The Republican Congressional leadership: (until recently) ALL "CHICKENHAWKS":         Republicans Conservative attacked President Clinton for having questioned the Vietnam War.  But unlike ChickenHawks, Liberals like Bill Clinton fought to save ALL American young men from injury and/or death in a senseless war -- which most of us now belatedly understand was the right thing to do. --         On the other hand there were literally millions of dishonest hypocritical, cowardly conservatives who supported the war and argued in favor of other young Americans going off to fight and die in Vietnam, while "conserving" their own precious hides stateside!  Here are just a few of these high profile, holier than thou hypocrites: George W. Bush -- used his family connections (what else is new?!?) to get into the Air National Guard and then "deserted" his post for two years. but still got an "Honorable Discharge". see AWOL from National Guard Duty Dick Cheney     -- sought graduate school deferment, (too smart to die). The whole Bush Family's aversion to Military Service:       [ Correct me, if am wrong, but since I could not find any evidence that any of the following did serve, I am assuming that they didn't.] None of George W. Bush's three brothers, Jeb, Marvin, or Neil served. None of George H. W. Bush's three brothers, Jonathan J. , William T. , or Prescott S. Bush served. President George H. W. Bush's sister, Dorothy Walker Bush was married and divorced twice, and dated reportedly gay Congressman David Dreier for a year.  Does that count ? Neither of President George W. Bush's two adult children (twin daughters) have served. One of Governor Jeb Bush's three adult children (oldest son) is in stateside Navy Reserve. Who knows if either of brother Jonathan J. Bush's two adult sons have served?         When G.O.P. presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, was asked in 2007 why none of his five sons (all perfect candidates for military service) had come forward to serve in the war that Romney supports enthusiastically, his response was "My sons are adults. They’ve chosen not to serve in the military in active duty and I respect their decision in that regard. … And one of the ways my sons are showing support for our nation is helping me get elected because they think I’d be a great president."         G.O.P. presidential candidate Giuliani had the gall to question the courage of Democratic war hero John Kerry. Yet,         "Giuliani did not serve in the military during the Vietnam War. He received a student deferment while at Manhattan College and another while at NYU Law. Upon graduation from NYU Law in 1968, he was classified as 1-A, available for military service. He applied for a deferment but was rejected. In 1969, MacMahon (the judge for whom he was clerking) wrote a letter to Giuliani's draft board, asking that he be reclassified as 2-A, civilian occupation deferment, because Giuliani, who was a law clerk for MacMahon, was an essential employee. The deferment was granted. In 1970, Giuliani received a high draft lottery number; he was not called up for service although by then he had been reclassified 1-A. [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudy_Giuliani#Early_life_and_education]"

