Serving members of the military have every right to have their own political opinions, and to express them in private.
They do not have the right to engage in public political activity - to campaign for candidates, serve as delegates or party officials, etc.
And I think this is as inappropriate as some of the anti-Clinton sentiment I'd occassionally hear expressed ten years ago.
In our country, civilian control of the military is fundamental, and professionalism means that there are certain types of political activity that you simply don't get involved with until you walk out the door.
It's not as restrictive as that, otherwise we wouldn't be allowed to have bumper stickers on our cars. We can't actively campaign, but we can be open about our preference. What we cannot do is be disrespectful to the current CIC... which was the problem when Clinton was in office. The loathing for him was nearly universal and we couldn't say anything.
I did push the envelope with my "Don't Blame Me, I Voted For Bush" bumper sticker, and my command would have been justified in telling me to remove it, but I could have had a simple Bush campaign sticker on my car and that would have been okay.
Consider their little sign to be the Iraqi version of the bumper sticker.
As the radical left becomes more and more aggressive in their suicidal hurry to punch holes in the lifeboat, those of us who know what America is truly all about are forced to stand up and be counted. That will mean bending a few rules. This is one of those times.
I liked it, too!
They are also not violating the UCMJ by expressing support for their CIC.
In short, way to go young Marines.
"As much as I agree with their sentiment, I disagree with their right to say it."
Well, Clinton reduced our military personnel by some one million soldiers (700,000+ active duty and 300,000 or so reserves) during his eight years in office. And now, people are complaining that we don't have enough troops over there to handle the situation properly. Which means all of these guys is at greater risk TO BE DEAD. So screw protocol. Kerry would be at least as anti-military as Clinton, and these guys have every right in the world to make their feelings known. It's their ass on the line out there.
Bashing Michael Moore's movie is not political opinion...just ask MM who is trying to keep his commercials running on the basis that they are free speech and not a political ad (which is absurd). For that matter, "Go Bush" is also not a political opinion, it is an expression of confidence in their CIC to win the war on terror in direct contrast to MM's ridiculous assertions about Bush in the movie.
Why don't you tell them that. To their face.
Line 1: As someone who would know, I can assure you that there is no UCMJ restriction on cursing Hollywood stars and starlets, lying scumbags in general, and fat asses in particular.
Line 2: There are restrictions on showing disrespect for the Commander in Chief. "Go Bush" doesn't fit that bill.
They're telling a treasonist to F off. They don't have the right to speak against the enemy? Moore is not a political candidate or a President. He's a lying treasonist who has no problem endangering our troups.