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What Does the Defense Industry & the U.S. Military Think of the Candidates? You May Be Surprised

Nov. 5, 2012 7:18am Becket Adams

Which Branches Support Which Candidate & Where Do U.S. Defense Companies Stand in This Election?

Courtesy the Washington Times

Approximately 500 retired U.S. generals and admirals on Monday officially endorsed Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, TheBlaze’s Erica Ritz reports.

And although it’s an impressive list, it is by no means a first for the former Massachusetts governor. You may recall that in the wake of the deadly attacks on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, “Romney for President” last month announced the formation of a “Military Advisory Council” made up of more than 300 retired generals and admirals ready to endorse the GOP candidate.

“I am deeply honored to have the support of so many of our most accomplished military leaders,” Romney said in a statement.

“Together we will restore our military might and ensure that America can defend and protect our interests, our allies, and our people, both at home and abroad. I will never forget that the greatest responsibility of an American president is in exercising the role of commander-in-chief. That role is sacred, and when I am president, I will never put my own political interests ahead of our military and our men and women in uniform,” the statement adds.

Notable among those included in Romney’s “Military Advisory Council” are Army Gen. Tommy Franks, former Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. James Conway, former Pacific Command chief Adm. Timothy Keating, and former Joint Chiefs Chairman Army Gen. Hugh Shelton (who endorsed Hillary Clinton for president in 2008).

The announcement this morning surely serves as just another feather in Romney’s cap, right? Romney has the military vote all tied up, right? Not necessarily.

First, it should come as no surprise to Blaze readers that right up until both parties held their conventions, Texas Congressman Ron Paul was actually the clear favorite in terms of political donations from members of the U.S. armed forces.

Indeed, during the Republican presidential primaries, Rep. Paul enjoyed a healthy and almost unprecedented amount of financial support from the military and civilian employees of the military. However, and this is the part that may surprise a few Blaze readers, after Rep. Paul ended his bid for the White House, Romney’s already low volume of military donations failed to see much of an improvement while President Obama’s increased exponentially.

“[T]he military’s support has shifted toward Obama. Romney has consistently received little financial backing from military donors,” Michelle Martinelli writes for opensecrets.org.

“Despite the fact that Paul once raised almost twice as much as Obama did from the military, the president has received $536,414 from military donors, compared to Paul’s $399,274 and Romney’s $287,435,” the report adds.

All figures based on most recent donations greater than $200, as reported to the Federal Election Commission

Now, it’s important to note that although the amount raised by the president is greater than the amount raised by Gov. Romney, “eight of the 11 military branches the Center for Responsive Politics analyzed have given more to Republican presidential candidates — most notably the Navy, the Air Force and the Marine Corps,” the Open Secrets report notes.

What’s puzzling about the U.S. military’s financial support for the president is the fact that it is he, not Gov. Romney, who has proposed a $500 billion cut in military spending as part of that budget-balancing “sequestration.” Romney is the one who has proposed an increase in military spending. You’d think a certain amount of self-preservation would drive more military money toward Gov. Romney. (Then again, perhaps the military community doesn’t expect a Romney victory, meaning donations to President Obama are a similar but different type of self-preservation).

This brings us to our second point: U.S. companies that specialize in the development and production of arms.

Guess who they prefer?

If you guessed Mitt Romney, you’re a winner. Well, to be more accurate, the top U.S. companies that specialize in arms production support Romney over President Obama, but only by a relatively small margin.

Based on Business Insider’s helpful list of the top 25 biggest defense companies in the U.S. along with data mined on opensecrets.org, TheBlaze was able to determine how much cash the top players in the defense industry have poured into the 2012 election [Note: The following companies are considered “top” based on arms sales, total profits, and employees. Also, three of the top 25 companies are not presented in the graph below because donation data was unavailable]:

Of course, this isn’t to say Romney has only the support of an industry that has an invested interest in his wining the election. As mentioned in the above, Romney has the support of hundreds of retired military professionals. But more than that, by a margin of almost two to one, he also has the support of active duty, National Guard, and military reserve members, according to a recent Army Times poll.

