A Republican running for re-election to a county office in the St. Louis area posted this on her Facebook page:
“I have a question for all my friends who have served or are currently serving in our military … having not put on a uniform nor taken any type military oath, there has to be something that I am just not aware of. But I cannot and do not understand why no action is being taken against our domestic enemy. I know he is supposedly the commander in chief, but the Constitution gives you the authority. What am I missing? Thank you for your bravery and may God keep you safe.”
Maybe she would understand better if she actually read the standard enlistment oath prescribed by federal statute for our armed services in its entirety:
“I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Armed_Forces_oath_of_enlistment
One of the beauties of our democracy is that anyone — and I do mean anyone — who satisfies the requirements of age, citizenship, and residency can be elected to public offices ranging from Dog Catcher to President in this country. This woman’s office happens to be much closer to Dog Catcher than President, thank God; but I think it’s wonderful that Americans can elect their own king, princes, dukes, etc., even if the people they elect are stupider than hell and the voters electing them are stupider than hell, too. Putting people like this in public offices may not produce good government, but dammit, it’s our government!
P.S., remember this guy? Lt. Col. Terry Lakin, M.D., an Army doctor who refused orders to deploy to Afghanistan because he believed Obama “does not meet the constitutional requirements to be president and commander-in-chief because [he] believes the president was not born in the United States”? He was kicked out of the Army for violating his soldier’s oath, went to jail, and lost his medical license.
I don’t mind a birther idiot being elected Recorder of Deeds in a hick state where cops use citizens for target practice because I’ll never live there. If they want someone like this safeguarding their property records that’s their problem and okay with me. But when you take the soldier’s oath, as I did in 1968, you’re subject to the Commander in Chief’s orders, period. I’m sure glad I didn’t have to share a Vietnam foxhole with these loons.
