When Trump Loses the Military, He Loses the Republican Party

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Written by David Bass   
Saturday, 05 January 2019 21:47

It's early January. The US Government has partially shut down, with no end in sight. Democrats have retaken control of the House of Representatives, electing Nancy Pelosi as Speaker and preparing to rev up various investigations. Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s final report may be coming soon, with much anticipation of its findings.

What a great time to be a progressive political junkie!

Almost lost in the recent headlines is President Trump’s repeated disrespecting of the military he so loves to romanticize. I’ll get to the details in a moment; first let’s recognize the big picture. Trump is going to lose the military. Whether active duty, reservists or veterans, most thinking men and women of the military are losing or already have lost respect for their Commander in Chief.

This is a major problem for the Republican Party, which obsesses with its pro-military image, premised on its belief that a strong American military is the world’s best guarantee of peace and that recognizing the sacrifices made by service men and women and supporting the special needs of veterans is a sacred, patriotic duty. Fine so far, and Trump and Congressional Republicans have been joined at the hip when it comes to large increases in military spending.

But GOP leaders and their supporters will abandon Trump as it becomes increasingly clear that Trump is losing the military.

Democrats have a special opportunity to develop a narrative that exploits the reality that Trump doesn’t listen to his own military leaders, doesn’t heed their advice, politicizes his interactions with the military, humiliates former generals serving his administration, attacks veterans and Gold Star families, and undermines the important work of the VA. For example, remember...

Need I go on?

How is it possible for anyone paying attention to think Donald Trump is pro military?

Traditionally, the military values the constitution, rule of law, chain of command, truth, alliances and loyalty. Trump… well, not so much on any of these. His values are not military values. True, he goes through the motions of demanding loyalty, but that’s a one-way street.

Can the Democrats serve up a cohesive and persistent narrative that exposes Trump’s losing of the military in a way that structurally weakens his support among Republican voters and elected officials? It’s waiting for them on a silver platter.

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