Editor’s Note – In a recent Facebook discussion on the Cowboy Logic page, several people posited that Republicans are pro-war and therefore are responsible for many of today’s ills across the globe, and most notably Iraq. As usual, the discussion devolved into a typical morass due to the application of common liberal tactics by more than a few people.
Since there was an argument about the facts, Don Neuen (SUA/Cowboy Logic Radio Co-Host) decided to stop the conversation and do some research. He did so and re-initiated the discussion after posting the following. We encourage anyone to respond as a few did after the initial posting of Don’s research. Please read:
By Don Neuen
Conservatives are pro DEFENSE… pro MILITARY… we are not pro WAR as ‘you’ [referring to a liberal respondent] have repeatedly stated incorrectly…
- World War I – Woodrow Wilson – Democrat
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- World War II – FDR – Democrat
- Korean War – Truman – Democrat
- Bay of Pigs – Kennedy – Democrat
- Vietnam War – LBJ – Democrat
- Grenada – Reagan – Republican
- Persian Gulf War – Bush – Republican
- Bosnia and Herzegovina – Clinton – Democrat
- War on Terror – Bush – Republican
- War on Terror – Obama – Democrat
But let us look deeper…
Under Woodrow Wilson, a Democrat (Progressive), the Democrats held control of both the Senate and the House from 1913-1917… From 1917-1921, The Democrats continued to control the Senate…
Under FDR, a Democrat (Progressive), the Democrats held control of both the Senate and the House from 1933-1945…
Under Truman, a Democrat, the Democrats held control of both the Senate and the House from 1945-1953, with the exception of 1947-1949 when the Republicans took control of the House…
Let’s pause here and reflect: During WWI, WWII and the Korean War, the Democrats held control of the Senate exclusively… And with the exception of 1917-1921, and 1947-1949, the Democrats also held control of the House…
I’d also like to note that WWI ended in 1918, while the Republicans held the House… And WWII ended in 1945 when the Republicans closed the gap in the House to its most narrow margin during FDR’s reign…
I’ll continue…
Under JFK, a Democrat, both the Senate and House were controlled by Democrats…
Under LBJ, a Democrat, both the Senate and the House were under the control of… you guessed it: the Democrats…
Under Reagan, a Republican, The Senate was under the control of Republicans for his first 6 years, from 1981-1987… Reagan had two years of a Democrat held Senate: 1987-1989… During Reagan’s entire term, Democrats held control of the House – from 1981-1989…
Under a Conservative failure: Bush 41, a Republican, both the Senate and the House were under the control of the Democrats during his term from 1989-1993…
Under Clinton, a Democrat, the Senate and House were under the control of the Democrats (1993-1995)… From that point forth, both the Senate and the House were under the control of the Republicans (1995-2001)…
Now we get to the next Conservative failure: Bush 43, a Republican… The Senate was barely held, but held nonetheless, under the control of the Republicans for half of his term… From 2001-2003, and again from 2007-2009, neither party held control of the Senate… As far as the House goes, Republicans held the purse strings for the first 6 years (2001-2007), but from 2007-2009, the Democrats gained control of the spending…
Now we get to Obama, a Progressive… The Senate has been under the control of the Democrats from 2009-today… The House was under the control of the Democrats from 2009-2011 and has been under the control of the Republicans from 2011-today…
“What’s your point Don???”
My point is this: When you look at the Commander-in-Chief during times of War, you also must look at which party controls the House and the Senate… It is undeniable that more wars have started under Democrat/Progressive Presidents… That cannot be argued…
Furthermore, More wars have been started and perpetuated during times when the Democrats held control of the House and the Senate… That cannot be argued…
If Democrats don’t like war: Don’t fund war… Don’t preside over war… Don’t authorize war…
You statement that “Conservatives are “pro war” is clearly incorrect…
Now let’s take a look at US casualties from war…
Clearly, WWI & WWII fall under Democrat Presidents as well as an exclusive Democrat Senate and with the exception of 1917-1919, an exclusive Democrat House of Representatives…
Not a good way to start the argument that “Conservatives are pro war”, but I digress…
During WWI & WWII, we lost 116,000 and 405,399 soldiers respectively…
The Korean War cost us 36,516 soldiers… Again, Democrat President… Democrat Senate, and a Democrat House, with the exception of 1947-1949… I’d like to note that the Korean War was not taking place during the time in which Republicans held control of the House during Truman’s term, so the Korean War belongs to the Democrat Party…
Bay of Pigs/Vietnam… While some may consider the loss of 4 US lives inconsequential, Conservatives do NOT… I’ll drop Benghazi into the mix briefly… Back to the Bay of Pigs… we lost 4… During a period in which the President was a Democrat, and both the Senate and the House were under control of the Democrats…
Are we staring to see a pattern here?
Now for LBJ and Vietnam… I can’t blame LBJ entirely for the Vietnam War, in which we lost 58,209 US soldiers… But I can pin him for his term as President, as I can Nixon… But I can, and will blame the Senate and House, both controlled by the Democrats during the entire Vietnam War… And if you are a stickler for details, let’s go back to the start of the Vietnam War, and much to my surprise, who controlled Congress, both chambers? Bingo, the Democrats… moving on…
Under Reagan, a Conservative, we have a few military conflicts to discuss… First, Iran… clearly, history has shown that Iran mocks Democrats and is afraid of Conservatives…
Then we have El Salvador, Beirut, and Grenada… US deaths: 322… It should be noted that all three of these conflicts, or wars took place under a Republican Senate and a Democrat House…
Now we get to Conservative failure #1: Bush 41… Total loss of life: 353 (Panama, Gulf War and Operation Provide Comfort)…
Please note that during these conflicts, the Democrats held complete control of both the Senate and the House…
During Clinton’s terms… Somalia was the biggest loss of life… 43… Next was Bosnia: 32… But let’s also note that the House and the Senate were controlled by the Republicans from 1995-2001… Democrats held control of both the House and Senate from 1993-1995…
And now for Conservative failure #2: Bush 43… Clearly, this man, to a Conservative, was an abysmal failure… During his terms, an accurate loss of life count is varying… But I’ll use the estimate of 4,539 (Iraq) and 1,049 (Afghanistan)… During the Bush 43 debacle, Republicans held the purse strings from 2001-2007… For the most part, the Republicans also controlled the Senate during that same time period…
For the record… In the opinion of this Conservative, the Bush administration/Congress was a complete failure of true Conservative values…
Now, for Obama… Again, statistics are clearly inaccurate… But according to what I know, during Obama’s time at quarterback (2009-2014), we’ve lost 265 in Iraq and 2,416 in Afghanistan… oh… and 4 in Benghazi…
So again you ask “What’s your point Don????”
My point is simple… The party of War is clearly the Democrats… Historical facts prove that…
Quite possibly, Sir… you are confusing “Conservative Democrats” with “Conservatives”…