“The professional core of the U.S. military overwhelmingly favors Mitt Romney over President Obama in the upcoming election — but not because of any particular military issues, according to a new poll of more than 3,100 active and reserve troops,” the report reads.

Source: opensecrets.org / Graph: Becket Adams

“Respondents rated the economy and the candidates’ character as their most important considerations and all but ignored the war in Afghanistan as an issue of concern,” the report adds.

The poll was conducted among active duty, National Guard, and reserve members who subscribe to the Army Times.

“This population is older and more senior than the military population at large, but it is representative of the professional core of the all-volunteer force,” the report explains.

“The 3,100 respondents — roughly two-thirds active-duty and one-third reserve component members — are about 80 percent white and 91 percent male. Forty percent are in paygrades E-5 through E-8, while more than 35 percent are in paygrades O-3 through O-5,” the report adds.

The biggest reason respondents said they prefer Romney? They say they trust him more with the fragile U.S. economy.

But if the polls are accurate, and active-duty members overwhelmingly support the GOP candidate, then why the disparity in political donations? Well, as you can see in the above chart of donations based on military branches, the lion’s share of President Obama’s military contributions come from two groups: The Department of Defense and the U.S. Army. Apparently, both groups are as keen to see the president re-elected as the defense industry is to see Mitt Romney increase military spending.

Now as to why the U.S. Army and the DOD are so heavily invested in re-electing President Obama, it is unclear. What we do know — without having to rely on theory and conjecture — is that the president has outperformed Mitt Romney in military contributions and the U.S. Army and the DOD are most responsible for this.

Bottom Line: Although the president has done a better job raising cash from members of the U.S. armed forces, Romney has done a better job of courting very public military endorsements.

While the Romney campaign has the backing of literally hundreds of notable military names, the Obama campaign has about five: Wesley Clark, Richard Danzig, former Secretary of the Navy, Paul Eaton, Major General (Ret)^,Donald J. Guter, retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral, Michael D. Lumpkin,and John B. Nathman, retired U.S. Navy Admiral.

The money President Obama has raised from members of the U.S. military won’t hurt his campaign, but Romney’s success in cultivating an image of a candidate heavily favored by members of the armed forces will probably serve a much more powerful political purpose.

Follow Becket Adams (@BecketAdams) on Twitter

Front page photo source courtesy the AP. This story has been updated.

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Comments (48)

KidCharlemagne
Posted on November 5, 2012 at 11:41pm
Was President Eisenhower correct in his assessment after all?:

—————-
“This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence — economic, political, even spiritual — is felt in every city, every statehouse, every office of the federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society. In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists, and will persist.
We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals so that security and liberty may prosper together.”
President Dwight D. Eisenhower, January 17, 1961

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offbrat56
Posted on November 5, 2012 at 4:07pm
My dad made the decision to retire from the Air Force, back in 1973, after only 20 years precisely because of the apparent takeover of liberal politics amongst the military. I guess being a major was not high enough to keep him clear of this problem. Of course, he was commissioned after completing OCS (Officer Candidate School), rather than having been through the college (more liberal educational) route. It is hard for me to realize this is true within our military. It seems like an oxymoronic phrase, “liberal military,” having grown up like I did.

I would suggest the table/chart makers break down their stats further: Ages, colleges attended, state of origin, religious background, etc. Just being a member of the US military does not imply political allegiances today, at least not overwhelmingly.

