The Iowa Republican ^ | December 6, 2011 | Editorial Board
Posted on Wednesday, December 07, 2011 1:50:12 AM by Cincinatus' Wife
This past Saturday, College Republicans from across the state braved the rain and cold to converge in Des Moines to box donations for Iowa soldiers deployed in Afghanistan. For weeks they fundraised independently on their campuses to buy socks, wet wipes, shampoo, lip balm and much more in an effort to make our brave men and women overseas slightly more comfortable this holiday season. The Iowa State College Republicans received second place overall in the most items fundraised by any chapter, mainly due to the efforts of ISUCR Jeremy Freeman.
The Iowa Federation of College Republicans has made donating to Iowa’s troops a holiday tradition for the last five years with the firm belief that these annual acts of appreciation should always be ones of duty, and never self-aggrandizing. Yet, an ISU English Lecturer [Thomas Walker] found the CR’s acts callous enough to insult and demean the efforts of Jeremy and Iowa’s CRs publicly in the Iowa State Daily on Monday.
Through his blatant disregard for our nation’s heroes overseas, Walker’s letter exemplifies the intimidation tactics used by the left to bully young conservatives out of any form of activism. Sadly, yet ever more predictably, this response comes from a state-employed educator at one of Iowa’s public universities. This past spring, Iowa College Republicans faced similar vitriol from a tenured Professor of Gender and Women Studies at the University of Iowa College Republicans who chose to use her position to hurl expletives at young conservatives on campus. Somewhere along the way, our learning institutions have sanctioned the authoritative ridiculing of inquisitive, conservative minds on campus, but to do so while lambasting our troops is truly a new low we cannot accept.
College Republicans will proudly defend those that defend us and will never apologize for supporting the brave American heroes of our military. Most of us involved with this project personally know someone deployed – they are our family, friends and neighbors. We miss them dearly and pray for their safe return. While some may deride our attempt to increase our soldier’s comfort overseas, we sincerely wish there was a way to provide them with more, as they truly deserve.
As Republicans, we believe in initiative, and that it is our duty to help. Rather than ignorantly place our charitable responsibility to nameless government agencies, we choose to individually help with our own time and money to ensure our resources are not diluted. This claim was statistically verified by researcher Arthur C. Brooks in his book, “Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism.” Brooks found that although liberal families incomes average 6% higher than conservative families, it was the latter group that, on average, gave 30% more to charity, in addition to more of their blood and their time.
Regardless of whether it is an election year or not, the members of the Iowa Federation of College Republicans work tirelessly to make their voices heard as they participate in the functions of our democracy we hold dear. A democracy, I remind you, that was given to us on the blood, sweat and sacrifice of our nation’s military members and their families.
Just mere hours after our packages were shipped to Iowa’s waiting troops, IFCR received a Facebook comment from a formerly deployed soldier so eloquent in its brevity,, “You have no idea how much these packages cheer us up when we’re over there.”
Somehow, this sentiment will always mean more to IFCR than any imbecilic, long-winded rant that shamelessly compares a discharged veteran to an aborted fetus.
Regardless of whether the author includes the word “eleemosynary”.
Thank you, TIR, for the continued support. Merry Christmas and May God bless each and every one of our soldiers and their families,
Natalie Ginty
Chair – Iowa Federation of College Republicans
If you support the College Republican cause, please consider looking over our website (iowacrs.org) today and assisting in our efforts.
Here is the Letter to the Editor which is refered to in the above article:
I read in Tuesday's Iowa State Daily that the College Republicans have begun collecting sundries for U.S. soldiers serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. Why? Doesn't the U.S. Army victual its soldiers? Don't their families send them yuletide goodies? Aren't GIs paid enough to buy what they need, and even what they want?
"As Republicans we believe in charity," stated Jeremy Freeman, a member of the College Republicans. Donating toiletries, boxed and canned foods, socks and beanies to U.S. soldiers who can already deodorize themselves, who eat better than the poorest Americans and who are gallantly garbed, is an eleemosynary travesty.
Necessities should be doled out to people who really need them and who might get them if not for the hundreds of billions of dollars being funneled to the Pentagon in the greatest squandering of money on the planet. If anything, Republicans should sympathize with veterans struggling to find employment, a challenge that may daunt the discharged soldier, who might wish he had reenlisted. Soldiers are to Republicans as fetuses are to them: prized. But once out of the womb-like army, Republican solicitude for hapless veterans goes where extracted zygotes go.
"We get to show the troops we still appreciate what they're doing for us," said another College Republican. What are they doing for us? Nothing. But against us they're doing a lot: creating anti-American terrorists in the countries they occupy. Said the same College Republican, "It can't be fun to be away from your family for the holidays. As if American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan had been conscripted? They chose to leave home.
Why do Republicans care so much about the military? Because the military-industrial complex is dear to their simplistic laissez-faire fantasies: a bottom-line patriotism that excludes the people at the bottom.
No, Republicans just want those people to get off their asses and away from the government teat. Get a job and be productive. They want to decide where their "charity" goes.
This is one of the people teaching our children.
No wonder we're so screwed up.
Wow.
And my tax dollars pay assclowns like this to teach our children?
Sickening.
Stay safe.
"We get to show the troops we still appreciate what they're doing for us," said another College Republican. What are they doing for us? Nothing. But against us they're doing a lot: creating anti-American terrorists in the countries they occupy. Said the same College Republican, "It can't be fun to be away from your family for the holidays. As if American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan had been conscripted? They chose to leave home.
Why do Republicans care so much about the military? Because the military-industrial complex is dear to their simplistic laissez-faire fantasies: a bottom-line patriotism that excludes the people at the bottom.
No, Republicans just want those people to get off their asses and away from the government teat. Get a job and be productive. They want to decide where their "charity" goes.
This is one of the people teaching our children.
No wonder we're so screwed up.
Wow.
And my tax dollars pay assclowns like this to teach our children?
Sickening.
Stay safe.
5 comments:
As I've stated before, I have seven 100-200 year old Pecan trees to offer for the Cause.
No rope burns on the bark... ;)
:)
One more reason I'm thankful to work at a private university.
RSSRR... That would be the only way to go.
I attended a fairly liberal (lol) public university. My advisor was an Air National Guard Colonel A-10 pilot and was very conservative. One of my history professors was a Conservative. The rest, well.... Somehow I got out of there alive and without becoming a Liberal. There were some interesting conversations. :)
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