We all heard how the GOP braintrust behind Schmidt in Ohio tried to diminish Hackett as a "staff puke" (I won't even bother with the irony of Rush Limbaugh towing that line - it is no longer funny). The cynical implication being that unless Hackett was knee deep in gore, he is a wimp. This after they also tried to call him a liar because some other guy flew a plane in the no-fly zone and didn't publicize it.
What the GOP effectively was saying was that the staff support in Iraq is of no value. OUR STAFF SUPPORT SOLDIERS IN IRAQ HAVE NO VALUE.
Think about that for a moment. The GOP diminished military service. We cannot let that go. Consider:
- Everybody in Iraq is in danger;
- Everybody there is sacrificing;
- Our Army is only as good as its support staff.
- That support has been corrupted by contractors resulting in ill-equipped soldiers.
Further analysis after the jump.
Seriously, think about it:
- Everybody in Iraq is in danger: Everybody there is pretty much on the front line as everyplace is dangerous, every thing is a front line and suceptible to a car bomb, the attack of choice of the insurgency. If you are there, you are at risk and you are going to confront death. There are no wimps in the US military in Iraq.
- Everybody over there has put their lives on hold, made sacrifices in terms of family and profession, if not life and limb. What an obnoxious, cynical and desperate thing for the GOP to suggest otherwise in calling him a "staff puke".
- Here's the kicker - our Army is only as good as its support staff. We do not just carry soldiers, but we hire and train people to be professional support staff. We do that because it is how you effectively get the soldiers in the field what they need to outfight the other guy. The combat guys want and need good supply support. See Richard Overy's great book "Why the Allies Won" (WWII) (the Germans and Japanese only had 3-4 supoort personel to every combat soldier; the US had at least 7, making sure the soldiers were fed and armed). Current battle demands are different, but getting the right stuff to the dance is still key and still requires a well-organized professional machine with quality support staff. Why go piss on the people our soldiers need the most, GOP?
- Underscoring this point is how bad things are going in Iraq with No-bid contractors stealing so much ( Haliburton ). Our guys are not getting what they need because the supply chains have been corrupted. They also have to suffer the indignity of watchign the private security forces get paid more, but that is another matter.
So for some reason, the GOP showed its true colors in this small nothing election and revealed how little they care about fighting this war.
Thank you, Mr. Hackett for taking one for the team. You really have done some good here.
And Dr. Dean and Mr. Reid, please hit the other side over the head with their blunder. They asked for it and deserve it.
