Posted on 04/13/2010 2:30:50 PM PDT by rxsid
"Tea Party Movement Spreads To Military
The Tea Party movement has gained a foothold in the armed forces.
A new Tea Party group, Armed Forces Tea Party Patriots, has grown quickly since being launched last month by an active duty Marine Corps sergeant. The group, which vows to "stand up on the very soil we defended to preserve common sense conservatism and defend our Constitution that is threatened by a tyrannical government," currently has over 400 members, who have signed up through its Facebook page, though many are not active duty military. And it has close ties to the broader Tea Party movement.
"People in the military need to be heard," the group's prime organizer, Gary Stein -- a Marine Corps sergeant stationed at Camp Pendleton in southern California -- told TPMmuckraker in an interview. "Our opinions do count."
Many people in the military "feel like they can't speak out against Obama or Congress," said Stein. "The armed forces should have a little bit more say than we think we do," he said.
Stein said he had served in the Marine Corps for seven years, including service in Iraq. He described himself as a "strong conservative" who had found himself disillusioned with the GOP. Stein formed the new group, he said, after finding like-minded cohorts on his base, then co-ordinating with a friend who's active in a local southern California Tea Party chapter.
[snip]
In promoting the Armed Forces Tea Party Patriots, Stein has raised the possibility of disobeying presidential orders. In one recent online posting, he wrote:
My oath was to the Constitution, not to the politicians, and that oath will be kept. I won't "Just follow" orders. There is at this time a debate within the ranks of the military regarding their oath. Some mistakenly believe they must follow any order the President issues. But many others do understand that their loyalty is to the Constitution and to the people...That declaration echoes one made by the Oath Keepers, a group of current and former military and law enforcement personnel who havevowed not to follow orders deemed to be unconstitutional -- including any orders to disarm Americans. Stein agreed that the two groups are kindred spirits. "I think we're very like-minded with the Oathkeepers," he said. "I strongly support the Oathkeepers."
Stein's political activism seems to have raised some concern among his superiors. Late last month, he wrote online: "Was just told by a Marine Corps Officer to watch what I say about Obama... I think not..." And later that same day: "I was just told to keep my opinons (sic) to myself about Obama, by my Officer-in-Charge (OIC)."
[snip]
This isn't the first time that anti-Obama sentiment has surfaced within the military. Several active duty service members have challenged their orders to deploy overseas, on the grounds that President Obama was not born in the U.S. and his orders are therefore illegitimate.
[snip]
Late Update (4/13/10): Stein says in a statement that his group doesn't support a military uprising, views President Obama as the legitimate commander-in-chief, and will follow all constitutional orders."
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/04/tea_party_movement_spreads_to_military.php?ref=fpb
“When I put on the soldier, I did not take off the citizen” - George Washington
Their absentee votes don't seem to count so why should this be any different?
disgusted /s
Oh, REALLY?! That's the first I've heard of it. Are you the author of the blog?
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No. Why would you ask such a question? You've not heard that others in the military have questioned Barry's legitimacy?
Sergeant Stein's oath as an enlisted man:
"I, (name), 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."
Are you the author of the blog, i.e., the one making this stuff up...??
There are four very important issues here.
1) It is very hard to engage in any political speech in the military, without others interpreting it as partisan in nature. Thus every statement has to include a clear and unambiguous footnote that it is not a partisan group.
2) The second problem is that any non-job related activity will be questioned as to its interference with job performance. The military has a strong attitude that all personnel work for it, alone, 24/7 as needed, which even overrules family obligations. The UCMJ, the Uniform Code of Military Justice, is not about justice, but about “preserving good order and discipline in the military.”
3) Constitutionally, the congress of the United States determines all the ground rules for the military. In World War I, this meant denying the military the vote. It also meant legal segregation. Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution grants Congress the power to make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces, which does not necessarily integrate the Bill of Rights.
4) Any not clearly illegal order given to a member of the US military is assumed to be a legal order. Defiance of a presidential order is therefore regarded as defiance of the entire chain of command leading to that presidential order. Therefore, any resistance to what is believed to be an illegal order inherently accuses the chain of command of complicity in carrying out that illegal order.
This is a pretty grand leap of assumption. Military personnel are not slow to assert the fact, when they believe they have been given an unlawful order, so at the “ground level” it is pretty easy to assume that any order is a legal order.
Sure...and I’d love it if Congress members weren’t members of the Socialist party, too.....
What in the world are you talking about "making this stuff up" What stuff?
About time — GOOD!!!!!!!
After the Lt. Crowley (?) incident in Vietnam, I’m sure all military would think twice if they believe the order is illegal. Ultimately, the military is on the side of America and the Constitution.
RE: “Even though I LOVE the Tea Party movement, I don’t like the idea of political activism within the active duty military.
Just my .2”
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Is voting not political activism? Military personnel have every right to air their views. These people vote and presumably pay taxes. If they feel they are “Taxed Enough
Already” and want to join in, great!!!
As LTC Lakin recently said...
"Since Nuremberg, My Lai, and even Abu Ghraib more recently, the military has been taught the hard lessons of following illegal orders."
We did get to vote in the Military.And the ones I met swore an oath.
That’s my two cents.
Please share with your address list.
It is a "Movement" about Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
Okey dok!
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