks. They are vets who know that war is a last resort and should only be engaged in when all other avenues have been exhausted. They all believe the current administration ahs led America fundamentally astray from traditional values, policies and principals of our nation and want to go to Congress to put America back on course. And this means that the conclusion of the MOAA that the decline of vets in Congress is likely to continue in the foreseeable future has been put to rest by the surge in vet participation in politics. Men and women dedicated to honor, service, patriotism and traditional values who want a strong America without sacrificing personal privacy and liberties.
The combination of the older Fighting Dems and the new crop will be a potent force in the next Congress. Support both the incumbent and the challenging Fighting Dem vets to help make America all it can be.
