I Apologize for all those years

[Wisc Badger]

that I voted GOP while in the Navy. You would not believe how easy it is to be conservative while in the military. Many things that civilians have to worry about active duty military members do not.

Food, lodging and health care provided at no cost for the service member and monthly stipends for those with dependents. For a poor boy from Wisconsin it seemed like a great deal until.

Years later (and a service connected disability) I know better. It took me 10 years to kick the GOP habit (I am also a Christian, but my church is not far right).

I did vote for Kerry and I wish he had won, he carried Wisconsin though so I guess my vote kinda counted.

I AM VERY SORRY I EVER VOTED REPUBLICAN!!!

Signed a recovering Republican.

:dem:

[coloradodem2005]

1. We forgive you.

n/t

[Pacifist Patriot]

2. I'll own up to it.

As I grow older and wiser I find I am embarrassed to admit I ever voted for that party. But I did, and I must live with my mistakes. Never again!

[BeeBee]

3. That's OK...

a lot of us have done it. What's important is that you learn from your mistakes.

[amazona]

4. good for you

Too many people can't admit they ever made a mistake, so they get frozen in the past. In my youth, I was into the libertarian thing, so that's even more embarrassing!

[antigone382]

18. You're not the only recovering libertarian.

Of course, there are still some aspects of the party that I agree with, particularly their emphasis on civil liberties. But I can't believe I ever bought that total free market crap. I vote Democratic, but my beliefs are more Green than anything.

Hey, Wiscbadger, don't feel bad...at least you figured it out in the end. :) I know another former Navy member who still hasn't :( (I'm working on her).

(Edited to get your username right)

[freedom_to_read]

5. no apologies necessary, WiscBadger

instead:

thanks for your service to your country!
thanks for doing your part to help Kerry carry WI!
and, of course,
WELCOME to DU! :toast:

[Turn CO Blue]

6. I am a Recovering Republican as well.

Forgive me, everyone. I consider myself an activist now.

[HEAVYHEART]

36. Great!!

Big hugs for you! :hug: :hug:

[fertilizeonarbusto]

7. It's OK, man, we have all done foolish things

It's cool that you have seen the light-and that you can be a Christian without being hateful too. Welcome to the fight!
BTW, thank you for your service. We latte-drinkin' libruls appreciate it. :hi:

[Worst Username Ever]

8. No need to aplogize at all, glad to have you at DU

and we are glad you have seen the light, hehe.

[Ironpost]

9. Welcome to DU

I'll have to admit that I voted for a couple of them years ago, but mind you, never again. No appologies neccessary, the important thing is you've seen the light. Happy holidays,

[Cuban_Liberal]

10. You're forgiven

Welcome home!

:hug:

[On the Road]

11. I am a Recovered Republican Too

and I hope there are many more in the next few years.

[fertilizeonarbusto]

12. I'm SO sure there will be!

n/t

[Lydia Leftcoast]

13. Thank you, and welcome home!

:-)

[Tinoire]

14. Nothing to apologize about What counts is remaining

open-minded enough to progress in life.

Sadly, what many people in the military don't realize is that the Democrats took better care of soldiers than the Republicans ever did. Our biggest pay raise ever was under a Democrat (Carter) though Reagan was all too happy to take the credit for it.

Welcome aboard.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

15. this post made me so sad...

i am sorry for being judgemental....i think i understand the other side a bit better now.

[Solly Mack]

16. S'OK. Just don't do it again.

:)

[tk2kewl]

17. A question for you...

Why do military people vote republican? It is pretty clear that during the last 30 years republicans are more likely to go to war than democrats. Seems that military people would not want to go to war unless it was truly necessary. :shrug:

[ginnyinWI]

19. maybe it's the other way round

maybe more Republicans join the military. :)

[Wisc Badger]

22. For me

My dad was an auto worker and UAW but when I joined the Navy I found the lifestyle and culture lent itself to conservative outlooks.

Add a dollop of conservative Christianity and you have a ready made conservative outlook.

I found very few Liberals/progressive people. Many wanted to do their job but remember I was for the most part in the peace time Navy and also note that the Navy has not been called on to carry a large portion of the load compared to ground forces lately (Iraq's Navy is hardly the equivalent of the Kreigsmarine or Imperial Navy).

As I stated for a boy coming/running from an abusive home and little skills or money it sure seemed like a step up in life.

Also it represents a certain type of stability, like I stated before you can duck many of the problems civilians are forced to face every day. Up to the draw down of forces in the early 90's the military was recession proof. By that I mean if you were active duty you did not have to worry about being laid off or fired.

