October 13, 2004
THOSE OVERTAXED TROOPS DON'T SEEM TOO UPSET:
Military Times Survey: A 55-Point Chasm in Military Support for Kerry & Bush (ROSS MACKENZIE, October 14, 2004, Richmond Times-Dispatch)
October 11 editions of Military Times publications (Navy Times, Army Times, Marine Corps Times, Air Force Times) carried an astounding story not likely to get much coverage in the establishment press.Staff writer Gordon Trowbridge wrote as follows:
President Bush re- tains overwhelming sup- port among the mili- tary's professional core despite a troubled mission in Iraq and an opponent who is a decorated combat veteran, a Military Times survey of more than 4,000 readers indicates.
Bush leads Democratic Senator John Kerry 73 percent to 18 percent in the voluntary survey of 4,165 active-duty, National Guard, and reserve subscribers . . . .
Though the results of the Military Times 2004 Election Survey are not representative of the opinions of the military as a whole, they are a disappointment to Democrats who hoped Kerry's record and doubts about Bush would give their candidate an opening in a traditionally Republican group with tremendous symbolic value in a closely contested election . . . .
Officers and enlisted troops, active-duty members and reservists, those who have served in combat zones and those who haven't, all supported Bush by large margins. And the survey hints that Kerry's emphasis of his decorated service in Vietnam may have done more harm than good with those in uniform.
Duke poli-sci prof Peter Feaver, noting Kerry "has wooed the military more ardently than ever before," says of the survey: "Frankly, the margin [for Bush] greatly exceeds anything that I or any other analyst had expected."
THE MILITARY Times survey, with its yawning 55-point chasm between support for Bush and support for Kerry, confirms much about two cultures in America - one military and insistently conservative, the other civilian and far less so.
Posted by Orrin Judd at October 13, 2004 10:44 PM
Telling how these numbers are almost the reverse of those in the media.
Posted by: jim hamlen at October 14, 2004 12:07 AMDo you think this shows up in a Florida telephone poll?
Also, doesn't this imply some weakening of the Black vote for the Democrats? I mean, surely there is no way 92% of Military Blacks could vote against Bush and have 73-18 for Bush be the overall vote. Furthermore, it seems probable they would be influencing their families
Posted by: Kevin Colwell at October 14, 2004 1:36 AMMy parents live in a managed care development near Jacksonville for retired military officers. Out of 300 people living there, my parents tell me that there are no more than 5 or 6 Kerry voters.
I would imagine the 18 percent Kerry voters are almost all ethnic or religious minority members.
Posted by: Bart at October 14, 2004 12:08 PMBart:
Here's a good question -- What percentage of religious and ethnic military minorities support Bush? Is it possible, for example, that Bush tops 50% support among black servicemen? Given the results of this poll, that doesn't seem so far out of the ballpark.
Posted by: Matt Murphy at October 14, 2004 1:43 PM