Trump Took For Granted “The Bayonet Vote,” And It May Have Cost Him The Election DMT.NEWS - DMT NEWS

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Trump Took For Granted “The Bayonet Vote,” And It May Have Cost Him The Election DMT.NEWS

Article by WN.Com Correspondent Dallas Darling

It is difficult for people to believe that President Abraham Lincoln was nearly defeated in his reelection attempt in 1864. If not for the “bayonet vote,” laws allowing soldiers to cast absentee votes from military camps, Lt. General George B. McClellan, Lincoln’s former commander of the Army of the Potomac and a pro-peace candidate, was expected to win. The war-weary North was tired of a “rich man’s war” and draft riots, the poor forced to sacrifice their sons. Lincoln needed votes from soldiers stationed far from home, and they delivered. They voted overwhelmingly for their commander-in-chief instead of two other civilian candidates or a former general that had failed to make use of Union victories.

This year’s election is not the same as 1864, but it does involve another president that just made history: Donald Trump. Unlike Lincoln, who respected the military and felt more familiar with soldiers than politicians, thereby securing the bayonet vote, Trump decided to ignore the military’s history of integration, demeaned military personnel, and discounted Operation Neptune Star that killed Osama bin Laden.

Another mistake he made was to assume the military would salute and obey any order, no matter how illegal.

It must have stunned him, then, to discover the armed forces would not act as his toy army, or that he is the first incumbent Republican in history to have lost the bayonet vote.

The Military’s History of Integration

Trump, no student of history, had underestimated the military’s lengthy tradition of racial integration. Starting in 1812, each successive war expanded the voting rights of those that risked their lives. By the time the Civil War arrived, in which 200,000 Black Americans fought for the Union, there already was talk of Black suffrage long before Congress had considered the Civil Rights Act of 1866, that abolished slavery and granted voting rights. Military service did the same for women and young men, age 18.

By 1948, President Harry Truman’s Executive Order 9981 desegregated the armed forces, “abolishing discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, or national origin.” (1)

Racial integration and equality in the military, which was achieved long before the rest of American society, did not necessarily occur due to some enlightened idea or benevolent act. They were rights that always had to be earned, either by owning land and paying taxes or laboring on public roads. Not surprisingly, war and military service also brought the question of voting rights to the foreground of national politics while unleashing new pressure to abolish discrimination. Not only did war and sacrifice (risking one’s life) become the gateway for equality among Black Americans but for Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans, women, and newly arrived immigrants.

Mr. President, Not in Our Name

Before anyone protested Trump equating neo-Nazis and White supremacists with counter-protesters at the Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, the most senior of America’s naval officers, Chief of Naval Operations John Richardson tweeted: “Events in Charlottesville unacceptable & musnt be tolerated @USNavy forever stands against intolerance & hatred.” As Trump doubled down, his service chiefs delivered unmistakable rebukes. Marine Corps commandant Robert Neller tweeted: “No place for racial hatred or extremism in @USMC. Our core values are Honor, Courage, and Commitment…” Army chief of Staff Mark Milley tweeted: The army doesn’t tolerate racism, extremism, or hatred.” (2)

The most powerful statement of them all-and there were many-came from Secretary of Defense James Mattis. Visiting the country of Jordan, he said, “Our country right now-it’s got some problems. You know it, and I know it. It’s got problems that we don’t have in the military. You just hold the line, my fine young soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines. You just hold the line until our country gets back to understanding and respecting each other, and showing it, and being friendly to one another-all that Americans owe to one another.” (3) These comments never mentioned Trump. They did not need too. Mattis was so alarmed with what he witnessed within the Trump administration, that he resigned.

The Thin Green Line and Military Code of Conduct

Early on, many military personnel feared that Trump might try to politicize the military in his direction.

Again, Trump was unable to understand the Military Code of Conduct (honor, duty, loyalty, selfless service, integrity, and personal courage).

In fact, the December 2019 Military Times poll found that a plurality of troops of all ranks disapproved of Trump’s presidency, and 45.8 percent strongly disapproved. (4) His previous attacks against Sen. John McCain, his threats against any military personnel that would protest his corrupt administration, and his baseless conspiracy theory alleging President Barack Obama staged Osama bin Laden’s killing, was an affront to millions of men and women in uniform. (5)

Former White House chief of staff, Marine General John Kelly, may have demonstrated the Military Code of Conduct best when he criticized the president as “the most flawed person” he’s ever known.

“The depths of his dishonesty is just astounding to me,” Kelly told friends.

“The dishonesty, the transactional nature of every relationship, though it’s more pathetic than anything else. He is the most flawed person I have ever met in my life.” (6) (Kelley left the White House in January of 2019 and still voices criticisms.) Others have expressed similar notions. Elizabeth Neumann, a DHS official, said: “The fact that he continues to not be able to just point-blank say, ‘I condemn White supremacy.’ It boggles the mind.” (7)

Lincoln, Trump, and Biden

In the final debate, Trump referenced Lincoln by saying, “Nobody has done more for the Black community than Donald Trump… with the exception of Abraham Lincoln.” (8) Whether you agree with him or not, he has failed to follow Lincoln’s example in realizing the importance of the bayonet vote. Lincoln’s respect and admiration for the military and his own personal code of conduct earned him the popular vote that eluded him in his first election. He moreover refused to listen to advisors that wanted him to suspend democracy in the middle of the war. Lincoln thought if you suspended democracy, then you were basically undercutting the whole purpose of the war, which was about democracy.

Trump did not win the bayonet vote, but Joe Biden did, which consists of several million active duty men and women. Not only did he have more support among active-duty troops than Trump, but they trusted Biden more than Trump. Another factor was respect for the military and veterans. Over half of the bayonet vote characterized the president as dishonest with a disapproval rating of their commander in chief of 63 percent. Biden did not serve in the military, but his late son Beau did, rising to the rank of major in the Delaware Army National Guard.

Another Reckoning for the Bayonet Vote

In an extraordinary late-night address, Trump baselessly said he had won reelection even though the race in several states was too close to call.

The president questioned the election process, indicated that he wanted all vote-counting ended, and suggested he would challenge in court any attempts to continue reviewing ballots. He also made it clear he would not accept a loss.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper refused to definitively rule out deploying troops to polling places and told Democratic lawmakers the “US military has acted, and will continue to act, in accordance to the Constitution and the law.” (9)

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley and several high-ranking generals reportedly told several journalists that the US military would have no role whatsoever in a peaceful transfer of power. Months earlier, he had testified to Congress saying, “I believe in the principle of an apolitical US military.” The question of which side the military will be on should Trump refuse to accept the election results when all the votes are counted has been a constant worry for many political experts and a major debate for most Americans. Consequently, there may be another reckoning for the bayonet vote.

Dallas Darling

(1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_9981#:~:text=Executive%20Order%209981%20was%20issued,War%20(1950%E2%80%931953).

(2) Frum, David. Trumpocalypse: Restoring American Democracy. New York, New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2020., p. 92.

(3) Ibid., p. 93.

(4) Frum, David. Trumpocalypse: Restoring American Democracy., p. 93.

(5) https://thehill.com/policy/defense/521511-trump-digs-in-on-conspiracy-theory-over-bin-laden-raid.

(6) https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-former-chief-of-staff-john-kelly-calls-him-most-flawed-person-ever.

(7) https://www.rawstory.com/2020/10/john-kelly-has-dished-to-friends-that-trump-is-the-most-flawed-person-hes-ever-met/

(8) https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-54657024.

(9) https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/11/02/warning-against-trump-coup-attempt-15000-sign-petition-urging-us-military-leaders.



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by , Khareem Sudlow