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HI_Don
Posted on November 5, 2012 at 1:40pm
Since I currently work amongst the military and just recently retired from active duty as well, the only thing that explains this to me is a theory that the liberals have stolen the military vote. ( I say this with no proof and only as speculation because I can not explain it any other way) I speak with active duty folks every day and can’t find so much as 5% that like Obama or his policies. But, I did watch enormous voter suppression of the military in the 2008 election and know it continued in 2010. Of all the data bases most easily cracked would be the military voters/absentee voting. Simply rejecting legitimate absentee ballots and then substituting fraudulent ballots in their place would not be difficult at all with a few insiders in key states. So why not use the same database to send in illegal campaign money in the name of military members via internet donations or even mail in donations. It not only helps fill the coffers with money difficult to track but also provides a media story of how the service supports the candidate. I’m probably wrong, but I don’t see why a “Chicago” politician like Obama wouldn’t do something like this. My experience is that the military hates this guy. I got out in 2009 just to get away from this administration at 25 years of service (could have done more) and at my retirement I insisted my retirement certificate be signed by G. Bush and not Obama. I knew he was a liar and a cheat based on his campaign speeches, just like Clinton.

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Andi Soucy
Posted on November 5, 2012 at 11:07am
I worry most about the young members of the military because they have been brain scrubbed by the public school system. That may explain why they are supporting Obama.

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- rickc34
  Posted on November 5, 2012 at 11:41am
  My future has been secured by Jesus Christ, those that support Obama have no future.
  
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- GABlueStarMom
  Posted on November 5, 2012 at 12:11pm
  This article is nonsense and it started with the statement that the military overwhelmingly supported Ron Paul. ONLY 1 vet group the IVAW which is a radical anti-war group threw their support behind Ron PauI. I have ASKED face to face several soldiers if they had heard of a ground swell of support for Paul and they’ve ALL said no. I have 2 sons that are active duty Army Infantry, according to them nobody is supporting Obama! I have visited them and the soldiers I have met laugh our loud about Obama! These are combat veterans and they think Obama is a joke. I can also promise you, maybe the REMFs donate but with the money our troops are paid, there is not a lot left over to donate to politicians.
  
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- Paydert33
  Posted on November 5, 2012 at 2:59pm
  So…let me get this straight…..o-loser is watching the Benghazi attack…live action…watches an Ambassador he appointed….two Navy Seals…a computer specialist….being viciously attacked..for how many hours? Then goes off to nigh-tee-night-night, marxist, communist dreamland, while our Fellow Americans are in harms way. Oh yeah, Military…..o-a-hole really has your back. This will definitely happen again if he is re-elected. He doesn’t care for We The People, or he wouldn’t be doing the horrible things he is doing. muslims protect muslims. We know they hate Israel…. Oh, yea, o-loser hates Israel. Another……….hmmmmmmmm. Believe me, in the communist, socialist, marxist world of o-loser….I’m getting very, very tired of the hmmmmmmm’s……way, way, way too many.
  
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GuruMeditation
Posted on November 5, 2012 at 10:52am
Certainly sad.

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bankerpapaw
Posted on November 5, 2012 at 10:50am
If Obama is reelected, all those whose names are in the newspaper ads will be arrested for domestic
terrorism and booted out of the service. This perverted little twerp will have nothing but pure revenge on his mind for those who were against him.

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- Max jones
  Posted on November 5, 2012 at 10:04pm
  I have dedicated my life to the truth, and these brave men have, too….God bless ‘em all.
  
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txannie
Posted on November 5, 2012 at 10:32am
As a veteran and with children in the military, I have met and spoken to quite a few enlisted persons and the only ones behind obama are a few from New York or southern California. One from New Orleans. The rest were pretty evenly distributed towards Romney or Ron Paul. When Romney added Ryan, quite a few moved over to the Romney ticket. The majority seem to be against obama in big way, unless they were considered “minority”, then it was along color bias lines. Too bad they don’t teach them to be a colorblind unit anymore. During boot camp we were told we were no longer any color except green and if we couldn’t do that to get our azzes out of the military. This kind of bias seemed to start in the Carter presidential era. It’s dissappointing.

Jeeze, I just saw a commercial for Agenda 21 being put forth by the U.N. and espoused by obama and his greenies. Ya’ll need to look up what Agenda 21 is and get ready for some real shock. As a land owner we get news about this from our ranchers association, but this will effect EVERYONE that owns even a lot in town with a house on it. Like, no more swimming pools in your yard, you’ll have to grow your own veggies or you will have none because they don’t think we should take up so much land for planting crops and taking it away from the wildlife….unbelievable.

