A star-studded list of retired high ranking US military officers is set to shake up the presidential race as the nation heads into Election Day, November 6. GEN Hugh Shelton (USA-ret) and GEN Tommy Franks (USA-ret) are among the military heavyweights who are taking out a full page ad in Monday’s Washington Times, the Tatler has learned.
GEN Franks is probably best known as the commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM) from 2000 to 2003, during the war that ended the reign of Saddam Hussein in Iraq. He was appointed to head up the Middle East-centric command by President Bill Clinton and assumed command of CENTCOM on July 6, 2000. Franks served in the United States Army from 1967 to his retirement in 2003.
GEN Henry Shelton served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President Clinton from October 1, 1997 to October 1, 2001. Shelton’s military honors include the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star with valor device and three oak leaf cluster. He also commanded the United States Special Operations Command.
The full-page ad says “We, the undersigned, proudly support Governor Mitt Romney as our next President and Commander-in-Chief.” A note at the bottom of the ad says that the officers all paid for the ad themselves. The list includes officers who served in the United States Army, the United States Navy, the United States Marine Corps, and the United States Air Force.
Besides Franks and Shelton, many of the names on the list, which had been making the rounds on the Internet, will be familiar as respected leaders of the US military, in all capacities. They include LTG Thomas McInerney (USA-ret), retired Air Force Chief of Staff Gen Ronald Fogleman, retired Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Frank Kelso, and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen Richard B. Meyers (USAF-ret).
Here is the full-page ad that will run in the November 5 edition of the Washington Times.
This means nothing to people whose vote is based on what the union tells them to do, or the color of their skin. Those who respect these men, and served under their commands will, for the most part, be voting for Romney anyway. I don’t see this swaying anyone one way or another. If the top enlisted men in the services, the Command Master Chiefs, Command Sergeants Major, Master Gunnery Sergeants or Command Chief Master Sergeants decided to take out an ad similar, I believe that would have a greater impact on some of the enlisted ranks who aren’t as rock solid a conservative vote as the officer corps.
I disagree. This is impressive. But with all due respect, why in the Washington Times? Why not in the New York Times. Take this to the belly of the beast.
I bet the generals tried to get it published in the NYT & was rejected, Probably got rejected at the Washington Post too.
Bingo.
It’s stonewall time in the old MSM.
This just went on my Facebook wall
I agree, Jeannine. The liberals don’t want to publish anything that would help Conservatives or hurt Liberals! The media has changed drastically the alst 40 or so years. I remember when they would report the facts and not slant the news in any direction. But in the 1970s, things began to change. The uprisings sof the 1960s and 1970s brought a distinct diffference in the natinal media. NOw, all networks: ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC and other lesser lights twist and maul the news until those who consititute the news cannot recognize thmeselves! Even most local have become more liberal. Some editors sof small papers spew forth a constant flow of liberality, twisting facts to suit their bias.It astounds me that any relatively intelligent citizen/voter would not possibly see what Obama has done, and prayerfully, will be stopped from doing any more! In my 8th decade of life I have never seen such a clear distinction between two candidates, and , sadly, between the two political parties!
The great Ronald Reagan would be ashamed and embarrassed of what our party has become. Shame!
The “Libruls”/”Progressives” have been slanting the news for a good century, by now, ever since Ida Tarbell’s “…tell the news, but tell it slant…”. On the other hand, it took them almost that long to become as arrogant about it as they have now become. Hope they soon get taken down a peg, or two!
This was my thought too, but Jeannine but me to the punch about a possible NYT rejection.
It would be nice to have a few Command Sgt Majors and a LOT of gunnys do the same.
That’s Command Sergeants Major. The plural goes with the noun; in this case, “Sergeant”.
It’s like Courts Martial (correct) vs. Court Martials (incorrect).
At Burger King, a passel of passersby saw me order 4 Whoppers Jr.
Sorry, Beatup, but “Whopper Jr.” is a proper name.
Nice try, but fail.
They should have picked USA Today.
This is for Beatdown –
Not just a belly-laugh, but a knee-slap – and still smiling…
I’m yours forever!
Because the MSM are Marxists and so is Obama. This is the easy, simple and correct assessment. The NYT has absolutely no credibility nor do the rest of them. You must remember that even FOX is 50% lies, by format. I would argue that they have tilted to the left and secured their demise with the rest of the media.
I no longer get “news” from any of them because it’s mostly simply an attempt to manipulate me one way or another and it is always days and sometimes weeks late with the “story” if they don’t just simply choose to ignore what they don’t like.
The endorsement is unprecedented among this august body and will be ignored by MSM, unless they think that they will be damaged by doing so. Marxists are very careful about upsetting their own soup bowl, most of the time.
