Bake Sales and Car Washes at the Pentagon
By Chuck Hyde, Editor of StandBesideHer.com
With the tightening of education budgets in states over the last couple of decades, boosters at local public schools have resorted to creative ways to raise money for athletic programs, band, clubs, etc. Cheerleaders and other athletes have car washes, parents make baked goods and sell them, kids sell various items, or the students and parents put on carnivals, etc., all to supplement dwindling funding for their favorite program. Also, parents are increasingly asked to pay out of pocket expenses for their children to participate.
Sadly, the time may have come for the Pentagon to follow suit. The new Democratic majority in Congress, led by that old stalwart supporter of the troops, John Murtha (D-PA), are talking about cutting funding to the troops. In the bizarre universe of the Democratic party, cutting funding for the troops while they are sacrificing their lives in Iraq is actually showing support for them.
The reality of this is that the troops are really only an afterthought for the Democratic party. To them, the military is at best a necessary evil. The Democratic party is not real concerned about the war in Iraq nor are they any more concerned about the war on terror. One has to look no further than their constant changing positions on these issues. Remember, these are people that voted for the Iraq war until they realized that they were mislead on how unpopular it would be. The only war the Democratic party cares about is the war on George Bush, and to win this war they are willing to make funding for the troops a casualty and never look back.
This brings us to the bake sales and car washes. It is unlikely that Rep Murtha will be successful in his “support” for the troops. From recent comments, it appears that even the Democratic party has people that are smart enough to realize that while they would love to give Bush one on the chin, it would be politically unpopular to cut funding. Even if the Democratic party persists, George Bush still has the option of vetoing the bill, a likelihood.
Hopefully the funding will not be cut. I just don’t think it would be healthy for the US image abroad if a network of military boosters had to spring up around the country to buy our troops the supplies they need. I can see it now, car washes at the bases to buy uniforms. Mothers of troops stationed in Iraq baking apple pies and chocolate chip cookies and setting up tables at the Army-Navy game to sell their wares to buy food for their sons and daughters. Maybe Jerry Lewis has it right, a telethon could be the solution. Jerry and his kids can have Labor Day weekend for their wonderful cause, the obvious choice for the Armed Services Telethon would be Memorial Day weekend. We could get someone like Dennis Miller to host it (I suspect the Dixie Chicks will not be performing). Or, we could just do the right thing and fund the troops that are now in harms way. That’s what’s on my mind.
About The Author: Chuck Hyde is editor of StandBesideHer.com. He is also a husband and father of two teenage boys and a younger daughter. His family lives in the northern Midwestern rural United States, where they enjoy camping, fishing, and other outdoor activities together. Chuck is a Registered Nurse in an inner city emergency room and has had a lifelong addiction to politics.
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