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 on 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 U.S. troops at one time. It was that incident that provided me with a living example of what is meant by chicken hawks, persons who are willing to commit their nation to war though they had avoided service in their youth.
No one hates war more than a service member who has been in combat. 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. Under President Ronald Reagan I felt so proud to serve. He made it his number one priority to take care of the troops. His belief of peace through strength prevented war, and this conviction proved to bring down the mighty Soviet Union without firing a single shot.
As a politician 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 chicken hawk to high office.
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I invite you now to look beyond my military service. Compare my education with that of my opponents. I hold almost as many degrees as the others combined. Compare my business experience. I have succeeded in private industry while some have succeeded only in winning elections. Granted, two of my opponents have held elective office and yet none have my experience in Washington, D.C. I served three years at the White House as Assistant Chief of Staff of the White House Military Office when I was a Lieutenant Colonel and Colonel.
Some may point to veterans who have not served well in elected offices. I can point to many non-veterans who have failed in the duties of their office. There are those who have commented that Senator John McCain’s performance does not speak well for electing veterans. It may be that those who complain about McCain are disappointed only by his performance in later years. He once was a champion of conservative causes. His recent failures may serve as a better argument for term limits.
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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 a high rank, and I fought in combat in the airs over Iraq, Somalia and Kuwait as an F/A-18 Hornet pilot. I am proud of my service as my father is when he flew over the skies of Germany and France as a pilot of the A-20 Havoc in World War II, and my son who flew combat over the skies of Iraq in the F/A-18D Hornet during Iraqi Freedom.
Vote Greg Raths For Congress June 3, 2014
Greg Raths
Colonel USMC (RET)
Candidate for U.S. Congress
