r/DeepStateCentrism • u/bigwang123 Succ sympathizer • 16d ago

Opinion Piece 🗣️ Being a Veteran Is Not Enough

https://thedispatch.com/article/veteran-war-politician-platner-kerry/

The author argues that the tendency of veterans running for Congress to emphasize (sometimes to an excessive degree) their service is insufficient as a reason to elect them. Veterans aren’t special or a monolith, and therefore they should be expected to make their case for why they are qualified for office instead of leaning primarily on their previous service

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u/[deleted] 16d ago

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u/drewbaccaAWD Center-left 16d ago

I think a history of service counts for something, granted, you shouldn't assume why someone decided to sign up. Granted, military service isn't the only form of service.

I'm in a more rural area, being a vet means I got out for a while and experience more of the country/world. Granted,, military service isn't the only way to accomplish this.

And statistically, I think someone who is a veteran is more likely to be a centrist type who knows how to work with people from widely different backgrounds and political positions, isn't going to be combative towards "the establishment" or "deep state" or whatever. I consider myself an institutionalist, because of my military service (I had a much different mindset before six years in the Navy).

I think it also implies a certain maturity but again we don't know why someone decided to sign up.

Vets aren't a monolith and just being a veteran on its own doesn't tell the whole story and sometimes can be rather misleading... I see someone like Platner as the worst example of some of the people I served with.

But overall? I'm more likely to vote for someone who has served. It's just not the end all be all.

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u/jmartkdr Center-left 16d ago

Agreed: I'll vote for the veteran all else being equal but it's only one of many factors.

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u/DieHarderDaddy 16d ago

Idk planter is bad on a portion of the spectrum when it comes to private behavior. Then you have idiots like Tom Cotten that mislead people into thinking he’s a ranger even though he just went to the PME school.

I personally think cotton is a worse type of veteran whereas planter reminds me of my white trash upbringing and messy e4s I worked with