Republican chickenhawks in the U.S. Senate: Mitch McConnell, the current Republican leader in the U.S. Senate: did not serve. Bill Frist,, the former Republican leader in the U.S. Senate: did not serve. Trent Lott, the former Republican leader in the U.S. Senate: avoided the draft, did not serve. Saxby Chambliss: did not serve. "Bad knee" He defeated tripelegic Democratic war hero Max Cleland by questioning his patriotism!
Don Nickles: did not serve. Rick Santorum: did not serve. John Ashcroft: did not serve. Seven deferments, to teach business. Richard Shelby: did not serve.	Phil Gramm: did not serve. Spencer Abraham: did not serve. Jon Kyl: did not serve. John Engler: did not serve.
Republican chickenhawks in the U.S. House : Newt Gingrich   -- sought graduate school deferment, (too smart to die). Majority Leader Dick Armey - avoided the draft, did not serve. Majority Leader Tom Delay - avoided the draft, did not serve. Majority Leader John A. Boehner - did not serve. Jack Kemp: did not serve. "Knee problem," although continued in NFL for 8 years.
G.O.P. Leader Roy Blunt: did not serve. Bob Ney: did not serve. David Dreier: did not serve. Tim Hutchison: did not serve. Christopher Cox: did not serve. Dana Rohrabacher: did not serve. John M. McHugh: did not serve.	JC Watts: did not serve. Vin Weber: did not serve. Bob Barr: did not serve. Mark Souder: did not serve. Walter Jones: did not serve. Katherine Harris: did not serve. .
Republican chickenhawks in the Executive & Judicial branches: Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts, and since presidential candidate: did not serve. Arnold Schwarzenegger: AWOL from Austrian army base. Marc F. Racicot, former Montana governor and attorney general, Bush reelection chairman and former head of the Republican National Committee Don Rumsfeld: served in Navy (1954-57) as flight instructor. Kenneth Starr : sought deferment (for psoriasis). Bill Bennett : sought graduate school deferment, (too smart to die). Ted Olson, (Starr's assistand, and since Solictor General)
Karl Rove: did not serve. Paul Wolfowitz: did not serve. Richard Perle: did not serve. Douglas Feith: did not serve. Eliot Abrams: did not serve. Ari Fleischer: did not serve. Andrew Card: did not serve. Ken Adelman: did not serve.	Don Evans: did not serve. Michael Ledeen: did not serve. Elliott Abrams: did not serve. John Bolton: did not serve. Rudy Giuliani: did not serve. George Pataki: did not serve. Kenneth Starr: did not serve.
Supreme Court :
John G. Roberts, Jr.: did not serve. Samuel Alito: did not serve.	Antonin Scalia: did not serve. Clarence Thomas: did not serve.
The LIBERAL John Paul Stevens is the only current justice who DID serve, (in the Navy during the 3 worst years of WW II). Republican chickenhawk Mouthpieces : Rush Limbaugh   -- sought deferment (because of a cyst on his tail end). (Rush's Conservative brother) David Limbaugh: did not serve. George Will     -- sought graduate school deferment, (too smart to die). Pat Buchanan     -- sought deferment (for bad knee). Pat Robertson   -- his US Senator father got him out of Korea as soon as the shooting began. John Wayne obtained deferments (but to his credit, it was for good, not superficial, reasons.
Sean Hannity: did not serve. Bill O'Reilly: did not serve. Matt Drudge: did not serve. Steve Forbes: did not serve. Tony Snow: did not serve. Michael "Savage" Weiner: did not serve. Brit Hume: did not serve. Roger Ailes: did not serve. Chris Matthews: did not serve. Neil Boortz : did not serve. : did not serve.	Paul Gigot: did not serve. Bill Kristol: did not serve. Ralph Reed: did not serve. Michael Medved: did not serve. Charlie Daniels: did not serve. Anne Coulter: did not serve. Jerry Falwell: did not serve. Alan Keyes : did not serve. Ted Nugent: did not serve.
For a great illustrated version of this list, check out angelfire.com/ok5/pearly/htmls/gop-pansies.html For a great shockwave version, check out toostupidtobepresident.com/shockwave/chickenhawks.htm For a great video of: the NEXT generation of Republican Chickenhawks. For "Chickenhawk Blues" song http://scroom.com/chickenhawkblues For a great set of Playing Cards for only $14.95, check out www.chickenhawkcards.com

We honestly believe this is one of the very best web site on this topic on the entire www, Whether you agree or want to contest that claim, we invite you to publish your views at our forum at www.LiberalsLikeChrist.Org/forum.

