While reading about Prince Harry sashaying back from Afghanistan (remember Afghanistan, everyone?) after his three months of duty, I was reminded of a certain politician and his finely-groomed pack of Mormon sons.
If you get past the fact that apparently soldiers can bring their own hair gel to war, and have time to style their red manes into an intense trajectory of spikes, Harry looks like he tried his best to fit in, act mild and unimportant, and do his job. That's more than the Romneys can say.
See, the Romneys didn't enlist, despite the fact that Mitt said the ONLY reason they hadn't rushed overseas was because - gee golly gosh - it was just so DARN important they help him with his campaign!
Well, he didn't win, nor did he "step aside" as he claimed. He lost. He lost despite the fact that he spent more than $1million per delegate. He showed himself to be a racially insensitive, wildly out-of-touch corporatist, who thinks so little of the serfs crammed into Iraqi desert bunkers that he compared his sons campaigning for his pathetic presidential run to soldiers serving in the armed forces.
Mitt Romney compared his sons riding in his air-conditioned bus with the service and sacrifice of soldiers. He did so with a straight face, despite almost 4,000 bodies having arrived back home (an increasing number of them suicides), plus anywhere from 23,000 to 100,000 wounded, and approximately 80,000 Iraqi civilian deaths from violence, which is a conservative estimate.
Perhaps those startling statistics, coupled with his presidential loss, would inspire Mitt to take his boys down to the recruitment office to enlist in the war, which Republicans like Romney claim is going swimmingly. No such luck. Instead, Mitt stayed silent, which in all fairness, was his only choice because he had firmly attached his thin lips to the teats of Washington's lobbyists.
Mitt Romney is a terrible politician. He's a terrible liar, too. In debate, part of Mitt's problem was that he couldn't keep his lies straight. He flip-flopped constantly, and McCain tore into him every chance he got. Mike Huckabee even got in on the Mitt-bashing, and if Mike Huckabee can out-politician you, you're in trouble.
But Mitt is a good father. He's a good father because he wants to protect his sons from a stupid war, which they could very likely die in. He knows their lives are too precious to waste on such a silly commitment. Unfortunately, Mitt's arrogance allows him to believe other people's children should die for that same mission of greed.
That's not true, of course, and if Mitt and his fellow politicians (Republican and Democrat) continue to vote for this wasteful, illegal war, they better plan on enlisting their own brood first.
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I am not sure why Mitt’s religion is a factor in your story. Call me a bleeding heart if you must, but I cringe whenever anyone writes derisively and gratuitously about a candidate’s religion, ethnicity or skin color. When a liberal like you does it, I wonder if they’ve sold out to the dark side, those crypto fascists who only pretend to be liberals. Could I be on to something?
We do agree on one thing. The draft should be reinstated. Pronto. No one should be exempt. No more all- volunteer military because, as we have seen, it takes unfair advantage of the poor and uneducated.
A final note – and to address points raised by other bloggers here: when there was a draft, I think most Mormon lads who served their church as missionaries ALSO did time in the military – regular military as well as National Guard and Reserves. I just checked the current stats, and it seems this tradition continues. As we all know, joining a Guard unit these days is no slick way to avoid combat or long stretches of active duty. Check it out!
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Semper fi
Greek poet Pindar, 518-438 BC
Let me get this right. Hillary and John Kerry both voted to authorize force to invade Iraq and both of them have daughters old enough to serve, and you're making political hay of Mitt Romney and his family? Mitt Romney wasn't even a Congressman and didn't vote to authorize force. Both of these Senators did. Why do expect that Mitt's kids to go to war and not theirs? It wasn't until about two years ago that Hillary and John actually flopped and pushed for a draw down - plenty of time for their kids to have enlisted at the outset of the invasion, do a couple of years in combat and then push for conscientious objector status when their political party ran out of courage.
Who are you? We elect our representatives to make the decision for us.
Semper fi
Basic traing for Repug kids consists of boozing,banking and berating the poor.
I never thought I would agree with you.
Great article.
Mark Finelli
Sole WTC 9.11 Survivor to Enlist in the Marines and fight in Iraq
You conveniently forgot to mention that the clinton hedge fund manager didn't enlist either. Remember equal opportunity?
Hey, is "Allison KilKenny" a nom de plume for "Larry O'Donnell"?
Semper fi
Let me ask you another question, since when has the US been a secular society? The Founders certainly didn't. They envisioned a pluralistic society where the government refrained from dictating to its citizens how they should believe or think.
Unfortunately, I suspect that your post is more revelatory of your own contempt towards Christians, and more specifically towards Mormons.
Regarding Mormons and military service... Utah has been at or near the top in support for GWB and his administration. That should translate into greater participation in the war effort. Sadly, that is not the case. In 2007 the Average number of army recuits per 10,000 population nationally was 4.9. Utahs' contribution was .46, less that 1/10th the national average according to Statemaster and the National Priorities Project. Many of us feel contempt towards the kind of hypocrisy. Mitt does provide a window into the way his LDS brothers feel about their obligation to support the policies he promotes.