There's No Dying In Baseball

Rep. John Shimkus just took to the floor with one of the most ridiculous analogies, comparing the war in Iraq to a baseball game. See that here.

I would say that Shimkus doesn't know anything of war and the military, but the sad part is, he does! Shimkus is a graduate of West Point and served in the Army for five years, and then went into the Reserves, which he's still in.

To me, it seems like John Shimkus has become a follower, not a leader. Words like the ones he spoke sound like someone who has been brainwashed by right-wing think tanks. Being in the military, and knowing many people who have gone through West Point, I can tell you that at no point would the military ever accept a comparison to war that insults the seriousness of battle and the sacrifices that troops make.

John Shimkus needs to go back and relearn what he was taught, and speak those things on the House floor, no matter what pressure he gets from the White House or the neocon machine. War is serious. People die and are injured. And, always -- ALWAYS -- you do not send forces into battle when you don't absolutely have to, and you never keep them there when there's no military mission to achieve.

If you've really become that out of touch and won't go back to what you learned at West Point and during your service, Rep. Shimkus, then perhaps it's time you leave office and allow someone to take your seat who is willing to be a true leader. And if you won't, VoteVets.org will be there to make sure your constituents know what you seem to think of war.