Fox News lies? Oh no. Their news reports are the best that you can get. Some of their features are of no use: Sean Hannity is over the top and Bill O’Reilly is a loud-mouthed nincompoop, but on the whole the Fox News is more honest than the rest.
No, it won’t change anyone’s mind but, given that the upper echelons of the military have totally and loudly proclaimed their undying servitude to captain nobody, thus giving the impression that the military leadership is as “enlightened” as an obama-phone carrying idiot, it’s nice to see that the overwhelming majority of those selected for the highest-ranking positions inside America’s sacred curtain of military protection are endorsing the one who can actually preserve our freedoms and who adheres to a sense of stricture found in our government and who can most likely work with a great many different people on a productive level.
In short, those 500+ knew crap when they heard it and are going the other way.
I don’t worry as greatly about the current and former Brass. I worry about the young officers, many of whom seem to be swallowing the leftist lines hook, line, and sinker.
You should be worried. After all, the young guards are already poisoned by the leftist hegemony throughout the Pentagon.
Consider:http://adinakutnicki.com/2012/08/09/the-anti-american-commander-in-chief-tasks-his-military-brass-to-do-what-pouring-fuel-onto-a-combustible-flame-law-of-intended-consequences-commentary-by-adina-kutnicki/
And the fact that the military has now become another social engineering fiefdom, all in order to appease multicultural psychosis, will be its final nail. It ain’t looking good. And this has been the plan of the radical left all along – castration of the military, and the takeover/indoctrination/hyper-sexualization of the kiddies in the public schools.
I’d submit the unqualified resignation of my commission first Adina.
Don’t worry about the lower ranks of young idealists who join the military to serve, and die, for others, that is not in the liberal mindset. None of my Marine’s buddies or him, have any respect for this administration and their Rules of Engagement not allowing them to fight, and allowing those behind a desk to call for a “stand down” when help is needed.
A lot has been said, though not nearly enough in my opinion, about how the next President will be appointing Justices of the Supreme Court.
We forget at our peril how that President will be promoting flag officers who will steer the tone of our armed forces. How many more politicians in uniform & bedazzling bootlickers (think Wesley Clark) can we weather?
Tommy Franks was an enlisted man and then went to Field Artillery OCS.
Active duty members of the US Military are forbidden by law from campaigning;
http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/militarylaw1/a/milpolitics.htm
They are not as stringent as scuttlebutt had them.
Every one of those officers is retired. So they are certainly able to use their free speech rights to support Romney.
I disagree. Why do you think CBS asked Colin Powell whether he was endorsing Obama again? Because he’s black and they know it holds a lot of weight in that community. Now, Obama is running ads witrh the endorsement on radio & TV. So yes, it does matter who these men and women are behind.
In his last recent endorsement, Powell says that Obama “saved the oil industry”. How do the Democrats expect even a minimally informed person to believe that? General Powell is obviously not concerned with his own credibility – perhaps trading it in to obtain his identity politics credentials.
Hooah!
Don’t forget the Coast Guard Admirals that also signed on to the ad. Their organization may be smaller than the others, but they are equally proud.
Good ad, but bad placement…should have been in WP and every big OH and PA paper. THAT would have reached the people who can swing this election. …and should have been up sooner.
Praise God. We Thank him for the Unknown Soldier Tomb and the Young Brave Marines standing 24-7 to guard and remember their sacrifice. Amen
The guards are not Marines, they are Soldiers of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment.
An old Army guy thanks you for setting that straight.
I’ll take this list over the disingenuous Colin Powell and his Obama advertised endorsement any day.
I agree with Roger Simon – a shame this couldn’t have been run in the NY Slimes.
and who is endorsing obama? chavez, castro, ahmadinejad, putin, and CPUSA.
Obama also gets the general Arab vote, both within and outside the US.
Will they be manning up the Obama vote centers in Gaza again this year?
Well done.
Notice the graphics- no cutesy images, no flashy colors, not even Old Glory. Just names.
Names of men who think, live and breath honor, duty, and service.
No fluff, no frills, no snideness. Only names of the righteous, speaking to their country.
For those who care, this is very powerful.
Best regards, Peter Warner.
Current and past American Ambassadors should run a similar ad in protest of Obama’s cowardly desertion of Ambassador Stevens.
Ambassadors are political hacks. You’d get a straight party line division.
This seems great. But is it too late to make a difference?
From Rachel Lucas website.
http://tinyurl.com/d3ur9bg
http://www.rachellucas.com/2012/11/straight-up-brutal/#comment-88319
Where Jim Carson wrote on 3 November 2012 at 6:42 pm,
“I would like to poll every last soldier in this great country: “Your countrymen are currently being attacked by Islamic fundamentalists on sovereign American soil. How much information do you need to come to their aid?”
The answer that would come back from nearly 100% of them would be: “Their location.” ”
This ad may be these soldiers’ way of saying that.