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- GABlueStarMom
  Posted on November 5, 2012 at 12:12pm
  I have seen the same as you. I have 2 active duty sons. My sons are both infantry and only ONE black infantryman in my sons platoon is for Obama! ONE!
  
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Gcg
Posted on November 5, 2012 at 10:29am
Not hard to know what the defense industry thinks– Lockheed Martin to lay off 123,000 and other defense contractors may follow http://www.teapartytribune.com/2012/11/01/lockheed-martin-to-lay-off-123000-and-other-defense-contractors-may-follow/

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Gcg
Posted on November 5, 2012 at 10:27am
It is not hard to know what the defense industry thinks: Lockheed Martin to lay off 123,000 and other defense contractors may follow http://www.teapartytribune.com/2012/11/01/lockheed-martin-to-lay-off-123000-and-other-defense-contractors-may-follow/

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Robert Hawk
Posted on November 5, 2012 at 10:14am
Consider this concerning Benghazi and those who were left behind
Benghazi was a weapons brokering operation, where weapons were brokered for Syria. Some of the weapons being brokered were shoulder fired, anti-aircraft missiles known as Man portable Air Defense Systems or MANPADS. These weapons systems are portable, light, and undetectable. They are infrared weapons, that lock on to a heat source and have a distance of nearly 5 miles and an altitude of nearly 11k feet.
Now imagine you are Marxist-Leninists who want to take control of the United States but you need a crisis to achieve that means. Enter Benghazi Libya. There were estimated to be 20k MANPADS in Libya with 5k recovered. That leaves 15k outstanding. A brokered is set with the Turkish government to deliver MANPADS to the Syrian rebels only that deal will never go though. The MANPADS are instead delivered to terrorists. The MANPADS are moved through South America and walked across the Mexican border.
During the holiday season, Terrorist cells in the US use the MANPADS to attack civilian aircraft. Many aircraft are destroyed on takeoff, leaving all the passengers on board dead and devastation below as ignited jet fuel falls to the ground with aircraft parts and other debris. A state of crisis will now exist in the United States, one that calls for Marshall Law to be instituted nationwide. The constitution is suspended, the military takes over all police functions and before you know it, dictatorship.

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Beckaj
Posted on November 5, 2012 at 9:54am
The military needs to put their money where their mouth is apparently. I don’t understand why Obama has raised so much from them.

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- thekuligs
  Posted on November 5, 2012 at 10:16am
  This lumps DOD employees( many of whom are unized) in with the military. They also make more money than most of the enlisted guys so they have more money to give. If you were to seperate the two I am sure it would show a different story.
  
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- txannie
  Posted on November 5, 2012 at 10:33am
  @thekuligs…you are sooo right.
  
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TonySmithNRA
Posted on November 5, 2012 at 8:40am
The disparity is very easy to explain. The poll lumps DOD military and civilian personnel together. DOD civilians are generally unionized, so it is no surprise that they support Obama. To gauge the true leanings of the MILITARY, you need to separate these two VERY different groups. The other indicators you mention, the Army Times poll and the support of senior soldiers, is more indicative of the actual feelings towards Obama in the military.

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- TonySmithNRA
  Posted on November 5, 2012 at 8:55am
  Oh, and the unionized civilians make a LOT more money that the troops, so the $$ disparity is also no surprise, either.
  
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- thekuligs
  Posted on November 5, 2012 at 10:17am
  Exactly!
  
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biffo
Posted on November 5, 2012 at 8:07am
My nephew is active duty Airborne for eight years. I see alot of military people where I live. They are ALL fervent in their support of the USA and view Romney as the only choice. These men and women are up in the chain a bit and are stunned at what the obama administration is doing to the military. Anything you read about DADT, Islam infiltration, etc. are lies.

