The Other Iraq Surge

capitaleye.org

September 13, 2007 | Assessed favorably this week by the war's lead general, the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq appears to be causing a surge of another sort--and one that's not positive for President Bush or the Republican Party. Since the start of the Iraq war in 2003, members of the U.S. military have dramatically increased their political contributions to Democrats, marching sharply away from the party they've long supported. In the 2002 election cycle, the last full cycle before the war began, Democrats received a mere 23 percent of military members' contributions.* So far this year, 40 percent of military money has gone to Democrats for Congress and president, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. Anti-war presidential candidates Barack Obama and Ron Paul are the top recipients of military money.

"People are saying now enough is enough," said Lt. Col. Joyce Griggs, an intelligence officer who said she spent two months in Baghdad earlier this year, speaking for herself and not the Army. "If you're a soldier, you're going to do your job, do what you're commanded to do. But that sentiment is wide and deep."

Well, what did you expect would happen? Send people into harm's way, then leave them hanging with no body armor, no clear mission, and a civilian run support system that fails to feed adequate food to our service members, and of course you're going to see a switch in support to the other political party.