Should the fact that both Bush and Cheney are Chickenhawks be an issue?

[NNN0LHI]

I vote yes here. It demonstrates that while both Bush and Cheney have no qualms about sending young men and women to their deaths to make a quick buck, or because "he tried to kill my daddy", or just to steal the Iraqis oil. For whatever reason they did it, when Bush and Cheney had their chance to serve their country where their lives would be on the line they both took a pass. Sent someone else in their place. They didn't avoid Vietnam because they were against the war. They avoided Vietnam because they are both yellow bellies.

Don

[molly]

1. ABSOLUTELY!!!!

this needs to be brought out every day - our soldiers are dying.

[alexwcovington]

2. Buck Buck Bwcaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!

Sounds like a radio spot to me!

[wryter2000]

3. Of course

Their military service or lack thereof wouldn't matter except that they're claiming to be great military guys AND they're sending our children into wars that they would never, in their wildest dreams, consider serving in themselves.

[mrgorth]

17. Exactamundo

[King of New Orleans]

4. Chickenhawks then

Freeloading hawks now. They like to play war but when it comes time to pay for it, they put on the USA Visa card. They think our kids should be grateful to pay for it. It's all about responsibility or lack thereof.

[The Magistrate]

5. Certainly, My Friend

Indeed, it is well nigh impossible that it will not become one. People spend much more effort assessing character than issues in elections, and this sort of cowardice speaks directly to that question. It will be at the back of many people's minds, and loom far larger than any commentators will be willing to admit in coverage of the events unfolding. Sen. Kerry's record forces it to the fore without even direct comment on the question, and care should be takem to select a Vice-Presidential nominee who's biography mirrors Sen. Kerry's in this regard, to redouble the effect.

"LET'S GO GET THOSE BUSH BASTARDS!"

[grannylib]

6. Absolutely...I wanna see these bastards called on this and every other

issue of rank hypocrisy that they have displayed during their misadministration...

[sadiesworld]

7. It should be repeated ad nausem by dems.

It drives the repugs nuts, they want to change the subject so they quickly praise Kerry's service. Gee, thanks!

[Nashyra]

10. Absolutely

I vote for a commercial showing snippets of Kerry and hopefully Clark in some type of Vietnam action scene with the year at the bottom and the saying "we know why war should be a last resort" with pictures of * and bigger * cheeleading and in school or whatever what they were doin in the same year saying "they don't, that's why they lied to go Iraq". And end in a quote saying "Our Foreign Policy should be ready, able and willing as THE LAST RESORT", but it takes a REAL LEADER to keep us out of WAR and our soldiers home with their families. You get the gist.

[BeyondGeography]

8. We'll be labelled "weak on defense"

even though our guy put his ass on the line and got shot in Vietnam.

So, yes, we will enjoy the smell of chicken hawk in the morning.

[BOSSHOG]

9. Abso-fucking-lutely - throw delay into the equation as well !

As a veteran, I am constantly amazed at how republicans, who claim how patriotic and pro american they are can piss me off on a daily basis. LETS USE THIS ISSUE NOT ONLY AGAINST BUSH AND CHENEY BUT AGAINST ALL REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES. Its fine and dandy for the nonserving bastards to send kids to die without the life experience of having fought themselves. I'm also constantly amazed at how many of my fellow americans think they are just so wonderful. Fuck em. Its time for the septic tank cleaning people to back up to the people's house and get rid of the gop gunk.

[xray s]

11. Regarding Bush...this will be my mantra

First, in Colin Powell's own words (how sweet they are)

"I particularly condemn the way our political leaders supplied the manpower for that war," he wrote. "The policies -- determining who would be drafted and who would be deferred, who would serve and who would escape, who would die and who would live -- were an anti-democratic disgrace. I am angry that so many sons of the powerful and well placed and so many professional athletes (who were probably healthier than any of us) managed to wangle slots in Reserve and National Guard units. Of the many tragedies of Vietnam, this raw class discrimination strikes me as the most damaging to the ideal that all Americans are created equal and owe equal allegiance to our country."