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- Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
  Posted on November 5, 2012 at 8:38am
  Understood loud and clear, tommorow we summarily give Obama the boot.
  
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VerySeniorCitizen
Posted on November 5, 2012 at 7:54am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y06NSBBRtY

You might also be interested that our current military is BIGGER the the next fourtee (14) world military powers – COMBINED!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y06NSBBRtY
http://defense.aol.com/2012/03/16/the-military-imbalance-how-the-u-s-outspends-the-world/
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/carriers.htm

Want more? Just ask – or look it up!

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- Walkabout
  Posted on November 5, 2012 at 8:30am
  What is your point?
  
  American workers are paid 3 times more than Mexicans & Mexicans are paid about 7 times more than Chinese. I might have that last statistic wrong it might be American workers to C
  Chinese workers with a differential of 7X.
  
  So if we paid American soldiers at the same as Chinese soldiers & bought each piece of equipment for the same price the Chinese do (American workers would have to be paid less or we would have to outsource),, who would have the larger military budget?
  
  Can you answer that Senior.
  
  Let’s talk about the concept of Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). If you can;t talk about PPP then you are senile or cannot defend your position & are dishonest. I would expect trolls to be dishonest.
  
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- Walkabout
  Posted on November 5, 2012 at 8:37am
  How are you counting?
  
  “China is fast emerging as a military superpower, with a military about twice the size of America’s, …
  and an amorphous mob of semi-military computer hackers who routinely take down government websites.”
  
  American Spectator February 2012
  
  Remember gramps or granny the term Purchasing Power Parity.
  
  Can you remember that concept? Try real hard & maybe in a few years you can!
  
  Report this comment
- raderby
  Posted on November 5, 2012 at 8:39am
  yeah, since we are doing at least about 25 other country’s military duties, not that surprising. Bring them home, and cut the loafer countries around the world off.
  
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- Walkabout
  Posted on November 5, 2012 at 8:49am
  “You might also be interested that our current military is BIGGER the the next fourtee*N* (14) world military powers – COMBINED!”
  ***
  
  Blah, blah, … Blah, blah, blah
  
  If that were true then we could have taken care of North Korea before calisthenics in the morning & simple tell their Chinese masters so sorry but you will have to live with this fait accompli.
  We could have done this during Bush Seniors term instead futilely & lamely chasing individual cargo ships carrying ling range missile to Iran.
  Or we could have shut down their nuclear bomb production during Clinton’s term instead of sending the gorgeous Madeline ALL(?)Bright to Pyongyang with a basketball engraved Michael Jordan.
  Seems to me when China, North Korea, Iran or Russia send military aid to a country to tip the balance in favor, there seems to be precious little we can do about while hamstrung by liberals pukes (that is a military terminology) like yourself or that pukes like yourself want to do.
  The world shaped by China, Russia, Iran & North Korea has sham elections & no dissidents. It must be what you are aiming for.
  Your fearless leader bows to them. See the book “Bowing to Beijing”
  
  I bet you know well how to kow-tow
  
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- txannie
  Posted on November 5, 2012 at 10:39am
  One thing the rest of the world does not take into consideration, but the obama admin is trying to “correct”….the largest armed force in the WORLD is the American hunters. Everyone else in the world are not allowed to own a gun so they are easy to overrun. When MOST of the population own at least one gun, it’s going to be a hard row to hoe to take over and take away our freedoms. Think about it folks….don’t let them take your guns or you will become subjects instead of free citizens.
  
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Individualism
Posted on November 5, 2012 at 7:51am
well if most of the military backs RP, than that is a good sign going into the revolution.

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- TIME_2_END_THE_PAUL_CAMPAIGN_IN_12
  Posted on November 5, 2012 at 8:21am
  “First, it should come as no surprise to Blaze readers that right up until both parties held their conventions, Texas Congressman Ron Paul was actually the clear favorite in terms of political donations from members of the U.S. armed forces.
  