DEMOCRATIC LEADERS who "walked the walk" :         While most Democrats don't just say that war should be the last resort but truly believe it and try to resolve conflicts through more peaceful means, when just wars have been necessary and unavoidable, they have a long established record of putting their own lives and those of their own children on the line, rather than persuading other people to sacrifice themselves and their children: Senator & Presidential Candidate McGovern, one of the elite few Air Force bomber pilots to fly the maximum 35 successful bombing missions in WW II. Stephen Ambrose, who wrote a book about him, called him "one of the greatest patriots I know." Jack Valenti ( President L.B. Johnson's special personal assistant) flew 51 combat missions as the pilot-commander of a B-25 attack bomber and received four decorations. The famous liberal Democrat Norman Lear (of Archie Bunker fame) also flew 52 bombing missions, during that war, 37 of them over Nazi Germany. Former Vice President Al Gore - enlisted August 1969; sent to Vietnam January 1971 as an army journalist, assigned to the 20th Engineer Brigade headquartered at Bien Hoa, an airbase twenty miles northeast of Saigon. Senator John Kerry, Lt., U.S. Navy 1966-70; Silver Star, Bronze Star with Combat V, and three awards of the Purple Heart for his service in combat. Gov. & President Jimmy Carter: Lt. Commander in the Navy 1946-53. Gov. & presidential candidate, Michael Dukakis: Army 1955-57. Sen. John Glenn: WWII and Korea; six DFCs; Air Medal w/18 Clusters. Gov. & U.S. Sen. Chuck Robb: U.S. Marine Corps, 1961-70, Vietnam. Senator Daniel Inouye, US Army 1943-'47; Medal of Honor, World War Two. Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) - U.S. Army, 1951-1953. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) - Lt., U.S. Navy, 1962-67; Naval Reserve, 1968-74. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) - U.S. Army Ranger, 1971-1979; Captain, Army Reserve 1979-91. Senator Fritz Hollings (D-SC) - served as a U.S. Army officer in World War II, receiving the Bronze Star and seven campaign ribbons. Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, 1st Lt., U.S. Air Force SAC 1969-72. Former Senator Bob Kerrey, Lt. j.g., U.S. Navy 1966-69; Medal of Honor, Vietnam Former Senator Max Cleland, Captain, U.S. Army 1965-68; Silver Star & Bronze Star, Vietnam. Sen. Howell Heflin: Silver star. Representative Richard Gephardt, former House Minority Leader - Missouri Air National Guard, 1965-71.. Representative David Bonior - Staff Sgt., United States Air Force 1968-72. Representative John Conyers served for 9 years: Michigan National Guard (1948-50); US Army (1950-54); US Army Reserves (1954-57) Representative Charles Rangel, Staff Sgt., U.S. Army 1948-52; Bronze Star, Korea. Representative Jack Murtha (D-PA) - distinguished 37-year career in the U.S. Marine Corps, Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts, retired from the Marine Corps Reserve as a colonel in 1990. Representative Leonard Boswell (D-IA) - Lt. Col., U.S. Army 1956-76; two tours in Vietnam, two Distinguished Flying Crosses as a helicopter pilot, two Bronze Stars, and the Soldier's Medal. Former Representative "Pete" Peterson, Air Force Captain, POW, Ambassador to Viet Nam, and recipient of the Purple Heart, the Silver Star and the Legion of Merit. Rep. Mike Thompson, D-CA: Staff sergeant/platoon leader with the 173rd Airborne Brigade, U.S. Army; was wounded and received a Purple Heart. Pete Stark, D-CA, served in the Air Force 1955-57. Tom Lantos: Served in Hungarian underground in WWII. Jim McDermott: Navy. Gray Davis, California Governor, Army Captain in Vietnam; received Bronze Star. Bill McBride, Democratic Candidate for Florida Governor - volunteered and served as a U.S. Marine in Vietnam; awarded Bronze Star with a combat "V." Gen. Wesley Clark, Democratic Presidential Candidate - lengthy military career.         One of the most consistent supporters among prominent Democrats of G.W. Bush, when it comes to his war in Iraq, is Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut. Joe never served in the military, which may be why he has been one of the most enthusiastic chickenhawks, although supposedly a "Democrat" (tongue in cheek).

Contrary to his many public lies about Vietnam and his claim to have "a secret peace plan" to get us out of it much earlier, we now have a tape of Republican President Richard Nixon saying to Secretary of State Henry Kissinger on the Watergate tapes :         "The only place you and I disagree . . . is with regard to the bombing.  You're so goddamned concerned about the civilians, and (but) I don't give a damn.  I don't care." . . .  "I'd rather use the nuclear bomb. . .   Does that bother you?  I just want you to think big."

