Just give a second to notionally remove my rank and uniform....
OK, just a citizen for the moment.
I'm REALLY not interested in getting into political debare here. There's enough polarity as it is, and... I work in the US. I find myself forced to spend a lot of time in the company of Americans. And Lord Tunderin' Jaysus you would not believe the level of personal acrimony a political discussion can generate. Feuds and vendettas get started that way.
But I think it is important that the messege get out there that being in the military does not automatically make you a Tory. There exist Liberal supporters in the CF.
I personally think that overall, the Grits have done a pretty good job running the country. Yeah, they cut a lot of military programmes, but as I mentioned earlier, that had more to do with the fact that power changed hands than any sort of anti-military bias. Yeah, they cut a lot of spending and social programmes, but the biggest enemy facing Canada in the 90's was the looming possibility of fiscal insolvency. The Grits solved that. Our economy is booming (being paid in US funds, I'm very much aware of the relative strengths of the US economy vice the Canadian economy, because it changes the value of my take-home pay) and the Grits had the wisdom to use those big surplusses they created to pay down the national debt. The more we reduce the cost of servicing the debt, the less likely we are to wind up bankrupted if the ecomomy slows, and the more money becomes availible to (for example) buy the Army goodies.
Ultimately, I think the Grits' financial policies saved this country - look at the US economy. There but for the grace of God go we.
I also really like that when it comes to military decisions, the Grits think like Canadians and not just American puppets. I *like* that we are in Afganistan. I *like* that we are not in Iraq. I *like* that we aren't chained to that missile defense system.
And I *really really like* "Responsibility to Protect" and that the Grits are letting the CDS run amok the way his is, instead of muzzling him. I get the feeling that some sort of Grit/military corner has been turned, that the days of Trudeau (who was afraid the military wanted to take over, I swear to God) are over, and that the Grits now understand their responsibility to create and maintain a strong Canadian military.
Lord knows they haven't been perfect angels, but I think that the public peepee slapping they've been getting recently (a minority government and Gomery) serves to keep them honest.... or at least, to limit how outrageous the dishonesty gets.
And Harper.... I don't trust the man AT ALL. I think he'll say whatever it takes to get elected, and once he does, the mask comes off and whatever is really in there comes out. I don't for a second think that he'd carry on with "responsibility to protect", I think he'd cut the CDS off at the knees, and I think he'd outsource all our military planning to Washington. I, for one, am a CANADIAN soldier first and foremost. I work for the Queen and for my fellow Canadians, not Georgie Bush.
So anyway, I don't think it is any way disloyal to the military to support the Grits, and these days, my honest opinion is that our fortunes are better served with the Grits than with anybody else.
Y'all are free to disagree, and if you do, I won't argue.
DG