  Indeed, until the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., in August, Rep. Paul enjoyed a healthy and almost unprecedented amount of financial support from the military and civilian employees of the military.”
  
  This horse dookey regarding Military donations to Ron Paul and his campaign was debunked just as loudly as he was debunked as being a Conservative.
  
  If anyone has really paid attention to Ron Paul supporters over the years it had become a game with them to game the system, to game polls, to game just about anything and everything that could be manipulated via the internet or in person (stuffing ballot boxes).
  
  The Ron Paul Military donation ruse is just one example. The FEC doesn’t verify information of any donations under $199.00. Paul’s minnions proved themselves to go above and beyond when it came to miscreant behavior where the internet and donations were concerned. It was very easy for hoards of civilian Ron Paul’s supporters to game the numbers with repeated small donations claiming to be civilians working for the Military or Military members themselves without verification by the FEC.
  
  I wouldn’t put it past the left doing the same thing as these camps are very similar in tactics.
  
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- 00100111
  Posted on November 5, 2012 at 3:45pm
  You need to get over your “revolution” idea. Ain’t gonna happen.
  
  1: You’re sick that you advocate armed insurrection against the govt, you’d rather see this nation collapse and fall than work to fix it. You’d rather resort to violence because you have no other argument, and know of no other way to get your ideas across. The guys in the middle east are a lot the same way. Fighting back against tyranny is one thing. What you advocate is armed insurrection and an attempt to overthrow the govt and the Constitution. You don’t have many people on your side.
  
  2: Yeah, right. You’ll be laughed into retreat as we see a handful of guys, all weighing about 350lbs, who spent years in their mother’s basement showing up in their multicams with their tacticool AR15s, yet none of you know how to shoot or engage in tactics. You’ll be suppressed by the rest of us pretty quick. You’d look a lot like what happened to the Occupy folks who ran when they started getting the smack down from the police. And they didn’t use lethal force. We will.
  
  Get over yourself. You’re not relevant.
  
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RJJinGadsden
Posted on November 5, 2012 at 7:42am
Good to hear that this remains as it was back up until I retired in the ’90s. I met very, very few who claimed to be Democrats while I was in the service. But, they do exist.
What scares me though is the considered number who had fallen for Ron Paul, just as the many who I knew who sucked down everything that Perrot was preaching. At least Perrot is backing Romney these days. Apparently, he learned his lesson after helping Clinton win….twice!

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- TIME_2_END_THE_PAUL_CAMPAIGN_IN_12
  Posted on November 5, 2012 at 8:57am
  RJJ. The Ron Paul donation nonsense was just hype and nothing more by a bunch of over zealous Ron Paul acolytes (very few with actual Military ties). None of the hype about Ron Paul ever translated into reality and actual wins. Much hype was made of his straw poll wins, online poll wins, text in poll wins. Twas’ nothing but part of the Paul insurgent encampment of scheming attempts to create the aura that Ron Paul was contending and winning something… anything… including the Military. Smoke and mirror BS by a cult of worshippers with a few extra bucks in the piggy banks to skew some numbers and nothing more.
  
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- RJJinGadsden
  Posted on November 5, 2012 at 9:10am
  TIME, Okay, I can see that. I was basing my statement on the number of people that I knew overseas at the time who literally flipped over Perrot and voted for him. I’ve chatted mainly online with a number of current troops who at least a while back were talking about going for RP. But, must confess more at first were going for a variety of the Republicans running for the candidacy. Now, all of them that I have been in touch with are going for Romney. So, what you are saying certainly does make sense.
  
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- TIME_2_END_THE_PAUL_CAMPAIGN_IN_12
  Posted on November 5, 2012 at 9:40am
  RJJ. Like you, I stay in the loop and talk with many Active Duty and former Military (mostly Senior Active Non-Coms / or Retired same) and have for years since my own retirement.
  
  I have never heard any favorable opinions of Ron Paul…. ever. And believe you me… I have asked. I get a pretty broad spectrum of feelings when Paul’s name is mentioned… and “traitor endorsing coward” is most notable among those feelings.
  
