Not Fit To Serve

“Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers.”

– Donald Trump

Governor Tim Walz's honorable service in the National Guard included a deployment to Europe,  providing base security while the soldiers normally stationed there served in Iraq. There was once a time when Americans would look at 24 years in the military and reflectively say “Thank you for your service.” That would be before Trump transformed the American political landscape.

Walz’s opponent in this year’s Vice-Presidential election, JD Vance, also served in the military, but under the name James Hamel, one of his many alter egos. While Walz has thanked Vance for his service, the Republican has only picked apart his counterpart’s contributions to our country’s security. Vance ignores Walz’s 24 years of sacrifice falsely claiming that he retired to avoid deployment to Iraq; Walz’s unit received deployment orders two months after his retirement was approved.

Waltz is “a pretty charismatic guy, as a leader and a motivator. And I felt like, no matter what the situation would be, whether it was like in high school or football or in the military – (he) just had that ability to see you, size you up, size up the situation and the people in that situation, and be able to help you do your best.”

– Lt. Col. Jonathon Jaqua served under Walz and was also his student

While Vance has no problem criticizing Walz’s 24 years of service, his running mate is a draft dodger who claimed to have bone spurs. The “ailment” did not prevent Trump from being, in his words, “the best bball player in N.Y. State,” but was enough to keep him from joining the “suckers” and “losers” who were drafted into service in Vietnam.

If Trump provides an example of how those with privilege were about to avoid service, John McCain shows what it looks like to have character. When capturing the pilot, the North Vietnamese saw potential for leverage as the third-generation Naval Academy graduate’s father was the commander of US forces in the Pacific. These plans were thwarted when McCain refused to leave his fellow prisoners behind.

Trump was unimpressed by McCain’s actions and the resulting five-plus years of torture he endured at the infamous “Hanoi Hilton.” During his 2016 campaign, he declared that McCain was “not a war hero.” As he explained: “I like people that weren’t captured”.

Apologists for the defeated former President claim this was simply a personal attack against a political opponent and was not meant to disparage veterans. They are also willing to ignore the “suckers” and “losers” comments believing Trump’s false assertions that they have been debunked despite confirmation from his former Chief of Staff, retired General John Kelly. It will be interesting to see how they try to explain away Trump’s latest insult towards those who live with the price they have paid for their service.

As was his right as President, Trump rewarded Republican megadonor Sheldon Adelson for the financial support of his candidacy by giving his wife the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In a weird attempt to prove he is not an anti-Semite (I don’t hate Jews, I gave this rich, Jewish widow an award), Trump bragged about how prestigious the award is. He told the assembled press it is “much better” than the “equivalent” Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest military award for bravery in combat. His reasoning:

“It's actually much better because everyone gets the Congressional Medal of Honor, they're soldiers. They're either in very bad shape because they've been hit so many times by bullets or they are dead. She gets it and she's a healthy, beautiful woman. And they're rated equal, but she got the Presidential Medal of Freedom.”

– Donald Trump

While active duty personnel and veterans are often counted as supporters of the Republican party, these types of constituencies should never be considered permanently tied to a political party. The Black community was long tied to the Republicans, the party of Lincoln, but switched their support to the Democrats in the wake of Nixon’s Southern Strategy to attract white supremacists opposed to Johnson’s backing of civil rights initiatives. California lost its status as a solidly red state after Governor Pete Wilson pushed anti-immigrant legislation, turning socially conservative Hispanics against the Republican party. Similarly, the Republican Party’s continued support of Trump despite his continued preponderance to disrespect those who have served could drive them from the party. With a distinguished veteran holding a place on their ballot, they have a chance to accelerate this change.
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Carl Petersen is a parent advocate for public education, particularly for students with special education needs, who serves as the Education Chair for the Northridge East Neighborhood Council. As a Green Party candidate in LAUSD’s District 2 School Board race, he was endorsed by Network for Public Education (NPE) Action. Dr. Diane Ravitch has called him “a valiant fighter for public schools in Los Angeles.” For links to his blogs, please visit www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com. Opinions are his own.