Bernie Sanders’ surge is partly fueled by veterans
Bernie Sanders battled over veterans issues as head of the Senate’s veterans affairs panel.By Annie Linskey Globe Staff June 28, 2015
DES MOINES — Vermont’s Bernie Sanders railed against the Vietnam War. He voted against invading Iraq — both times. He wants to cut the defense budget.
He might not be a friend to the military, but many veterans believe he’s gone to war for them. And that’s why they’re out there cheering for a socialist as he launches a bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.
There’s the former Marine who drove about six hours to hear Sanders speak in Des Moines. There’s another former Marine, this one a registered Republican, going door-to-door to collect signatures so Sanders’ name will appear on the ballot in Indiana. Entire Reddit threads are dedicated to how veterans can best pitch Sanders to other veterans.
“He is revered,” said Paul Loebe, a 31-year-old who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan during eight years of active duty and spends three hours a day updating a Facebook page promoting Sanders to veterans. “He’s very consistent with where he stands. He’s the first politician that I’ve believed in my life.”
in full: https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2015/06/27/bernie-sanders-surge-partly-fueled-veterans/e1qNTpzFpIaoxIGKygKa9J/story.html
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No candidate running understands this more than the Senator from Vermont, Senator Bernie Sanders. His thoughtful opposition to wrongheaded US invasions stands alone, and has been consistent in applying the proper principles when our military has been used.
Put into its proper context this oath each government official takes shows he is about the only friend soldiers have. He will not send the military into harm's way without compelling and reliable information. Those who have felt the battle first hand understand this necessary position clearly. It represents the best kind of thinking to protect the nation.
He has not shirked from his duty as a public official to properly "look before you leap". As Commander in Chief, every service man or woman could feel confidant that his decisions would be based on solidly confirmed intelligence.
No other candidate brings his experience or judgement to the table. He would unite this country in a way we haven't seen in decades, and save lives here and abroad to boot.
I am a supporter of his candidacy. I believe he should get all voters serious attention. Whether you are conservative, liberal, or in between he stands out as someone who will do the right thing for everyone who lives in this country, bar none.
As Winston Churchill once remarked: "You can count on Americans to do the right thing, but only after they have tried everything else." It is time to make the correct choice for ourselves and those to come after us.
he has worked upon for many years..and it appears to be resonating as it should.
Compare/contrast with the others...no one quite like him at this point in time.
You care about the human beings in the military by not putting them in harm's way for no good reason. When Mrs. Clinton stood up and said, "I don't think Saddam had anything to do with 9/11, but he's a bad man so let's go get him anyway" she decided that a few thousand people and almost a million Iraqis were worth the price. But Bernie Sanders did not because he values people over profits and it really all just comes down to that.
I hope this idea spreads far and wide through the veterans community. The military are often assumed to be Republican supporters, so they have a unique position to get the word out about Bernie.
Here is the Veterans for Bernie Sanders page https://www.facebook.com/veteransforsanders
Afghanistan...seems evident they have a significant trust for Bernie.
Republicans destroyed what trust they had for how many vets, I don't know.
I agree, lets hope they get the word out to more veterans..their words are
more powerful than ours in these circumstances.
Thanks for the facebook link..that is great.