Why the Washington Times? Using the NYT or WaPo supports those libs and presents it to Obama’s liberal fans. Such an ad is very expensive – something over $100,000. The WSJ is over $200,000. The Washington Times is not part of the NYT and WaPo families of liberal entities. The fact that they published the ad is extraordinary in itself. It stands alone as a news item. The Internet world will pick it up and pass it around. Their point has been made.
I agree. They spent a lot of money to preach to the choir.
Well said (written), Jim.
I don’t think there is any way in hell the NYT or WaPo would have accepted this ad.
You all are still talking about the intelligentsia. The people they want to reach and who might not have made up their minds read USA Today.
Let us take a moment to honor in our hearts our military. It could be at great expense that these officers speak their support. The present CIC is known to be vindictive, witness General Carter Ham’s treatment in the past two months.
Once again, we civilians are indebted to our protectors who have not forgotten their true allegiance to the Constitution and to the American people.
We are grateful. Thank you.
Someone stated in a comment that it is to late.. It is never to late!!
God Bless all of you and God Bless America
Why hasn’t this been posted on Youtube? It needs to be seen by many and NOW!
Because it’s not a video?
That it was placed in the Washington Times and not the NY Times or anywhere else is irrelevant. Many more people will see it as it makes it’s “rounds” on the internet and news shows.
That’s a good point. I’m mean, here we all are.
I believe that this is both important and timely. This gives notice to the administration that the military may NOT support them if they try to use a crisis to nulify the election. However, if the military does act it will probably be the end of the United States as a democratic republic and very well could be the start of a nasty civil war.
Not only Benghazi. Obama has mishandled Sandy. He should have made plans to build dikes.
???
I hope that was parody.
Two questions Jan.
1. How long do you think it takes to build a dyke around, well, anything, let alone something like New Jersey or even just New York City?
2. How long ago do you think anyone knew Sandy would hit the East Coast?
Now do you see the problem with your suggestion?
Very proud of a High School classmate of mine that signed this ad! I agree that it should have been done a lot earlier, would have had much more impact.
Look at the bottom of the document. They make it very easy to share on Twitter, or to embed in your blog or share the link on FaceBook. They gave us the ammo, let’s use it!
This retired Marine couldn’t be happier with my friends who have served this nation. Semper Fi all of you who have served or are serving at this time. Better days are coming beginning tomorrow!
Thank goodness that influential people are expressing concerns about the Obama administration’s deliberate advancement of the Muslim Brotherhood’s agenda to impose sharia on the USA.
The facts speak for themselves. We owe it to ourselves and our children to learn the facts about the Muslim Brotherhood. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bs0xw5hPWVQ&feature=relmfu
Above all, it is a message to Barry:
“You are not loved by those in uniform, so if you want to think Chicago-land tricks are going to long-term work with us, they won’t. We are men. The United States military is not intimidated by you. They just obey you. Retired brass will speak out if they desire–and get this, Barry–active duty do *not* spin for you in front of investigatory committees if someone asks them a direct question. The loyalty is to the system and the nation–not you as a person or politician. We obey, but at the end of the day our continued existence is not because we have some loyalty to you, your party, or your cause. And you might have gotten confused about that.”
Addendum: “The United States Armed Forces helped establish the world’s first true large representative Republic, ended slavery, helped settle the nation, ended the Kaiser’s reign, took care of fascism and communism, and today is working to ensure those who would tear apart someone else’s society in order to build their own can’t. We have been here long before you, and the United States Armed Forces will be here long after you. We obey rules. We do not go along to get along. Never forget that.”
Shelton is a known Liberal. This is pretty big.
Hmmm. Let’s see if we can put this together….
We have a huge list of generals taking out a full page ad to endorse a Presidential candidate.
That’s NEVER happened before. Never.
Is that newsworthy?
Will we see it covered on tonight’s news? Will the network talking heads mention it? Will the talk shows discuss it?
Are any of us holding our breath?
America’s warriors and America’s enemies both know a weenie when they see one, and they have been watching him from the White House for four years.
Unfortunately weenie man is the living, breathing, ideal, liberal man incarnate to those who are moved by popularity and fancy words.
It is terrifying to think that we could elect such a man and may reelect him tomorrow.
I have a general rule of thumb when making my decision for president: figure out which way Hollywood and the media are leaning, and vote the opposite way.
Or the corollary: figure out which way America’s warriors are voting, and vote with them.
It never fails as a guiding principle.
To little, to late.
These guys should have been standing up and yelling out loud about these commie hate America pumks of the commie Democrat Party back when Clinton handed the ones of China the things he let out the back gate of Los Alamos Lab, or when the Democrats voted a traitor as their person for Pres. (traitor) John F. Kerry,
and for sure when they put this known Bill Ayers unamerican trash talking hoodlum B. Obama up for a vote when they all knew excatly who and what he was.
