General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsVeterans are running as Democrats, and the GOP is scrambling to respond
WASHINGTON One Republican ad questioned a combat soldier's commitment to helping other veterans. Another struck a sinister tone in referencing a veteran's Marine Corps T-shirt. And in yet another congressional district, the GOP candidate implied that ideas don't matter in the military, prompting backlash from a major veterans-related group.
In the homestretch of a brutal 2018 congressional campaign season, some Republicans long accustomed to the support of national security-focused voters are struggling to respond to the unusually large number of military veterans running as Democrats in districts from Kentucky to Maine. They are grasping for ways to talk about those contenders without appearing dismissive of their service and without opening up more avenues for their opponents to highlight personal stories of heroism, a challenging balance in some of the most high-profile House races in the country.
"It doesn't appear that Republicans know how to run against our candidates," charged Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Ben Ray Lujan in a recent conversation with reporters.
He was referencing the kind of messaging that appeared in an ad from Congressional Leadership Fund, the House GOP leadership-aligned super PAC, accusing Democratic candidate and combat veteran Jason Crow of truancy on a state veterans' board and of having "turned his back on Colorado's veterans."
Local independent fact-checkers called the message "misleading" and one intoned, "Shame on them." It all quickly became fodder for a new Crow ad, an opportunity to remind viewers through the words of the fact-checkers of his biography. (His opponent, Republican Rep. Mike Coffman, is also a combat veteran.)
"To say he failed to advocate for veterans is simply false," says the Denver CBS affiliate's fact-check, which plays in the Crow ad. The correspondent continues, "Crow is not only a combat veteran himself, he was awarded a Bronze Star for heroic service."
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/veterans-are-running-as-democrats-and-the-gop-is-scrambling-to-respond/ar-AAABWEL?li=BBnb7Kz
violetpastille
(1,483 posts)Or maybe it was, "I like people who don't get caught, okay?"
The GOP has tried to minimize the heroism of soldiering compared to their prior stance. And now they need to make it seem as though staying home, drunk and assaulting women is the most noble way a young man can serve his country.
Never mind the women in service. Trump already told us they have no business being there.
After all, "What does Putin want?"
still_one
(92,422 posts)trashing of our European allies should be a loud and clear message never cared for those serving in the armed forces, or the country, and his only objective is to enrich himself and his family