D Stands For...
Dyscrasia? Dichromatic? Democrat? Disappointed? That's it! That's the word I was looking to find! It sums up my feelings after watching one of the speakers at DonkFest last night quite nicely.
Most of the people blathered nonsense and general platitudes about bullshit. I caught the tag end of Dennis Kucinich's rant. He seemed pretty worked up by that point, and I wish I had gotten to see it. I think Dennis Kucinich was probably the most sincere candidate the Democrats had this year. He was almost completely misguided or wrong on nearly every issue, but I never got the sense that he was waffling or triangulating or otherwise shifting his position on the issues for temporary advantage. I admire a guy that will stand up and tell you exactly what he thinks, regardless of what that does to his electoral chances. I was pleased that he got a few votes at the end.
Overall, though, the man who had the biggest impact on me personally was GEN (ret) John Shalikashvili. I was really disappointed in his speech, and found it hard to take. First off, the fact that he came out for Kerry is just disappointing. I don't see how anyone who served in Viet Nam can support a man who came back from a four month tour and immediately proceeded to slander those still serving in theatre by branding them as war criminals guilty of the most heinous atrocities. I'm sorry, but I don't see how you could support someone who claimed that the organization you served in was mainly composed of murdering thugs. Anyone who thinks that John Kerry didn't say that needs to go read his Senate testimony and the Winter Soldier report.
I also don't see how an officer who served through the 70s and makes explicit reference to the Hollow Army in his speech can support someone who spent their Senate career trying to slash defense and intelligence budgets and gut defense procurement. John Kerry never proposed systems or approaches that would have enhanced military capabilities. He simply wanted to remove from the military the resources that would have enabled them to fight and win wars. Isn't that the essence of the Hollow Army of the 70s? We had an army that existed on paper, but not in actuality. If the military doesn't have the capability to act, isn't that a hollow force? Or more accurately, an empty threat? How do you come out in good conscience and support a man who has spent his career trying to cripple the military?
I really don't understand and it probably wouldn't have bothered me so much if I didn't have a certain amount of respect for GEN Shalikashvili. He always seemed to be a stand-up guy. It's always disappointing to see someone you thought better of act like an asshat.
I'll also take this opportunity to note that the DNC found retired flag officers of the Army, Navy, and Air Force to parade across the stage like they mattered. That doesn't bother me very much. Everybody's entitled to have an opinion, no matter how asinine it may be. I do, however, find it illuminating that they found no retired flag officers from the Marine Corps willing to participate.
Most of the people blathered nonsense and general platitudes about bullshit. I caught the tag end of Dennis Kucinich's rant. He seemed pretty worked up by that point, and I wish I had gotten to see it. I think Dennis Kucinich was probably the most sincere candidate the Democrats had this year. He was almost completely misguided or wrong on nearly every issue, but I never got the sense that he was waffling or triangulating or otherwise shifting his position on the issues for temporary advantage. I admire a guy that will stand up and tell you exactly what he thinks, regardless of what that does to his electoral chances. I was pleased that he got a few votes at the end.
Overall, though, the man who had the biggest impact on me personally was GEN (ret) John Shalikashvili. I was really disappointed in his speech, and found it hard to take. First off, the fact that he came out for Kerry is just disappointing. I don't see how anyone who served in Viet Nam can support a man who came back from a four month tour and immediately proceeded to slander those still serving in theatre by branding them as war criminals guilty of the most heinous atrocities. I'm sorry, but I don't see how you could support someone who claimed that the organization you served in was mainly composed of murdering thugs. Anyone who thinks that John Kerry didn't say that needs to go read his Senate testimony and the Winter Soldier report.
I also don't see how an officer who served through the 70s and makes explicit reference to the Hollow Army in his speech can support someone who spent their Senate career trying to slash defense and intelligence budgets and gut defense procurement. John Kerry never proposed systems or approaches that would have enhanced military capabilities. He simply wanted to remove from the military the resources that would have enabled them to fight and win wars. Isn't that the essence of the Hollow Army of the 70s? We had an army that existed on paper, but not in actuality. If the military doesn't have the capability to act, isn't that a hollow force? Or more accurately, an empty threat? How do you come out in good conscience and support a man who has spent his career trying to cripple the military?
I really don't understand and it probably wouldn't have bothered me so much if I didn't have a certain amount of respect for GEN Shalikashvili. He always seemed to be a stand-up guy. It's always disappointing to see someone you thought better of act like an asshat.
I'll also take this opportunity to note that the DNC found retired flag officers of the Army, Navy, and Air Force to parade across the stage like they mattered. That doesn't bother me very much. Everybody's entitled to have an opinion, no matter how asinine it may be. I do, however, find it illuminating that they found no retired flag officers from the Marine Corps willing to participate.
posted by T at 2:46 PM
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