I have learned a lot about life both in and out of the service. And the older I have gotten the more I find myself turning progressive and much less conservative.

I am never, ever going to vote Republican again.

Maybe In a future post I will list reasons why I will not touch the GOP lever ever again.

Thank all DU'ers for making a vet feel welcome on this site.

:yourock:

[CarbonDate]

25. group-think

Democrats tend to be more independent thinkers. You can do the math from there.

[AP]

20. It's "easy to be conservative while in the military": that's why Repub's

want to militarize culture. That's why there's going to be a military channel on TV. That's why NPR insited on running two hours of the Pentagon briefings in early 2003 when we were bombing Iraq, even though it was nothing more than propaganda. That's why the Army uses a video game to recruit kids. That's why the nightly news stopped reporting on anything but terror and Iraq after 9/11.

When all you can think about is kill or be killed, it makes you much more willing to accept getting much much less while businessmen making money of militarization get wealthier and wealthier.

[proud patriot]

21. Welcome Underground

Glad you made it :hi:

[Midlodemocrat]

23. We forgive you

...after all, you are only human. :bounce:

[Butterflies]

24. now that you've seen the light

we forgive you. Now spread the word to your former associates! :-)

[Cleita]

26. I don't understand how people who enjoy entitlements such

as you outlined above, would vote Republican because Republicans are against all those things. I especially never understood why the military was so pro-GOP because your paychecks and benefits come from the taxpayer who often can't access affordable health care, decent housing and food for themselves.

But thanks for coming around. Better late than never.

[CarbonDate]

27. Different times

Although I've been a liberal for a while, I still considered it acceptable to vote Republican right up until the Chimperor unleashed his reign of terror. Prior to that, I figured that neither party was perfect and that I should judge by the person rather than the party.

I wish I could still do that, to be honest. But the GOP has gone so far deep into this group-think mentality that if you vote for a Republican today, chances are you're not voting for a person; you're voting for the party.

The Chimp has really changed everything. We need to work doing the long, hard work of taking back America, one neighborhood at a time.

[Cat Atomic]

28. My brother-in-law is just that way.

He's career Air Force. We were talking politics on Thanksgiving, and he was off-handedly praising Bush's whole "ownership society" bullshit. You know... personal responsibilty, self-reliance... the whole thing.

About 30 minutes later we were talking about careers, and he said he was staying in the military to retirement because he refuses to do his military job (jet mechanic) in the civilian sector. Says it would just be too scary to have a civilian job. Why? Because he'd really be responsible for his own work, with few redundancies and double-checking support staffers. No free housing, healthcare, etc.

That really pissed me off, and I asked why he was praising the free market and hiding from it at the same time. If it's good enough for some widowed grandmother, it should be good enough for a healthy, 40-year-old man.

[Sparkle]

29. I and many others forgive you.

Just don't let it happen again!:-) For your penance, I want you to minister to our troops that are in the service. Oops too late, they already voted for Bush.

[mcscajun]

30. I love to see "lie" put to the notion that you get conservative as you age

Been hearing that canard for decades now...

Nonsense!

[wicket]

31. Bless you

:hug:

[mhr]

32. Apology Accepted - Glad To Have You Here!

eom

[American Tragedy]

33. No problem. What's important is that you've changed.

But I have to say, I've always found it sort of ironic that the Republicans are so tenacious about the military, given their economic attitudes. As you've essentially stated, it is by far the most socialized institution in America.

I would be curious to know the real political leanings of members of the military. I was always under the impression that they were generally right-wing, but I can't really say since I've never been in it.


But anyway, welcome to DU, Badger! :hi:

[Wisc Badger]

34. It was my experience that the military

was very conservative in it's political outlook. Man was Reagan ever popular, so was Bush the first.

Clinton was despised and made fun of.

Carter was held in low regard also.

You just knew you were in GOP country in the military. And the polls of military voters taken this summer confirmed it and sadly did not surprise me.:shrug:

[American Tragedy]

38. What precisely was their problem with Clinton?

It better not have been the fact that he dodged the draft, since he certainly wasn't the only one.

[HEAVYHEART]

35. Good for you Wisc Badger

I'm glad you're with us now. :hug:

[HuskiesHowls]

37. Thank you for your time in the military

I used to work with a career Air Force sgt, so I can understand the conservative mindset.

Its too bad that the current administration is working so hard to cut veteran's benefits, and the medical help you can get. I hope everything works out ok for you.

At least you saw the light:-):-)