Response to Schaeffer at Huffington Post

A friend of mine over at the Old School Blog wrote me a note about THIS; I'm Pro-Military So I Support Senator Obama (and I Have Some Advice for Him On Winning the Votes of the Military Family) by Frank Schaeffer over at Huffington Post.

Grab a cup of Joe and read it. It is well thought out but got my ire up quite a bit. Here is my response to my good friend Steve.

Pardon my long response Steve, I had to respond to many of Mr. Schaeffer's initial assertions prior to me answering your direct question.

I usually take what is said at Huffington with a huge grain of salt. Anyone who will let Bill Maher have a platform isn't worthy of reading in my opinion. He's an anti-Christian bigot and is best ignored.

To say the least I am disappointed that he has bought into a lot of the left leaning propaganda out there and is contemplating voting for a socialist (one who believes in government solutions to social issues) but i digress, that isn't the issues in his article.

He does make some points I agree with. I agree that the ideological left has taken control of the Dem party, but I do not believe that about the right. I wish it were true because i would be classified as far right by most people but McCain was the far right's LAST choice for President. I also agree that if Obama takes his approach he may sway some military families.

BUT this is totally ridiculous; "They are the torture enthusiasts, the war-of-choice enthusiasts, the radio talk show jerks who send other people's children to wars their own kids don't volunteer for. The Republican fringe goads America into acting like a bully. They are believers in a form of American exceptionally that -- spewed by bizarre apocalypse-obsessed religious right evangelicals and/or Dr. Strangelove neocons -- is a jingoistic, toxic, fear-driven myth of "they" against "us" that if unstopped, will result in wars without end. And above all the Republican fringe isn't a fringe at all: they've become the heart and soul of the ugly fear-mesmerized party in power."

His statement is truly revealing. I can hardly respond to this..'torture enthusiasts?" oy vey. As with most people he thinks he is in the "middle" but he isn't. The far right believes that Islamo fascist murderers are a real and deadly threat to all civilization, similar to the Nazi's but none I know of are torture enthusiasts and their case of them being a 'real threat' has good points.

We can disagree about whether Islamists are a real threat or how big, but this kind of bigoted, ignorant statement shows the guy's true colors. Yes I said bigoted. There is such a thing as anti-conservative bigotry. He has bought it hook, line and sinker. He spends too much time on Huffington i believe.

Although I respect the author for his somewhat thoughtful approach, he has bought into many liberal lies that have been proven to be false propaganda. These are the types of things the the HP talks about being facts...all the time. The propaganda may or may not be put out by our enemies but it is definitely put out by people with a blind political hatred for anyone on the other side if the aisle and it does its job when it is repeated often enough. The lies he repeats in this article have been told so many times that people just accept them as nevertheless fact now, but in my experience most of those people do not want to be convinced there is another view.

Also pardon my French a bit Steve some of the things this man is saying were debunked a long time ago but this day and age, most people don't read anything other than their own viewpoints restated. It makes me angry enough to cuss, I and my friend's lives are on the line here.

I do not claim to be connected to all military families judgments other than my own and the 30 or 40 i know personally. Of those, I would say 95% of I have talked to are afraid that Obama will be elected and he will pull us out before we finish what we have worked so hard for, leaving Iraq to try to defend itself only partially trained and outfitted to do so. Those who are there doing the work say we aren't finished but we are closer now than ever. I could never see making a case to quit, but especially now it is a dumb move and will not earn us any points with the world....if you care about that.

After the Patreaus implementation, it is impossible to deny (at least with a straight face) we are making huge progress and leaving now would give the terrorists exactly what they have predicted about Americans for 15 years. Their own propaganda has stated that we don't have the guts to finish anything when our own blood is involved. This is certainly true for people like Hillary Clinton, since she was all for it in the beginning and only wanted to quit when the going got rough and the far left got loud.

Most of the Marines I know and the ones i have read do NOT want to quit now. They want to finish, regardless of what their mommy and daddy want to do.

The enemy is hard at work on the propaganda angle more now than ever. I heard yesterday on KOA a talking head spouting that over a million innocent civilians have been killed in Iraq! He said his source was reputable but of course didn't site it. This is a lie. All deaths are tragic, but there is a big difference between the true number which is stated at 25 to 35,000 and a million. And those 35k INCLUDE the 10s of thousands of bad guys we have sent to Allah.

Apparently Mr Schaefer also gets into what I believe to be the worst of all things about politics....pretending he knows someone's motives. Only God knows people's motives. he wrote; "If McCain would only say what I suspect he believes" This one thing (thinking you know someone's motives and judging them accordingly) is why i am starting to steer away from politics...left AND right. I have to focus on Kingdom work. Besides the only way we are ever going to win the GWOT permanently is through the gospel of Jesus Christ anyway. But the left's lies really make me mad. The right exagerates, but the left LIES and those lies make the world a more dangerous place.

The author of this article says this "How do you win a war you never should have started which was based on misinformation that morphed into outright lies?" What "lies" would he be talking about? That there were no WMD's? That is a tired and disingenuous argument. NO ONE lied, they believed they were there and now they believe they were moved...possibly to Syria...does this mean the dictator was a nice guy? No one WANTED to go to war. They felt it was a good move to centralize our fight against Islamic Extremism, in the center of the middle east. Should the rape rooms, the children's prisons, the torture chambers been left alone? According to Obama and people like him, it was better to have that going on that for us to help them win Democracy.

Is he referring to Al-Qaeda in Iraq? AQI was in Iraq prior to our invasion including Zakarwi (sp?), it is a known fact easily proven by anyone who really wants to know the truth. The fact that the Washington post won't say it doesn't prove much other than they are bent. The WAPO, CNN, CBS and other MSM outlets like them believe their best days were during Vietnam when they had an impact on the outcome of the war. They helped us to quit. They are doing their best to duplicate that event.

What other "lies" was he talking about? The liberals who didn't want us to fight in Iraq since DAY ONE have been coming up with this shit since before we invaded. Do you remember what they predicted? Holocaust, Chemical releases on civilians, 10's of thousands of US casualties...The said that about Afghanistan too. Why should i trust what they say now. Their blind hatred for bush has proven to me they cannot be trusted in any way.

He also said "America's military has suffered a grievous blow from an inept and intellectually unqualified president." No one is qualified to make this statement. I can make one in opposition to it by my experience. Many were starting to wonder why bad decisions were being made on the ground (by Rumsfeld not necessarily by Bush) but when Patreaus was chosen and a new plan implemented (one that began working immediately) to a faster victory, most had their hope renewed. Now with Victory finally in site...the Democrats still chant "we are losing, let's leave!"

His "shared military heavy lifting" is also false. In my opinion the military (especially the reserves) is a cross section of society, poor, middle class and some wealthy (though admittedly not many). Those from wealthier families become officers right away because they afford college, BUT others of us get our degree paid for...and then become officers, evening it out AGAIN. I think he is out to lunch on this issue .

I have to respond to this one too ; Don't rely on a few retired generals for advice on the military. Between now and November get to know the enlisted military on a personal level in the same way as (according to press reports) you have enjoyed getting to know your Secret Service detail. Spend a few days on Parris Island watching recruit training. Go light-to-lights with a platoon, watch the best teachers in America--USMC drill instructors--work. The spirit you'll discover will resonate. It's the same uplifting spirit you found in so many people who sacrificed to work with you on the streets of Chicago."

He does all this.... Where has this guy been?

His conclusion obviously follows the same line of thinking. The only thing else i agree with is how to win the vote from SOME military families. IF Obama reads this and does what he says, it will work on some families. I hope Obama doesn't read it.

Bob