Obama, Paul, Romney...Who does the Military Support?

Military Turns from Ron Paul to...

Until recently, the military has been a stalwart source of support for Republican hopeful Ron Paul.

But in March, it was Obama that scooped up the most support from the armed forces -- about twice as much as Paul, in fact. Romney remains an also-ran when it comes to backing from the military.

Overall, Paul retains the lead.

Analysis of OpenSecrets.org data shows that so far in this election cycle, members of the military who donated more than $200 have given Paul's campaign about $333,134, versus $184,505 to Obama and just $45,738 to Romney.

But in March, Obama and Paul switched places. Members of the military sent $36,448 to Obama and just $17,733 to Paul. Even though Romney solidified his position as the presumptive Republican nominee, military donations to his campaign remained anemic -- only $8,630.

Contributions from the Military in March 2012

.............Obama.......Romney.....Paul
Total.....$36,448......$8,630.......$17,733

Contributions from the Military since Jan. 2011 (Past 16 months total)

.............Obama.......Romney.....Paul
Total.....$184,505.....$45,738....$333,134

Ron Paul still led the pack in March as far as the Aiforce and National Guard, but the Army, Coast Guard, Navy, Marines etc. all donated more to Pres. Obama...and Mitt was last, actually getting 0 from the Coast Guard and Marines.

Full chart and article here Open Secrets

So many questions here...

(1) Why has the Military been so strong over the past year in supporting Ron Paul?

(2) Why has that support flipped to Obama this past March? Is it because Paul's chances of being nominated have dwindled to nothing? Obama is the second choice?

(3) Why is Mitt Romney consistently trailing the pack amongst Military support?

The one that would benifit the world of course, Ron Paul

Mittens or Obamadamadingdong will just push the same military industrial complex, we will go to war, we will have civil war, and we will get a great depression that america will never heal from.

The government has NEVER given up power over the people and having control of health care is power, if mittens wins there will be some excuse of why we need to keep Obamacare.. maybe some minor changes but it will be here to stay, same with obamadamadingdong.

The Establishment doesn't see red and blue, republican or democrat... they use those names to divide americans so we are eaiser to control. They don't care who wins. Do people get that? It is an illusion of choice between them.

Ron Paul is the wild card for them, they will never allow him to get the nomination, they will assainate him if he won office. However it is the Ron Paul message that we must understand, it is the message that is spreading through out the youth and older generations to that aren't apart of the Establishment Complex.

They will destroy the currency before they allow the rEVOLution to happen, which will in turn take peoples minds off the politics because they will be starving. They will have an all out civil war in america so they can throw away the constitution and start the NWO or North America Union.

They are all criminals and it is our fault as a people because we allowed them and we would have rather been happy and ignorant when times were good.

I dont believe for a second that the actual real military forces support obama... more than likely he was given all of those contributions from one old general or commander that supports war and wants to make obama look good.

Failure thread.

AF SSgt here. Most of the military members who actually cares about politics(that I know) want RP to win. We were all very excited. Then reality kicked in. He isnt going to win.(hopefully he runs as a 3rd party) That is most likely why less military members, or people in general are not donating anymore.
Also, never met another military member, who actually cares/knows about politics, that supports Obama. I have met a lot black military members support Obama becuase he is black. And I have also met a lot of Mormon military members that support Romney because he is Mormon. But those people seldom know or care about the issues.

I am a 10 year vet. 33 Years old. I completely support Ron Paul and I gave money to his campaign twice. That is a first for me.

reply to post by Indigo5


Who in their Right Military Mind would Support that POZER in the White House ? Oh ,Wait , I get it , Duhhhhhhhhhhhhh......

reply to post by Zanti Misfit


Unfortunatly more then half of this country doesnt care about politics.

reply to post by theconspirator


Been lurking for a long time, but for some reason this post got me to join.

It really is sad how many of citizens my age (21-25) are completely uninterested in politics/the upcoming election. The thing that kills me most is how my girlfriend (a 24 year old woman coming out of nursing school) repeatedly states that she doesn't care about who the next POTUS will be. As someone who will be fulfilling a life in the healthcare field, she should be most concerned about the next four years. Unfortunately, I'm another statistic (a recent college grad unable to find a job), but I am most definitely concerned about the forthcoming months...it will shape the rest of our lives. Some people just don't get it

Originally posted by booyakasha92
reply to post by theconspirator

 

Been lurking for a long time, but for some reason this post got me to join.

It really is sad how many of citizens my age (21-25) are completely uninterested in politics/the upcoming election. The thing that kills me most is how my girlfriend (a 24 year old woman coming out of nursing school) repeatedly states that she doesn't care about who the next POTUS will be. As someone who will be fulfilling a life in the healthcare field, she should be most concerned about the next four years. Unfortunately, I'm another statistic (a recent college grad unable to find a job), but I am most definitely concerned about the forthcoming months...it will shape the rest of our lives. Some people just don't get it

People have been taught not to care about politics. As a real man your schedule involves watching football and sitcoms that teach you how to bow down to women and "authority" while pretending to be a tough guy infront of your friends. As a woman your schedule involves watching sitcoms that teach you how to hate men while making sure that the state raises your kid (if you dont abort it using your God given right to murder anything in your body) as you slave away at some job that 65 years ago you wouldn't even need. And of course it's both your jobs to make fun of and laugh at anyone who questions the system that has you enslaved.

Did I get that about right?

As a Veteran, I support Ron Paul as well.
Were he to be elected, it would be a first step in the direction we need to go, in getting the fascists out of our government. (Corporate and Financial and MIC special interests need to go so all Americans are represented. I'll write his name in if I have to.

Originally posted by Doalrite
... more than likely he was given all of those contributions from one old general or commander that supports war and wants to make obama look good.