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- thekuligs
  Posted on November 5, 2012 at 9:58am
  I live on an Air Force base. Between my husband and I we have met exactly 0 people who claimed to support RP when his supporters were all going on about how he was so loved by the military. We have met a couple of people who voted or said they will vote for Obama. All of them were young or minorities and many of them have recanted since then. (Just FYI I am a twenty something hispanic–I know some troll is two seconds from calling me a racist)
  
  There has not been a budget passed in years; and last time the goverment was about to shut down they threatened to not pay the military but unlike many other goverment employees they were going to have to go to work anyway. There was no union to save them. No protest planned. It was so close, half of what my husband normally would make had already showed up on mypay. It sent a pretty clear message; you can go die for your country while you worry if your family is going hungry or have to go on foodstamps. I remember checking on the stockpile that day wondering how long my family could live off it if we had to. The military is tired of being used for political pawns.
  
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lel2007
Posted on November 5, 2012 at 7:41am
obama’s the president who “punishes” his enemies (whites) and sees voting as a means of “revenge”.

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Slowman101
Posted on November 5, 2012 at 7:29am
How ANY member of the US military could possibly even consider voting for that idiot in the White House is beyond me. Just how short a memory do they have? He had the gall to threaten to hold their pay hostage if his budget proposal wasn’t passed. Do we need to mention anything else like Benghazi?

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- Bad Kitty
  Posted on November 5, 2012 at 7:53am
  Well Military personnel usually support their Commander-in-Chief, which is Obama. So its no surprise that a majority of them support their leader to the end. Which is sad and Ironic for most of us.
  
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- Kenszen
  Posted on November 5, 2012 at 8:00am
  People are just getting “stupider and stupider.” I don’t get it, either. I not only blame Obama for the huge mess we’re in, but I blame the ignorant and just plain stupid electorate that voted him in in the first place.
  
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- thekuligs
  Posted on November 5, 2012 at 10:14am
  This poll is screwed because they lump DOD employees who are mostly unionized in with the rest of the military. They also make more money than your average enlisted guy (by a lot) and thus have more money to give.
  
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- chucksue351
  Posted on November 5, 2012 at 11:19am
  we support and defend the constitution of the united states of america, not a president of any party
  
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- pharmdk
  Posted on November 5, 2012 at 2:27pm
  @Bad Kitty == Yes, many in the military “Support the Commander-In-Chief”, because that is the Chain of command. However that does not mean they will vote for that individual.
  As CHUCKSUE351 pointed out. The oath of every officer and the oath of enlisted states “I will protect and defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic.” Nowhere in the oath of enlistment or oath of an officer does it state anything about supporting the commander-in-chief. As an Officer in the Navy for 8 years, I knew I had to keep my mouth shut regarding political matters, and that I was to be neutral. I voted every election with pride. In 2008, when I found that many of my counterparts voted for Obama because they believed in “Hope and Change”, but by 2009/2010, they were upset with themselves for casting that vote. Many military members are conservative. I’m not certain were you are coming from in saying “So its no surprise that a majority of them support their leader to the end. Which is sad and Ironic for most of us”.
  Because that is simply not true. We may not be able to speak out loud against the CIC, but come election time we VOTE (or at least try to) and let our voices be heard loud and clear.
  
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- Bad Kitty
  Posted on November 5, 2012 at 4:28pm
  @Pharmdk
  
  I stand corrected.
  
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grimmster
Posted on November 5, 2012 at 7:26am
Wonder how many generals and high ranking officers that are voting for obama are gay, or have been promised that they wont lose their jobs if he is reelected. I know of not one non-com thats is voting obama……..

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- Stoic one
  Posted on November 5, 2012 at 9:05am
  The article said FIVE endorsed Bathhouse Barry…..
  (in case you missed it)
  
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justangry
Posted on November 5, 2012 at 7:24am
Oh now campaign contributions from the military matters?

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