I've got a mad on again. In the Ohio-02 special election held yesterday, Iraq war veteran Paul Hackett narrowly lost to Jean Schmidt. The campaign was reminiscent of the 04 presidential election, but instead of a thirty-year-old military record being smeared by Swift Boat Liars, Hackett's recent service in Iraq came under attack.
Right-wing blogs, Rush Limbaugh, and the Schmidt campaign scoffed at the tour of duty Hackett served, voluntarily. A member of the Select Marine Corps Reserve since 1992, he re-enlisted and served a seven-month tour in Iraq, just last year.
But those who haven't the guts to put their own lives on the line, for a war they support, don't respect those who do. Rush Limbaugh, in a long conversation with a caller, repeatedly pointed out that, as a civil affairs officer, "Hackett didn't actually see combat in Iraq." He referred to him as a "staff puke." (Not only offensive, but wrong. Hackett did see combat, in Fallujah.)
The drugs have obviously addled Rush's brain, or maybe it's that "pilonidal cyst" acting up. Most officers don't see "actual combat", which he would know had he bothered to enlist or become commissioned himself. The vast majority of the soldiers and marines killed in Iraq have been from the enlisted ranks, young men and women barely old enough to drink legally, or seasoned sergeants with families back home they'll never see again.
Other right wingers jumped on the "didn't face combat" meme, despite the fact this is a gross insult to every wartime officer. Although they rarely point a gun, the hazards of living in a war zone apply to officers as well as enlisted. They perform vital duties behind the lines—among them, counseling those who've seen and felt the horrors of war up close.
They're far too busy to worry about their service records being besmirched for partisan political purposes, but I'm not.
Rush Limbaugh and the others who mocked Hackett's service record, including Jean Schmidt for not speaking out, deserve to roast in the hottest fires of hell—the sands of Iraq would do nicely.
They Swift-Boated John Kerry, and now mocked Paul Hackett. Veterans' benefits have been cut, even as they limp home from war.
Those purple Band-Aids the Republicans wore to their convention? I hope they kept them. They'll need them if I see them treading on any more war records.
Or maybe they could use that gold ribbon they've got stuck on their bumper, proclaiming their "support for the troops."
It would do more good wrapped around their mouths.
