The Different Drummer

Not Fit To Serve

Former President and draft dodger Donald Trump has once again insulted those who have served our country and paid with their life and limbs.

“Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers.”

– Donald Trump

Photo by J. Amill Santiago on Unsplash

Governor Tim Walz’s honorable service in the National Guard included a deployment to Europe, providing base security while the soldiers normally stationed there served in Iraq. There was once a time when Americans would look at 24 years in the military and reflectively say “Thank you for your service.” That would be before Trump transformed the American political landscape.

Walz’s opponent in this year’s Vice-Presidential election, JD Vance, also served in the military, but under the name James Hamel, one of his many alter egos. While Walz has thanked Vance for his service, the Republican has only picked apart his counterpart’s contributions to our country’s security. Vance ignores Walz’s 24 years of sacrifice falsely claiming that he retired to avoid deployment to Iraq; Walz’s unit received deployment orders two months after his retirement was approved.

Waltz is “a pretty charismatic guy, as a leader and a motivator. And I felt like, no matter what the situation would be, whether it was like in high school or football or in the military — (he) just had that ability to see you, size you up, size up the situation and the people in that situation, and be able to help you do your best.”

– Lt. Col. Jonathon Jaqua served under Walz and was also his student

While Vance has no problem criticizing Walz’s 24 years of service, his running mate is a draft dodger who claimed to have bone spurs. The “ailment” did not prevent Trump from being, in his words, “the best bball player in N.Y. State,” but was enough to keep him from joining the “suckers” and “losers” who were drafted…