Hate

[ceebeegee]

From the Washington Post LTTE page:

Some delegates at the Republican National Convention are wearing bandages with Purple Hearts on them as a way to mock Democratic nominee John F. Kerry.

This childish tactic is also an attack on all brave soldiers who were wounded in defense of this country.

These delegates should be ashamed.

My grandfather (Army Air Corps pilot during WWII, decorated numerous times although no Purple Heart--he was known for bringing his men back safely--he did however win the Croix de Guerre avec Palme) would spit on these people. How. Dare. They.

Comments

[minstrel70.livejournal.com]

Fucking lily white scumbag cowards.

Why the assumption that everyone wearing those bandaids was white? And even if true, where's the relevance? Is political speech by someone who is white and Republican automatically invalid?

And cowards? You're quite certain that none of them served? Oh, of course they didn't. Republicans don't do that. And no veteran would ever question another's medals. Not even a Swift Boat Veteran. Or 250 of them.

Purple Hearts are occasionally given when they shouldn't be. I happen to have observed one such occasion. It resulted from one soldier's excessive curiousity to see the insides of a bombed-out T-72 tank in southern Iraq in 1991, during the cease-fire, and the wound was minor, requiring only a field dressing. For his accident, that soldier is wearing the same Purple Heart as Max Cleland, who lost three limbs in combat. Are you telling me that if that soldier were running for office as a Republican, and stressing the importance of his combat service, you would consider it completely out-of-bounds to raise the issue?

And it's not just Purple Hearts. There was a general rule in the Army, at least in the 1st Armored Division, during Operation Desert Storm regarding combat service medals: everyone got at least one. E-1 through E-4 got Army Commendation Medals (I got one), NCO's and company-level officers got Bronze Stars (without "V" device for valor), and field-grade officers (Major and up) got Silver Stars. Of course, if a higher individual award for valor was warranted, it was given, so, for example, a Bradley gunner (E-4) in my company who scored 10 confirmed vehicle kills was awarded a Bronze Star with a "V" -- despite the fact that the kills might as well have been in a video game, as there was no incoming fire involved. He fully admitted to being embarrassed to receive the "V"

Point is, military records are not automatically excluded from question, especially if they are being loudly trumpeted as qualifications for office.

[ceebeegee.livejournal.com]

From the Washington Post chat today:

Washington, D.C.: As an Indian (from India) I've watched bits of the Democratic convention and have started watching snippets of the Republican convention. I am surprised by the homogenous color (shades of white) of the attendees at the the RNC compared to the Boston party which had a very wide range of people and skin colors.
Is this really the case on the RNC convention floor? Or am I just seeing sections of the delegates on TV and in your photographs?

Robert G. Kaiser: No, this is a much whiter convention than the one in Boston. I looked up the statistic: about 6.4 percent of delegates here are African-American, and about that many are something else other than white. Whites are more than 80% of the total. The GOP is diversifying, but slowly.

"Point is, military records are not automatically excluded from question, especially if they are being loudly trumpeted as qualifications for office."

Questioning is one thing; ridicule is another.

I love Kerry's "loudly" trumpeting his military record. I'm sure it makes chicken hawks like Limbaugh squirm.

[minstrel70.livejournal.com]

African-Americans make up approximately 18% of the U.S. population and in recent contests have voted roughly 90% Democrat to 10% Republican, meaning that approximately 1.8% of the U.S. population is comprised of African-American Republicans. I'd say 6.4% at the convention is quite strong representation. Or, perhaps voting patterns and party affiliation are beginning to change.

Either way, I don't think it's a bad thing for the GOP. If there's an overrepresentation of African-Americans amongst the delegates (who in general tend to be more enthusiastic and active in politics than the general public), then we can infer that those African-Americans Republicans are more enthusiastic about the party than the average Republican is. If it's an indication of changing demographics within the party, it spells trouble for the Democrats, who would be losing their grip on their most reliable voting block.