Senate GOP leader downplays significance of troop fatalities

December 7, 2007

During a meeting with constituents this week, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ken.) took some time to comment on the war in Iraq. He wasn’t reading from a prepared text, but in retrospect, he probably should have been.

“Unfortunately, most of our friends on the other isle are having a hard time admitting things are getting better; some days I almost think the critics of this war don’t want us to win. Nobody is happy about losing lives but remember these are not draftees, these are full-time professional soldiers.” (emphasis added)

Now, occasionally, when a politician says something dumb, we can kinda sorta tell what he or she was trying to say. Even with some of the president’s more memorable Bushisms, if we get past the grammatical problems, we can get a sense of what he was going for.

But I’m not quite sure how many ways there are to interpret McConnell’s comments about troop fatalities. It certainly sounds as if the Senate Republican leader downplayed the significance of Americans dying in Iraq because they volunteered for military service.

As Greg Sargent put it, “It’s hard to read this as anything but belittling the importance of the deaths of troops because they’re ‘professional soldiers.’ What McConnell is basically saying here is, ‘hey, they signed up for this.'”

One major veterans’ group heard about McConnell’s remarks, and it’s not at all pleased.

VoteVets.org’s Jon Soltz passed along a reaction from Andrew Horne, who served with the Marines in Iraq, who took offense at the Senate Republican leader’s attitude.

“I would say that Mitch McConnell owes every member of our service and the families of the fallen an apology, but no apology from him can take back the venom he has spewed at our troops, this time. For anyone to believe that casualties of war are somehow more acceptable because they were not draftees is disgusting. For the Republican leader in the United States Senate to say that is beyond repugnant.”

“This is just Mitch McConnell once again demonstrating that he has no idea of – and has no interest in learning – what our troops have sacrificed. Whether it is filibustering a bill that would give proper time at home for our overextended troops, or voting against increased funds to take care of veterans who have come home, Mitch McConnell has shown nothing more than complete ignorance about our military and those who serve our nation in it.”

“To my fellow service members and veterans, let me apologize on behalf of Kentucky for Senator McConnell’s putrid comments. He most certainly does not represent our views, nor the high regard in which we hold you and your families.”

Ouch.

Chances are, McConnell won’t face too much heat for this, but Greg added an entirely reasonable point: “If Harry Reid said something like this it would be news for days and days.”

I know the IOKIYAR phenomenon gets tiresome, but seriously, imagine if Reid had made this exact same comment. Limbaugh and Drudge would go berserk, Fox News would have it in heavy rotation, every Democratic presidential candidate would be pressed on whether they’d repudiate Reid’s insensitivity, and the story would be everywhere.

I have a hunch, though, McConnell’s comments will be largely ignored. Stay tuned.

Soldiers are people too. Nobody wants to die.

  • I guess when fire fighters or police officers die Mitch shrugs it off. “Well, they’re paid to risk life and limb. Ho hum.”

    I also find it interesting that Mitchypoo mentioned the draft. It’s almost as if he’s saying: “Hey, no need for the rest of you to worry about getting blown to bits, we’ve got people for that.”

    Therefore, the American public shouldn’t give a shit.

  • What is the objection here? I agree with McConnell’s comments – signing up for military duty involves willingly putting your life at risk, so that those who don’t want to take such risks – civilians – can be safe. As morally painful as it is to put assign a value to human life, the lives of soldiers are less valuable than those of civilians. It would be much less of a disaster if 3,000 were killed in war, than the 3,000 that were killed in the WTC.

    Why? Civilians being killed disrupts our culture. It damages our economy with the fear of vulnerabilities. It makes it seem like nowhere is safe. Or rather, it contributes towards these dangerous paths (no, 9/11 didn’t terrify me into voting Repub or justifying the seizure of our liberties).

    I am adamant that military lives are valuable, and should be protected at great expense, and I loathe Rumsfeld for his refusal to demand the best for our troops in order to pinch pennies. And I think the Iraq war would not be worth the cost to our soldiers’ lives and welfare even if we discounted Iraqis killed, dollars spent, reputation squandered.

    But signing up for military duty is saying that you’re prepared to die – that it’s a manageable and planned-for event.

  • the lives of soldiers are less valuable than those of civilians.

    That’s just about the most disgusting thing I’ve ever read. I am ashamed for you, Tamalak .

  • I must be a wuss, because I was shared shitless in Panama, and didn’t feel prepared to die.

  • Why? Civilians being killed disrupts our culture. It damages our economy with the fear of vulnerabilities. It makes it seem like nowhere is safe.

    You’re either high, an idiot, or an excellent spoof.

  • “…these are not draftees, these are full-time professional soldiers.”

    Yes, well, the first meaning that comes through is that, for this !#$!#, a full-time professional soldier means cannon fodder (or, updated, IED fodder), whereas a draftee is – what? To me, full-time and professional imply a nation’s investment in training and development, also not something to throw away casually. I don’t see that it matters if death is prepared or planned-for to the individual soldiers. No matter how philosophically the soldiers and families face injury and death, they are valuable to America as citizens and as professionals. Those true Republican colors are showing – that only the rich and powerful have real value.

