Why are military members "conservative" and...?

Question

I am member of the military and consider myself a liberal. I am also a caucasion Taoist. I am a rare being in the military. I am just curious to know why poor people dont think as openly as I do? I have my reasons but I would like to hear yours... Thanks in advance...

WOW TOWELIE!! Two americans died in Kosovo... haha Are you joking? poor answer. NEXT!

Answer 1

Because most people in the military see those that are against what they do as liberals.

Let's face it, most liberals don't like war unless a liberal president leads us there.

You don't hear anyone complain about the lives lost in Kosovo because Clinton sent them there. (Without Congress' approval I may add)

Answer 2

Well compare Military pay raises between the years Democrats are President and Republicans are President.

They are about 75% higher when republicans are president.

Compare equipent upgrades done between the two.

When Clinton left office, the military was still using vietnam era flaq vest instead of body armor.

Just look at the funding levels for the VA between the two.

VA funding went from 36 billion to 46 billion in 8 years under Clinton.

It has went from 46 billion to 88 billion in 6 years under Bush.

When was the last time the Marine Corps didn't meet it's recruiting goal ??

In 1998 under Clinton.

Even with two wars, the Army has only missed it's recruiting goals once under Bush, and the Army is expanding and getting larger by 70,000 soldiers.

The army missed it's recruiting goals 3 times under Clinton.

it is easy enough, the republicans support the military more than the Democrats do.

The Republicans use the military after Congressional approval.

The Democrats never get Congressional approval before using the military.

Case in point, Clinton used the military in Serbia, iraq, Afghanistan, kosavo, haiti and sudan, all without Congressional or UN approval.

Military deaths per year:

1993 1,213
1994 1,075
1995 1,040
1996 974
1997 817
1998 827
1999 796
2000 758
2001 891
2002 999
2003 1,410
2004 1,887
2005 919
2006 920

Answer 3

Sorry you arent as open as you think. A "why cant people think as openly as me" usually indicates that you dont empathize well. Libs and cons have many of the same blindnesses.
The military is a follow orders and a by nature pathriotic organization. It is conservative. People who do well are those that generally follow the rules.
As for the poor people comment. Grow up a little please. Look around the world, most people dont think all that openly. It is easier to do that then go through the difficulties of changing your world view. And even more difficult if you havent had access to travel and a good education.
Thank you for your service.
I believe you have a big blind spot in your manner of thinking.

Answer 4

I got that beat, I'm Gay and retired from the Army. But, my political affiliation is very Republican. I served during the last two decades of the Cold War. The Democratic party did everything they could to lose to the Soviet Union. I got to see it close up. Democrats are just a bunch of self serving traitors.
When you ETS, I hope you go to a nice University, take a Political Science course, and learn the true meaning of the word "Liberal". You will find that it fits the Republican party perfectly.
You heard it from this old 19D/19K first

Answer 5

Don't let party affiliation fool you into believing what is and what is not conservative. Both political parties in the US are a mixture of conservative and liberal philosophies. Big business is a Republican thing, not a conservative thing.
While having a strong military as a deterrent to war is a conservative philosophy, actually using that military is a liberal philosophy.
A true conservative serving in the military knows that when they have to go to war that conservative alternatives to war have failed or were not utilized.

Most on here weren't even born , but 40 years ago it was the @#$% Republicans that were not supporting the war. Isn't it ironic that 40 years ago we elected a Republican president to end the war, and a year ago we elected a Democratic congress for the same damn reason.

Answer 6

I was in the Marines, and my wife is in the Army, and we are both conservative. There are a lot of conservatives in the military because the military lifestyle (particularly the Marines) tends to appeal to a more conservative outlook. It requires you to take things like Honor, Courage, Commitment seriously. Plus, particularly in combat arms MOSes, it requires being willing to engage an enemy with fire and try your level best to kill him. This isn't something a lot of liberals are willing to do.

Also, despite the claims of "We support the troops", liberal groups still like to insult the people who lead those troops they support (General Betray-Us anyone?). Why would a Marine or Solider want to associate with people and causes that support organizations like MoveOn.org?

And to be honest, you kind of made the point yourself with the " I am just curious to know why poor people dont think as openly as I do?" comment. You pretty much called your fellow, I'm willing to bet Airmen, (people who claim to be "members of the military" and don't give the branch are usually things like Air Force mechanics or clerks, who seem to get practically embarassed when they have to say which branch they belong to) poor and close minded. That is a pretty insulting thing to say. Why would I want to hang around people who insult me? You clearly think that you are better than the people around you, somehow superior. That attitude doesn't win friends in an environment that is supposed to promote teamwork and brotherhood. And that attitude is why about 80% of military members in most polls identify themselves as "conservative".

EDIT: For David R. Your answer was crap. The military votes overwhelmingly Republican. That is why, in 2000, when Al Gore was talking about counting "every vote", he wasn't talking about the absentee ballots in Florida that he tried to suppress. Why? Because he knew that most absentee ballots are military ballots, and the military votes Republican somewhere between 60-80% of the time. If you look back at just the last few elections, they voted for Bush Sr. in 1992, Dole in 1996, and Bush in 2000 and 2004 by wide margins. You don't know what you are talking about.

Answer 7

The terms conservative is so overused as to be meaningless. Most people in the military share a common set of values that revolve around honor, tradition, and loyalty. However, you can find all religious belief and all value systems. The military runs from Atheists to Wicans. As far as politics most of the long term military I know are closer to libertarians than anything else.

Answer 8

I agree completely with Towelie. I am noticing that a lot of conservative responses to the moronic rants of the far left wing socialists on this board are getting deleted.....so much for free speech. Liberals can say the most evil, vile and insensitive things imaginable and call it free speech. We conservatives speak our mind and it's considered hate speech. But the truth will prevail..........

Answer 9

this is a provocation, isn't it? you are too precious to be wasted at the battlefield, please get discharged, otherwise the humanity would lose such a rare openminded person.
All the time I hear about liberals it is about waving flowers, giving multicultural parties and hugging everyone including trees.
I am not American, I am nor conservative nor liberal /we have different political fractions here/ but I know the time to hug and the time to punch.

Oh, by the way, I am "caucasian" .. huh.. white atheist.

Caucasian.. nice euphemism.. such a liberal word.

Answer 10

Towelie Kosovo was a UN sanctioned mission. Please get more info regarding this before you blind my eyes further with sweeping statements and untrue information.

Military is military but trust me the top brass dont care if your liberal, republican, democrat or even sum Jedi Knight wannabe. They only care wat u r wen its voting time. dats all. So they can crunch nos and estimate who's gettin which state.

Dylan88 join SF. any branch. u'll be welcomed there. dats da part dat doesnt care if yr liberal or a str8 laced rep.