Failure thread.

You should actually read the OP or visit the link.

The contributions were across 8 different branches of the Military.

As for the support that President Obama recieves...could it be that he has made better use of elite military forces than past Presidents?

Navy SEALs rescue kidnapped aid workers Jessica Buchanan and Poul Hagen Thisted in Somalia]
www.washingtonpost.com... 1/25/gIQA7WopPQ_story.html

At a time when many Americans think their government is inept, the ‘Special Operators’ get the job done. Just ask the President, who is doubling down on the Navy SEALs.
www.thedailybeast.com...

Hostage captain rescued; Navy snipers kill 3 pirates
www.cnn.com...

And of course Bin Laden

Toss in Libya where the government was toppled without putting boots on the ground.

President Obama's military docterine seems to be elite, smaller operations without occupation.

Afghanistan is the exception, but Afghanistan was a war that was 7 years old by the time he walked through the door.

I am open and eager to discuss what is behind these numbers...but the whole "one wealthy general" is debunked in the OP, which you would know if you read the OP or looked at the link. Can we start with the data? Rather than snarky BS?

reply to post by booyakasha92


Great post and thanks for joining ATS and the discussion.

Originally posted by jacobe001
As a Veteran, I support Ron Paul as well.
Were he to be elected, it would be a first step in the direction we need to go, in getting the fascists out of our government. (Corporate and Financial and MIC special interests need to go so all Americans are represented. I'll write his name in if I have to.

Since the majority of members of the Military have supported Ron Paul throughout this cycle, and it only turned to Obama this past March (assumably due to RP chances slipping beyond recovery)...can you offer any insight into why the Military is high on RP? Is there something about those who have or are serving in the military, something that derives from experience or training? that instills a mindset that favors RP?

Second Question...you said you would write his name in if neccessary. If RP did not exist and you were obligated to vote, would you hold your nose and vote for Pres. Obama? or Romney?..and what would be your primary reason?

Just looking for insight into these stats from current or ex-military.

Originally posted by theconspirator
AF SSgt here. Most of the military members who actually cares about politics(that I know) want RP to win.

Interesting. See the OP link and look at the chart. Even with the March totals shifting in Obama's favor, the AF is the branch that remains consistently for RP. Can you offer any insight why the AF would lean so strongly for RP?

What is the primary reasoning your AF buddies offer when they talk about supporting RP?

reply to post by Indigo5


It's simple. The issue that active duty military members care about the most is the war. We dont want to fight them anymore. Dont get me wrong, if this country is under direct threat and we need to protect it, we are ready and willing to die for it. But we are sick of fellow active duty members dying in wars that we shouldnt even be involved in.
We get deployed to Afganistan and the only threat we face are a bunch of nobodys, living in poverty, trying to kill us, soley because we are there. Most Afgans keep thier head down and just deal with us being there, but The afgans who have balls try to snipe us, shoot mortars at the base, try to blow us up, ect ect, so we feel like we need to get revenge on what they have done to us. We stay to police them longer, they get pissed and resist.... its one big cycle and it will never end unless we just leave.
But then our leaders have to think of stuff like, we have been there for so long, the Afgans now rely on our economy. What would be the negative effects of just up and leaving on the Afgan people. Or what about if we leave the country, then another 9/11 style attack happens, that would be a huge embarrassment to the world. It would be known thoughout the world that the US lost a war against the "terrorists". We would also lose a strategically placed Base for the upcoming wars against Iran, North Korea and mabey even China one day. God forbid that ever happen.
It is a very complicated position we have put ourselves in and both sides can give good arguements about abandoning bases overseas or keeping them. I personally think we should get rid of not all, but a lot of overseas bases. More then 50% of them. We should stay in Germany, S Korea, Italy, England and a few others here and there.
Its foolish to say that the world isnt at war, and again this is all just my personal opinion. But anyways, blah blah blah, Ron Paul has my vote no matter what.

as ex military and father I see people every day saying they love Ron Paul.... and I also see lots of faded bumper stickers for obama.... some look ripped off.. lol

People aren't talking about paul that doesn't mean that we aren't thinking of him

Originally posted by Doalrite
I dont believe for a second that the actual real military forces support obama... more than likely he was given all of those contributions from one old general or commander that supports war and wants to make obama look good.

Failure thread.

Agreed. The entire premise of judging overall support levels based on campaign donations is badly flawed. Why? Because its highly likely that, like most other citizens, only a relatively small percentage of the military actually makes political donations AND its also highly unlikely that those who are contributing represent an accurate sample of the overall military.

Consequently, its largely a waste of time to read anything into these numbers.

Of course donation numbers have changed from the military. While Paul has enjoyed good numbers up until March, it was inevitable they would start falling off as it became clear he wouldn't be the nominee. While at the same time the number of Obama donations would naturally go up once we got closer to the elections. And Romney, well let's just say when you publicly go on TV with your desire to destroy Iran well our military is tired of fighting, they want to come home and worry about being deployed to the next armpit of the world for awhile.

This doesn't surprise me. When it became clear that Ron Paul wouldn't be the candidate (the one who would end the wars) the military turned to the next best option for their own interest. At least, with Obama, they have a chance of coming home... And he's been good to the veterans. Like many people, they're supporting the lesser of the two evils, to avoid the greater of two evils.

The only thing they'd get with Mitt Romney is an additional war with Iraq and maybe Syria and Egypt, too! Not to mention they'd probably see a cut in wages and have to pay for their own deployment.

Yes, a lot of people here still support Ron Paul. But ATS is NOT a representative sample of this country's citizens OR of the military. It's a representative sample of conspiracy fans... And conspiracy fans are a small portion of the population.