Military members call out group of retired generals for 'disturbing and reckless' letter promoting Trump's election lies

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Half a year after now-President Joe Biden won the 2020 election — picking up 306 electoral votes and defeating former President Donald Trump by more than 7 million in the popular vote — Trump cultists continue to push the debunked conspiracy theory that the election was stolen from him. Some of those believers are veterans of the United States military, and veterans who don't buy into the president's lie are speaking out against those who do.

On Monday, May 10, an open letter from a far-right pro-Trump group called Flag Officers 4 America was released — and the letter, which was signed by 124 retired generals and admirals, promoted the false claim that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump and that Trump, not Biden, was the real winner. The letter read, "Under a Democrat Congress and the Current Administration, our Country has taken a hard left turn toward Socialism and a Marxist form of tyrannical government which must be countered now by electing congressional and presidential candidates who will always act to defend our Constitutional Republic." And Politico's Bryan Bender reports that other U.S. military veterans are calling the group out and doing so forcefully.

"As news of the letter spread," Bender reports, "it set off a round of recriminations among current and former military members. One serving Navy officer, who did not want to be identified publicly, called it 'disturbing and reckless.'"

Jim Golby, described by Bender as "an expert in civil-military relations," was vehemently critical of the Flag Officers 4 America letter and denounced it as a "shameful effort to use their rank and the military's reputation for such a gross and blatant partisan attack." And Bender quotes Adm. Mike Mullen, who formerly chaired the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as saying, "I think it hurts the military, and by extension, it hurts the country." Mullen described the letter as being full of "right-wing Republican talking points."

Bender notes that the Flag Officers 4 America letter "was striking for several reasons."

"It is not unusual for retired officers to take sides in electoral politics and endorse candidates," Bender explains. "But its fiery, even angry, language and conspiracy-mongering struck multiple long-time observers as particularly out of bounds and dangerous. Coming outside the campaign season was also seen as rare, if not unprecedented."

The rhetoric in the Flag Officers letter sounds like something that would come from a far-right outlet like WorldNetDaily or One America News. The letter read, "The Current Administration has launched a full-blown assault on our Constitutional rights in a dictatorial manner, bypassing the Congress, with more than 50 Executive Orders quickly signed, many reversing the previous Administration's effective policies and regulations. Moreover, population control actions such as excessive lockdowns, school and business closures, and most alarming, censorship of written and verbal expression are all direct assaults on our fundamental Rights. We must support and hold accountable politicians who will act to counter Socialism, Marxism and Progressivism."

Of course, the notion that the Biden Administration is run by "Marxists" is downright laughable. Biden, a centrist Democrat, is hardly viewed as a role model by actual far-left Marxist groups around the world — and in 2020, he was endorsed by right-wing anti-Trump conservatives who include Carly Fiorina, Cindy McCain, former U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake and former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, among many others.

The far-right Republicans who signed the Flag Officers letter include retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. William Boykin — who has been expressing anti-Islam and Christian nationalist views and serves as executive vice president of the theocratic Family Research Council — and retired U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Don Bolduc, who is running for a U.S. Senate seat in New Hampshire in the 2022 election. This isn't the first time Bolduc has run for the U.S. Senate; in 2020, he lost a GOP senatorial primary to Bryant "Corky" Messner, who lost to incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen in the general election.

Another veteran who signed the Flag Officers letter is retired Vice Adm. John Poindexter, who served as deputy national security adviser under President Ronald Reagan and was a leading figure in the Iran-Contra scandal.

Meanwhile, Marybeth Ulrich, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel who teaches at the U.S. Air Force Academy as well as the Army War College, has slammed the letter as "anti-democratic."

Ulrich told Politico, "That was way worse than I was expecting. They are perpetuating the big lie about the election. I think it is outrageous. Some of it is very anti-democratic behavior."

Moreover, Ulrich, according to Bender, will be citing the letter as a troubling example of how military veterans should not conduct themselves.

"They are absolutely violating the norm to be apolitical," Ulrich told Politico. "They are being used for partisan purposes. They are going against their constitutional oath."
https://www.alternet.org/2021/05/military-trump/

Can't have a coup without the support of the upper level of the military. Hitler would have never come to power without the support of the German Army Generals.
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.-Huxley
"We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." ~ Louis Brandeis,

Re: Military members call out group of retired generals for 'disturbing and reckless' letter promoting Trump's election

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And Bender quotes Adm. Mike Mullen, who formerly chaired the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as saying, "I think it hurts the military, and by extension, it hurts the country." Mullen described the letter as being full of "right-wing Republican talking points."
Boykin is a bible thumper, Poindexter was involved in Iran-Contra...Mullen is right they mouth right wing talking points. It's a free country though they can spew whatever craziness they want.
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Re: Military members call out group of retired generals for 'disturbing and reckless' letter promoting Trump's election

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We are running out of chances to stop them. Congress MUST enact the Voting Rights Act and find some way to get Manchin on board. Let Federal law overturn all the voter suppression laws...it will take years to get to the SCOTUS and DoJ can certainly keep it from being fast-tracked.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: Military members call out group of retired generals for 'disturbing and reckless' letter promoting Trump's election

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Eh ... these guys are a bunch of has beens and hacks. When did the the lead singer of Pantera become a RADM in the Navy?