  • Stunningly offensive and hypocritical.

    Somone should do a google search on the phrase “Senator McConnell Support the Troops” and see how many times this idiot has accused Dems of “Not Supporting our Brave Soldiers.”

  • Yeah but the reason Reid would have gotten such publicity is because McConnell would have loudly called him out on it along with the rest of the Republicans. If we are lucky we’ll hear that famous Reid “whisper” saying McConnell was just plain wrong.

    “McConnell, you insensitive, lying piece of dog doo. Are you saying the deaths of these brave soldiers would mean something if they were draftees instead of volunteers? How dare you make such a mockery of their sacrifice. A sacrifice you and the rest of the republicans forced on them by putting them in harms way needlessly. It is pure bigotry to suggest it is the Democrats who don’t want things to get better when all of our actions have been to make things better for the troops by protecting them rather than sacrificing them just because they were volunteers and signed up for this.”

    “Win what Mr. McConnell? What do you mean by winning? Political reconciliation… which was what the surge was for…has made zero progress…in fact less than zero. Win what? You mean not so many of our troops getting killed means we are winning?. Winning is not even an issue but profiteering sure is. You are a hypocrite to suggest dems “don’t want to win” when it is you and the republicans who are making sure with your filibusters and blackmail rhetoric, that our economy, our strained military, our foreign policies, our world image and our domestic freedoms are the real losers. You sir, are the party of corruption, the party of hypocrisy, the party of obstructionism, yet dare to suggest it is the dems who don’t want to win.”

  • When Bill Clinton was in office, the Republicans shrieked about the “moral relativism” of that era and how they were against it. Now McConnell is the personification of moral relativity. Mitch is stratifying the value of life depending on whether you were forced to defend your country or if you volunteered for it. Professional soldiers don’t volunteer to die for their country, they volunteer to fight and serve. According to Mitch a brave life is less valuable than one that is too scared and stays home. No wonder Republicans could give a sh*t about soldiers returning home in pieces or in need of care: veterans lives just aren’t that valuable to the party of Bush. Little did those fighting in the Revolutionary War realize what a screwed up nation they were dying for in order to see born.

  • ***hey Tamalak*** You join the military prepared to kill on command not give up your life. Killing is a choice dying really isn’t. You go into the military prepared to defend your country and constitution not prepared to die. Dying is a risk everyone takes daily without any preparation. It is always a possibility and your point that it is more of a possibility when you’re in harm’s way does not make it more acceptable or make you anymore prepared. The object is always to live. The soldiers really don’t have a choice about dying but our government has a responsibility not to put them in harms way unless absolutely necessary. Policing a civil war for profit and political gain and “forcing” our troops to fight and die and then calling their deaths voluntary is ludicrous.

    They expect people like McConnell to protect them, not get them killed while saying “well, they volunteered for it”. They didn’t volunteer for this crap…to be sacrificed policing a civil war. To McConnell, they are just numbers…he has little regard for human life…being so far removed and sheltered from the reality this tragedy. He’s ready to do it again in Iran.

  • By McConnell’s logic, a drunk driver is less culpable if the person he’s killed was at the wheel of the car he hit; after all, the victim was a licensed driver who took the wheel knowing the risks that were out there.

  • Umm…that should be “on the other side of the aisle”, not, “on the other isle”, unless Congress has been turned into a water theme park. Even as much of a stunzio as McConnell is, I’m sure that’s not what he meant.

  • Tamalak said:
    “What is the objection here? I agree with McConnell’s comments – signing up for military duty involves willingly putting your life at risk, so that those who don’t want to take such risks – civilians – can be safe.”

    I can somewhat agree with this part of your post. HOWEVER, this administration took us into an unnecessary war, failed to prepare for the aftermath of the invasion (weapons not guarded, now in the hands of the enemy but one example), the admin and the former Repub majority did not provide the equipment needed to help keep the volunteer military safe. And the admin has mismanaged the military so that it is in decline, and grossly misused the National Guard. The USA is not respected in the world, we are far far in debt and more at risk to attack. So McConnell is being pretty disingenuous with his comment, esp considering his former and current position in the Senate.

  • …these are not draftees, these are full-time professional soldiers.”

    Well, no, not all of them. Thousands are National Guard who weren’t “full-time professional soldiers” until they were put on infinite rotation by the Bush administration. They are draftees, once removed.

  • …not to mention the large numbers held past the expiration of their contracts by the “stop-loss” program.

  • No one here seems to appreciate the irony that the person form VoteVets quoted is the candidate that is going to beat McConnell next Fall.

  • If moveon.org said it, then it would be offensive and demeaning but a hypocritical lying republican said it so the “liberal media” won’t pick it up.

  • “Unfortunately, most of our friends on the other isle are having a hard time admitting things are getting better; some days I almost think the critics of this war don’t want us to win. Nobody is happy about losing lives but remember these are not draftees, these are full-time professional soldiers.” (emphasis added)

    it is the truth.

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