Second, I will point to everyone I can that the US taxpayer spent $1,000,000 to teach W to fly, and then he blew it all off to work in a political campaign, party and show up to read magazines to fulfill his guard duty (if he showed up at all, that is).

[TacticalPeek]

12. It should be an issue only when aWol and Unka Dick

are prancing around in front of troops as backdrops, which will be constantly. These first R ads rolling out now are filled with it, and it should be crammed forcefully back down their lying throats.

And yes, Chicken Delay is a prime target that should be hammered, as well as any Shrub flacks who try to defend him on this.

No quarter.

[Monte Carlo]

13. I think Kerry would do best by encouraging the questions...

... about why they are so eager to ship our young men and women overseas to fight wars, but couldn't be bothered to go themselves when their name was drawn. The voters can answer those questions for themselves.

It'll need a light touch to get the ball rolling (or keep it rolling, at this point). Any heavy-handedness could lead to him being labeled as vindictive, petty, or cheapening his own service. The down-and-dirty push of Chickenhawk Cheney and his boy Bush should be left to the rank-and-file Dems.

[Hekate]

19. Exactly. Kerry should speak to vision for the future...

...and raise the questions about W and pals, leaving the nastier truth telling about the Chickenhawk in Chief to those lower in the hierarchy.

What was it Gloria Steinem said? "The truth will make you free, but first it will piss you off." Maybe we can get some Republican voters pissed off at Bush.

MoveOn.org is running ads about Bush's record as prez, and I'm sending them a bit more money for that.

Hekate

[BootinUp]

14. Focus should be on policy and governing failures

related to National Security 9/11, Iraq, Al-Qaeda etc. The chickenhawk thing should only be brought up as a response to particularly trashy attempts to smear our candidate's reputation.

on edit: As pointed out above, it would also be effective to counter the photo-ops on filght decks and such things. :)

[readmylips]

15. Yes..everything about those killers should be on the table but...

it should not be done directly by the Kerry campaign. They need to play the dirty game just like the bushies. Kerrys need to have specific groups counter-attacking each specific attack immediately. The media is bushies side and will limit Kerry's counter-attacks. I can't believe that in my country the media are such a bunch of nazis.

The Kerrys also need better spokespersons on tv. The bushies always have the rapid-talking blonds that crap on anybody. I can't stand to see that Brazil lady on tv anymore representing us.

[NNN0LHI]

16. I don't think Brazil has anything to do with the Kerry campaign

I think she works for CNN?

Don

[maxanne]

18. sorry

I don't think this is a winner, with the folk in the red states in particular. What they know is GWB in a flight suit - the guy who got Saddam. They're sick of hearing the rest of it. Cheney and Bush are fighting the war on terra - that's what they know. They're making us safe from crazed brown heathens. A lot of people don't have any kind of political analysis - they believe what they're told. Sorry, I don't see this as a winning issue for us.

Jobs, health care - that's where we have to hit them.

It's time to bring back the questions we've asked in the past:

Are you better off than you were 4 years ago?

Would you buy a used car from this man?

[BurtWorm]

20. No, not at all, and we should launch a national campaign to ensure

that the fact that they are fuckin' chickenhawks not be an issue so that everybody and their grnadmother knows that their being chickenhawks is the least reason not to vote for them. I will be mentioning it frequently, especially to veterans of foreign wars, that I do not think the fact that Bush and Cheney are lying chickenhawks should be an issue in this or any campaign. If you are going to vote against those two chickenhawks, I will say, let it be for some reason other than the fact that they are scummy little chickenhawks.

[ChiefJoseph]

21. No.

Both parties have "chickenhawks" who didn't serve, but who have voted for or explicitly ordered our troops to their deaths. It would be silly and hypocritical for us to use this as an issue after supporting Clinton's military deployments.