 

Bush's idea of "Supporting the Troops":

Bush Administration cuts $1.5 billion from military family housing. The Bush Administration cut $1.5 billion for military family housing, despite Department of Defense statistics showing that in 83,000 barracks and 128,860 family housing units across the country are below standard. ("Nothing But Lip Service," Army Times, June 30, 2003; "House Appropriations Committee Approves $59.2 Million for Ft. Hood," U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards Press Release, June 17, 2003) Bush Republicans support millionaires instead of military veterans. Bush allies in Congress stopped efforts to scale back the tax cut for the nation's millionaires by just five percent - a loss of just $4,780 for the year - in order to restore this funding for military family housing. ("The Tax Debate Nobody Hears About," Washington Post, June 17, 2003) Bush Administration underfunded veterans' health care by $2 billion. The Bush Administration's 2004 budget underfunded veterans' health care by nearly $2 billion. ("Vets Health Low on Bush's Priority List," The Hill, September 17, 2003; "Support for Troops Questioned," Washington Post, June 17, 2003; U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs, September 2002) Bush Administration proposal would end health care benefits for 173,000 veterans. More than 173,000 veterans across the country would be cut off from health care because of Bush Administration proposed budget cuts and its plan requiring enrollment fees and higher out-of-pocket costs. ("Support for Troops Questioned," Washington Post, June 17, 2003) Bush Administration budget cuts force more than 200,000 veterans to wait for health care. Over 200,000 United States veterans have to wait more than six months for a medical visit because of health care shortages. ("VA Health Care Funding Alert," Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States Press Release, January 31, 2003)

Bush Administration opposed plan to give National Guard and Reserve Members access to health insurance. Despite the war efforts of America's National Guard and Reserve Members, the Bush Administration announced in October 2003 its formal opposition to give the 1.2 million Guard and Reserve members the right to buy health care coverage through the Pentagon's health plan. One out of every five Guard members lacks health insurance. ("Bush Opposes Health Plan for National Guard," Gannett News Service, October 23, 2003) Bush Administration cuts $172 million allotted for educating the children of military personnel. The Bush Administration's 2004 budget cut $172 million of impact aid funding. Impact aid funding assists school districts by making up for lost local tax revenue from tax-exempt property, such as military bases. These education cuts will especially affect school-age children of troops serving in Iraq who reside on military bases. ("Support for Troops Questioned," Washington Post, June 17, 2003) Bush Administration tax cut denies military families increase in child tax credit. The families of 262,000 children of military personnel do not receive the child tax credit increase because the plan fails to cover taxpaying families with incomes between $10,500 and $26,625. According to The Washington Post, the House version of the Bush Administration plan "wouldn't help many of those serving in Iraq." One solider who will not benefit is Army Specialist Shoshana Johnson, the soldier and single mother who was wounded twice in the same convoy as Jessica Lynch. ("Ex-POW's Family Accuses Army of Double Standard on Benefit," Washington Post, October 24, 2003; "The New Senate Child Credit Legislation - What It Does and Does Not Do," Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, June 25, 2003; "Whose Child Is Left Behind," Children's Defense Fund, July 23, 2003)

 

