For years US military personnel favored Republicans. I was not always clear on why, I have to admit, and my stepfather was a clear exception to this rule. He fought in WW II and Korea, retired the youngest Lt.-Col. in the history of the US Army (at least up to that point) and taught at Westpoint. And was a lifelong Democrat who in his retirement took to reading The Nation. But the fact was that most US military personnel were Republicans.
That has changed starting in 2002 and as of this year deployed US military personnel have donated to Obama 6:1 over McCain [1].
From the above linked Daily Kos Diary:
Here are some key talking points:
1. US military 2008 presidential campaign donations, from deployed US troops, favor Barack Obama over John McCain by a 6:1 margin.
2. The Open Secrets study was comprehensive - as ABC notes, "The center tallied money from donors who list the Air Force, Army, Marines, Navy and National Guard as an employer".
3. US military personnel have made a major shift in their donations, in favor of the Democratic Party, since 2002, when military donations favored the GOP by almost 5:1. Now, in '08, those donations favor the GOP only 3:2. That's a huge shift.
4. Anti-war presidential candidates got the lion's share of US military personnel presidential campaign donations in '08. Barack Obama is beating John McCain by 6:1`but Ron Paul, who has curtailed his campaign, nonetheless currently tops McCain by 4:1. US military personnel have expressed a clear preference through their campaign donations.
The full report can be found here [2].
I believe this should have been fully expected. Our soldiers have been so poorly treated, private mercenaries have been paid more and treated better than our real soliders, and Veterans benefits have been cut to the bone. It is no wonder our troops are angry as hell and are not going to take it anymore.
Supporting the troops means more than waving a flag. McCain doesn't understand that. And, in fact, his campaign responded to this report by essentially insulting the rank and file soldiers [3]. Barack Obama trusts our troops. McCain does not.
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