Should veterans stay out of politics?

Election 2014

The following is re-posted from the Online Townhall Meeting hosted by Greg Raths, conservative Republican candidate to represent California's 45th Congressional District.

This isn't the first time veterans have been attacked when they ran for elected office. You may not remember the 1964 contest for President between Lyndon Johnson and Barry Goldwater. I've studied it. The political battle centered around war: Democrats argued that Barry Goldwater and his running mate, Curtis LeMay, were going to get us into a war. Johnson, they argued, was more reasonably inclined to avoid it. Johnson was elected and proceeded to escalate the conflict in Vietnam into a full blown war involving a half million US troops. It was that incident that provided me with a living example of what is meant by chickenhawks, persons who are willing to commit his nation to war though they had avoided service in their youth.

---

Visit Greg Raths for Congress to learn more and support this candidate, a retired Colonel, USMC, combat fighter pilot, corporate executive, and community leader.

---

No one hates war more than a soldier. Does that surprise you? It shouldn't. Who else do you suppose is going into harm's way in the event of war? Those who serve in the military, of course. Why then should anyone be inclined to volunteer to serve in the military, I imagine you ask? The answer is simple. Those who volunteer understand that a strong defense is the best way to deter would be aggressors. Thus, we serve to avoid war, to keep it from infecting our homes and harming our families and friends. I served for thirty years on this premise.

There are many other factors equally important. Education. Experience. Character. Principles. Voting on any single issue is always foolish. However, there are few mistakes that voters make that are any more destructive than electing a chickenhawk to high office.

I invite you now to look beyond my military service. Compare my education with that of my opponents. I hold more degrees than the others combined. Compare my business experience. I have succeeded in private industry while some have succeeded only in winning elections. Granted, the others have held elective office and yet none have my experience working the legislative processes in Washington.

Yes, there's a lot more to consider than just military service. Just don't hold it against me that I served honorably, I rose to high rank, and I fought in combat in the airs over Afghanistan and Iraq.

---

Like Greg Raths on Facebook