Let me be clear from the start- I am thankful to all of those willing to put their name on a ballot and run for office. I am also thankful to those who serve as staffers for our Congressional delegation. But to say that working as a career US Senate staffer is somehow similar to someone’s career service in the United States Navy- let alone as a Commander at SEAL Team 6- should be an outrage to every veteran and their supporters across this country.
Here’s what the left-wing Bozeman Daily Chronicle had to say in their endorsement of Democrat John Lewis (D-Helena) over former Navy SEAL Ryan Zinke (R-Whitefish):
Zinke trumpets his military experience, but in the same breath he openly discounts Lewis’ own government service. He also takes lengths to stress that he is older than Lewis, which we find has no relevance to this campaign.
I’ve been both a US Senate staffer (briefly, and over a decade ago) and have served/serve in the military, and I can tell you that to serve this nation in the military is a much greater honor. Sure, as a US Senate staffer I got invited to all the great receptions. I even once had the honor of attending a reception at the Marine Corps Commandant’s house. Less than a year after 9/11 I was sucking it up in the sands of Fort Benning, Georgia as an Army private- and I will never regret that decision to join.
To their credit, The Bozeman Daily Chronicle has hired military veterans at their establishment as well. And I concur with those who say that we owe a great thanks to all who have served, and that that service doesn’t guarantee our vote for elected office.
However; we live in a day in age where, too often, political staffers these days think their job is to be served rather than to serve. He was a top staffer to the author of Obamacare. He was the top staffer to the Chairman of the powerful US Senate Finance Committee during times when our nation logged a record debt. He probably made a nice taxpayer- funded salary, while also raking cash from his wife’s work as a lobbyist. And now he and The Bozeman Daily Chronicle are surprised that folks aren’t jumping up and down to say, “thanks for your service?”
The editor of the Great Falls, Montana-based Western Word blog called the Chronicle’s editorial “a slap in the face to military personnel and veterans,” adding:
Apparently the editorial board at the Chronicle believes that serving in the military is on equal footing with being a staffer for a U.S. Senator.
I beg to differ because I’ve done both.
Since I have done both “jobs’ in my life (each for over a decade), I’d like the Chronicle editorial board to know that serving in the military is far and above a much more honorable and rewarding profession than that of a senate staffer.
Oh yeah, and did I mention that he also raised your payroll taxes, and wants to do so again?
Tyler Houlton with the National Republican Congressional Committee now has the video:
HOULTON: Under Lewis’ plan, most of the nation’s 23 million small businesses could be hit with higher taxes if the Social Security Payroll Tax Cap is raised. A liberal plan like Lewis’ would hamper job creation, slow economic recovery and put Montana out of business.
NRCC Comment: “It’s unconscionable that John Lewis supports a plan that would hurt the small businesses that are the backbone of Montana’s economy. Lewis is clearly taking his marching orders from Nancy Pelosi and Washington Democrats by supporting a tax hike that would destroy Montana’s small businesses.” – Tyler Q. Houlton, NRCC Spokesman