Military mothers, wives mobilize on front lines of presidential race

[JoFerret]

The anti-war movement starts to morph:

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1096718617270530.xml
...
Not since Vietnam has war been such an important issue in a presidential race. And it was years into the Vietnam conflict before military families spoke out in any appreciable numbers, said Peter Feaver, a Duke University expert on military-civilian relations.

But the instant controversy over the invasion of Iraq and the ability of like-minded people to organize quickly over the Internet have helped bring military families to the forefront this year, he said.

The candidates also see military families as speaking with a special voice because of the burden they bear. "They are being wooed in the way soccer moms were a couple of elections ago," Feaver said.

<more>

[jackieforthedems]

1. Although I Can't Say

that I am one or the other - a military mother or wife - what I can say is that if I was, I sure wouldn't like what is currently going on, and I personally do not think any war is worth giving up your life for, unless it's on U.S. turf. This so-called "war" is a diversion from the real issue - Osama Bin forgotten. Bush has managed to make 2 issues into one by combining Afghanistan and Iraq. If Bush gets in for 4 more, things are really going to excalate, probably us going into Iran and North Korea next. I believe there will be a military draft if Bush gets in again because if we next go to Iran and North Korea, and we have been told that the current war will last beyond our lifetime, what other choice will we have?! We have already lost over 1000 of our military. Imagine how many will be lost in a war that is never going to end? Why even bother to have children knowing that they are just going to grow up to be human sacrifices for the sake of war? My father was a WW II Pearl Harbor veteran, and my mother always believed that war was just a form of population control - or what I call today, "Population Down-Sizing". I wouldn't vote for Bush for any reason. I really believe that John Kerry will get us out of Iraq a.s.a.p. and concentrate more on what's going on in this country. We don't need to be at war constantly to keep our country safe. That can be done from the inside. :-)

[mahina]

2. a call to action for vets and their families....

I hope our DU Vets of every era and family members reading this pick up a few postcards and write to their old friends asking them to remember them and vote for John Kerry. It feels GREAT!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=106&topic_id=11065&mesg_id=11065