The Politico-military Campaign

Among other things, I've been mulling over this post in Josh Marshall's Talking Points Memo, in which he decries the participation of the military at a Republican political event in Laramie County, Colorado.

A follow-up newspaper article appears here.

I can see Marshall's point that it might be against the military branch's internal procedures, but I don't follow his rationale that recognizing the accomplishments of the U.S. armed forces, and demonstrating an appreciation for their efforts by applauding them at a political gathering amounts to the unfair use of the military to a political advantage.

Should we exclude members of the military from attending political events or advocating political viewpoints? No, that would deprive them of their rights as an American citizen.

And any chance we get to show our support for American soldiers should be taken to full advantage, not just on Veteran's Day or Memorial Day, but on all days. The military command structure, after all, does not allow the fighting troops to make decisions about which battles are to be fought.

Just like those of us in the civilian world, they can only express discontent by voting in favor of or in opposition to their elected leaders, and by participating in the form of representative democracy we have at the municipal, state, and federal levels.

From where I stand, politics and the military are fully intertwined, from governors' speeches at bases that they're trying to save from Congress' ax, to ROTC programs at colleges and high schools. I think it's a bad precedent to try to sterilize the military by keeping its members away from political events, just as it's bad precedent to expect religious entities to stay out of politics. If we can have a preacher give an invocation at the local meeting of Democrats, then dag-blast it if it's wrong to introduce a person on active duty, and let them know we recognize the role they play in preserving our freedoms.