How do Veteran Groups evaluate Republican vs. Democratic Legislators?         Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America is the nation's first and largest group dedicated to the Troops and Veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the civilian supporters of those Troops and Veterans. They have members in all 50 states and no one has done more than them to advocate for the men and women serving our country in the front lines of our current war.         Disabled American Veterans has a very similar site. They appear to have used fewer votes to do their evaluations, and the results, though not identical, are similar. While the IAVA use letter grades from A down to F, the DAV use scores ranging from a high of 100% to a low of 20%.         The charts below were designed by me, Ray Dubuque, from information provided by their web sites to make it easier to see the contrast between Republican and Democratic politicians. I urge you to go to the original sites, http://IAVAaction.org and Disabled American Veterans legislative research, so as to see and appreciate the tremendous amount of work that went into documenting the legislative records of every last member of the current Congress (as of 2006). I challenge anyone who disagrees with their findings to point to anything comparable to back up his or her conflicting opinions. State Republican Senators : AL: Shelby = D  40% Sessions = F  40% AK: Stevens =   D  40% Murkowski =   D  40% AZ: McCain =   D  20% Kyl =   D- 60% CO: Allard =   D  60%   FL: Martinez =   D  60%   GA: Chambliss =   D- 60% Isakson =   F 60% ID: Craig =   D- 20% Crapo =   D  20% IN: Lugar =   D+ 60%   IA: Grassley =   D  40%   KS: Brownback =   D  40% Roberts =   D  60% KY: McConnell =   D  60% Bunning =   D- 40% LA: Vitter =   F 40%   ME: Snowe =   C 80% Collins =   C- 60% MN: Coleman =   D  40%   MS: Cochran =   D  40% Lott =   D  60% MO: Bond =   D  40% Talent =   D+ 60% MT: Burns =   D+ 60%   NE: Hagel =   D+ 60%   NV: Ensign =   D- 40%   NH: Gregg =   D  40% Sununu =   D  40% NM: Domenici =   D  40%   NC: Dole =   D- 60% Burr =   F 60% OH: DeWine =   D+ 60% Voinovich =   D  60% OK: Inhofe =   D- 40% Coburn =   F   40% OR: Smith =   C  50%   PA: Specter =   C  60% Santorum =   D- 40% RI: Chafee =   C  80%   SC: Graham =   D- 40% DeMint =   F 60% SD: Thune =   D+ 60%   TN: Frist =   D  60% Alexander =   D  40% TX: Hutchison =   D+ 60% Cornyn =   D- 60% UT: Hatch =   D  50% Bennett =   D  40% VA: Warner =   D+ 60% Allen =   D+ 60% WY: Thomas =   D  40% Enzi =   D- 40% State Democratic Senators : AR: Lincoln =   B+  80% Pryor =   B   100% CA: Feinstein =   B+  80% Boxer =   B+  80% CO: Salazar =   B   80%   CT: Dodd =   A-  80% Lieberman =   B+  80% DE: Biden =   B+  75% Carper =   B+  80% FL: Nelson =   A-  100%   HI: Inouye =   B   80% Akaka =   B+  80% IL: Durbin =   A-  80% Obama =   B+  80% IN: Bayh =   B+  80%   IA: Harkin =   B   80%   LA: Landrieu =   B+  80%   MD: Sarbanes =   B+  80% Mikulski =   A-  80% MA: Kennedy =   B+  80% Kerry =   B   75% MI: Levin =   B+  80% Stabenow =   A-  100% MN: Dayton =   A-  80%   MT: Baucus =   B   80%   NE: Nelson =   B-  60%   NV: Reid =   A-  80%   NJ: Lautenberg =   B+  80% Menendez =   B   80% NM: Bingaman =   B+  80%   NY: Schumer =   B+  80% Clinton =   A-  80% ND: Conrad =   B+  80% Dorgan =   A-  80% OR: Wyden =   B+  80%   RI: Reed =   A-  80%   SD: Johnson =   B+  100%   VT: Leahy =   B+  80% Jeffords (I) =   B+  80% WA: Murray =   A-  80% Cantwell =   A-  80% WV: Byrd =   B   80% Rockefeller = B+ 100% WI: Kohl =   A-  80% Feingold =   B   80%         As anyone can see, the lowest grade any Democratic Senator got (from the IAVA) was a "B-" and the highest grade any Republican got was a "C". (And the Republicans who earned those C's were the handful of more "liberal" Senators, whom many loyal Republicans consider "Rino's".)

Contact   Ray@LiberalsLikeChrist.Org There is much more where this came from at See why you may already be one of us !