I think most people are smart enough to see through this example of the military-industrial-intelligence complex’s ongoing urge to continue gorging at the trough no matter the cost to the real security of this country by continued obscene levels of military spending.
One of the reasons that our prosperity continues to decline – at least for anyone below the top 2% – is that this country spend almost half of ALL THE MILITARY SPENDING IN THE WORLD on our military. No other nation even comes close. Depending on which study you chose, you can add the military spending of anywhere from the next 10 to the next 27 countries to get what the U.S. spends. China, the next closest, spends around 8% of all the world’s military spending while somehow Britain and France manage to stay safe spending around 3%.
Even at a time when the right-wing has set their hair on fire over deficits (or, at least to take down Obama on whom they like to blame these deficits), very little has been said about the massive military spending. When it has been the subject of conversation on the right, it’s only been to now set their hair on fire over CUTS to military spending and to SUGGEST SPENDING EVEN MORE!!
And, that’s exactly what these generals are after, too. Look at a few endorsement statements for this list:
General James Conway, USMC (Ret.) “I consider the unprecedented national debt amongst the five greatest threats to the security of our great nation. And yet, I see no indication the current administration, if re-elected, is intent on changing that trajectory. Clearly Defense should bear a portion of the burden in order to regain control of our debt, but the idea of massive military cuts — at a time of increased global instability—should not even be in the cards. As I listen to Mitt Romney, I am convinced that he ‘gets it’.”
Rawmoney “gets it”? Really? You mean Rawmoney’s plan that will INCREASE MILITARY SPENDING while it CUTS TAXES, and that’s somehow going to BALANCE THE BUDGET? You mean just like Reagan did when he proposed that exact formula and then ran up the largest percentage increase in the national debt before or since (188%). Or, when “W” did a similar thing and put two wars “off budget” and then cut taxes for the first time ever in a time of war to run up the SECOND LARGEST PERCENTAGE INCREASE in the national debt (89%)? Is THAT the plan you’re so ready to support yet again while at the same time claiming concern over the debt as a threat to our security? Maybe you just can’t do math or, more likely, you’re happy as long as our military gets the gold while the rest of the country gets the shaft.
General Tommy Franks, USA (Ret.) “I’m proud to be supporting Mitt Romney in this critical election about our nation’s future. Governor Romney is committed to restoring America’s leadership role in the world. Instead of playing politics with our military, he will strengthen our defense posture by reversing the President’s devastating defense cuts. The fact of the matter is that we cannot afford another four years of feckless foreign policy. We need levelheaded leadership which will protect our interests and defend our values with clarity and without apology.
More with the cuts, of course, but no mention, of course, that these cuts are the results of the sequestration agreement, an agreement forced on the president by the unprecedented use of the debt ceiling increase as a bargaining chip by the Republicans.
And, wait, let me see if I understand this, the SAME general who refused the request to send more soldiers into Tora Bora to capture Osama bin Laden and resorted to bombing from 10,000 ft. while bin Laden escaped into Pakistan is talking about “protecting our interests”, “level-headed leadership” and “feckless foreign policy”? Wow, you can’t make this shit up, can you? But, hey, Gen. Franks had a good reason for ignoring that little bin Laden problem, he was under deadline pressure to deliver the plan to invade Iraq and didn’t have time.
Screw these buffoons, I hope they eat their guts out when Rawmoney looses.
Not very good at arithmetic, are you Obi?
Our military spending is a small fraction of the budget.
If Congress would simply obey the Constitution, they could keep military spending at its current levels, lower taxes, and STILL close the deficit and begin paying down the debt.
Actually, Obama’s budget does something like you suggest EXCEPT for the taxes on the upper income bracket.
But, Rawmoney’s budget will add two trillion in spending for the military alone over 10 years while giving EVERYONE – including the highest tax payers – even more cuts, a combination which most economists can see no way to offset by ANY combination of spending cuts. i.e. we’re going to balloon the deficits and the debt once again.
Yes, the U.S. spends more than the rest, a burden the American taxpayer, to their credit, have been willing to bear. European governments, with low military expenditures, can afford their smarmy socialist policies because the American taxpayers pay the bill. Yes, to our credit we spend more on our military budget than the others, and we spend more in the blood of our fighting men than the others, so that the free world can survive. With more cooperation, we could prevail.
This list will at least give us something to throw back at dem spinners when they hit us with the Gen Colin Powell endorsement of Obama.
Fight’s on.
The MSM is owned by various members of the Council on Foreign Relations, and has been, for many years past. Click on Servando Gonzalez for the details. The question before us is: Is there a legal, moral way to rid ourselves of the monster in the White House and his many adherents? If not, where do we go, and how do we get there?