The current senior officer corps strives to be apolitical. These old kooks just watch too much Fox News and nobody cares what they think anymore. Pathetic. This country is full of old 1-2 Stars that didn’t amount to anything after their retirement. If they didn’t make any defense contractor connections nobody else wants to hire them Becuase they don’t know how to work anymore.
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Re: Military members call out group of retired generals for 'disturbing and reckless' letter promoting Trump's election

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Mason wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 11:43 am what a bunch of douchebags. They need to have their pensions revoked.
Mason is onto something here.

These retired generals are inciting sedition by repeating the Big Lie claiming the election was illegitimate without cause. If they complain that Biden is skirting Congress by ruling via EO’s well I suggest Congress put up a vote to remove these retired military pensions.

Words matter when you actively justify deposing an elected leader in a democracy.
"It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of non-violence to cover impotence. There is hope for a violent man to become non-violent. There is no such hope for the impotent." -Gandhi

Re: Military members call out group of retired generals for 'disturbing and reckless' letter promoting Trump's election

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Had to go looking up flag officer statutes. Active service are limited per service. Ballpark number is over 500 total. Not sure about retirees.

Still, roughly a quarter of the number of the active-duty flag-officer corps committing treason isn't something to sneeze at. It's not half.

I like to think that some of the slowitude in prosecuting and purging Trumpinistas from the services and law enforcement has been about taking time and doing it right, limiting the potential for 5th Column bullshit. I truly do. Still, the longer this shit goes on, the more brazen they get. I want court martials, dammit.

Re: Military members call out group of retired generals for 'disturbing and reckless' letter promoting Trump's election

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Retired generals were fooled by imposter 'Rear Adm. Jack Meehoff' as they accused Biden of being a 'Marxist'

Last week, a group of more than 120 retired generals and admirals caused shock and outrage by signing a conspiracy theory-laden letter questioning the legitimacy of the 2020 election and suggesting that President Joe Biden is a communist and too enfeebled to do his job. Among the signatories are Maj. Gen. John Bolduc, a candidate for Senate in New Hampshire, and Vice Adm. John Poindexter, former National Security Adviser to President Ronald Reagan.

But it seems that the group, calling themselves "Flag Officers 4 America," didn't do a good job of verifying all of their signatories were legit, because according to Task & Purpose, one of the names that ended up on the list was an imposter who went by the fake name, "Rear Adm. Jack Meehoff."

"After Christopher Mathias of the Huffington Post wrote a May 12 story about the letter, he received an email the following day from someone showing how he had managed to get the apocryphal 'Rear Adm. Jack Meehoff' added to the list of signatories," reported Jeff Shogol. "Mathias later tweeted emails from the man, whose name he redacted, showing how he had provided the false name to retired Army Maj. Gen. Joseph Arbuckle, who left active duty in 2000. 'Thank you for your support,' Arbuckle replied. 'Your name will be added to the letter today. Thank you for standing tall.'"

He was eventually removed, but not before making it onto the public list.

According to the report, the man behind "Rear Adm. Jack Meehoff" is a retired submariner who told Task & Purpose he acted because he found the whole letter "f**king absurd."
https://www.rawstory.com/retired-gener ... k-meehoff/

Got what they deserved :roflmao:
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.-Huxley
"We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." ~ Louis Brandeis,

Re: Military members call out group of retired generals for 'disturbing and reckless' letter promoting Trump's election

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wings wrote: Tue May 18, 2021 9:39 pm
the man behind "Rear Adm. Jack Meehoff" is a retired submariner
Of course he is. Y'all know the joke about submarines.

Now I have the vision of a nuclear powered dildo in my cranium. Blergh.
Er, you might be doing it wrong. Please check the owner's manual for proper insertion locations.

CDFingers
Crazy cat peekin' through a lace bandana
like a one-eyed Cheshire, like a diamond-eyed Jack

Re: Military members call out group of retired generals for 'disturbing and reckless' letter promoting Trump's election

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And it's not even about patriotism for the Orange Catastrophe. It's about "winning" at all costs, ie, cheating, about getting back in power to take his revenge on, well, just about everyone (Like Daenerys Targaryen burning down King's Landing just 'cuz she's pissed), relevance, and, of course, staying out of prison.

600,000 are dead because of him, millions still out of work, businesses bankrupted, democracy on the brink of collapse and NONE of that means anything to that sick, perverted psychopath.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

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