Are the Bushistas attempting to paint anyone critical of the BushBaby...

[KansDem]

as "anti-military," moreso now then ever before???

I sense there is a movement to slam the military in hopes of moving the middle to the right. This story from San Marcos, Texas, tells of vandalism to a veterans memorial…
http://www.sanmarcosrecord.com/articles/2004/04/04/news/news2.txt

This was discussed on the DU…
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x465683#465685
(One astute DUer wondered if this might have been done by Repubs…)

By coincidence(?) just today, I received an email addressed to (mostly) right wingers (I’m on a email distribution list comprised mainly of GOP relatives). Perhaps you have seen or received this letter (or some version of it):

Some people still don't understand why military personnel do what they do for a living. This exchange between Senators John Glenn and Howard Metzenbaum is worth reading. Not only is it a pretty impressive and impromptu speech, but it's also a good example of one man's explanation of why men and women in the Armed Services do what they do for a living. This IS a typical, though sad, example of what some who have never served think of the Military.

Senator Metzenbaum to Senator Glenn: "How can you run for Senate when you never held a "real job?"

Senator Glenn: "I served 23 years in the United States Marine Corps. I served through two wars. I flew 149 missions. My plane was hit by antiaircraft fire on 12 different occasions. I was in the Space Program. It wasn't my checkbook, Howard; it was my Life on the line. It was not a nine to five job, where I took time off to take the daily cash receipts to the bank.

I asked you to go with me, as I went the other day... to a Veterans Hospital and look those men - with their mangled bodies - in the eye, and tell THEM they didn't hold a job! You go with me to the Space Program at NASA and go, as I have gone, to the widows and orphans of Ed White, Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee...and you look those kids in the eye and tell them that their DADS didn't hold a job. You go with me on Memorial Day and you stand in Arlington National Cemetery, where I have more friends buried than I'd like to remember, and you watch those waving flags. You stand there, and you think about this Nation, and you tell ME that those people didn't have a job?

I'll tell you, Howard Metzenbaum, you should be on your knees every day of your life thanking God that there were some men - SOME MEN - who held a REAL job. And they required a dedication to a purpose - and a love of country and a dedication to duty - that was more important than life itself. And their self-sacrifice is what made this country possible. I HAVE held a job, Howard! ---What about you?"

For those who don't remember - During WWII, Howard Metzenbaum was an attorney representing the Communist Party in the USA. Now he is a Senator!

If you can read this, thank a teacher....
If you are reading it in English, thank a Veteran.......
Hooray for Senator Glenn

Now, Snopes verifies this exchange, but acknowledges that that wasn’t the exact wording:

A few days before a May 3 debate between the candidates at the Cleveland City Club, Metzenbaum (an entrepreneur who had created the Sun Newspapers chain in the 1960s and had co-founded APCOA, one of the nation's largest parking companies) charged that "Colonel Glenn" had never "met a payroll," implying that Glenn's background as a career military man meant he was lacking in the real-world business experience a U.S. Senator should possess. (Metzenbaum's claim wasn't quite accurate: After his retirement from the Marine Corps, Glenn had held a position as a business executive with Royal Crown Cola and had served both as a member of the board of directors and as president of Royal Crown International.)

Metzenbaum's comment was widely publicized and interpreted by many — including Glenn himself — as a slam that Glenn had "never held a (real) job (even though Metzenbaum hadn't actually used those words), and Glenn went into the Cleveland debate a few days later well-prepared to answer the charges. Although Metzenbaum didn't raise the "job" issue during the debate, Glenn nonetheless seized the opportunity to launch into his carefully-crafted "I have held a job" retort, invoking stirring images of motherhood, sacrifice, and patriotism. Although it was a rehearsed speech rather than the impromptu response legend has since made it out to be, Glenn's stinging rebuke to Metzenbaum was a masterful stroke that swung momentum in his favor. He bested Metzenbaum by 8 percentage points in the primary and was elected to the U.S. Senate in the general election, carrying all 88 counties in Ohio in the process.

http://www.snopes.com/quotes/glenn.htm

It appears Metzenbaum was questioning Glenn about his never having to meet a payroll, something many GOP hopefuls for public office have used in their campainging (the ol' "I'll run governmnent like a business" mantra)

I checked into the Communist Party references with regarding to Howard Metzenbaum, but found no information. I found the phrase "Howard Metzenbaum was an attorney representing the Communist Party" many times in websites as I researched this. In fact, I put this phrase into Google and came up with 41 sites that use this exact wording. This leads me to believe this phrase is being sent around the internet in an attempt to smear "liberal and left leaning" public figures. Could someone enlighten me about this claim?

(Notice this involves TWO Democrats: a liberal and a war hero)

So I’m wondering if there isn’t an organized effort to stifle criticism of BushBaby by branding anyone who opposes or criticizes his administration as “anti-military” Afterall, BushBaby cannot run for (re)(s)election based on his actual treatment of all things military.