In recent years, the Republican Party has aligned itself with the military. Party leaders outwardly embrace the needs and plights of soldiers at home and abroad. It’s gotten to the point where Republicans consider anyone with anti-war opinions to also be anti-soldier. Unfortunately, all of this rhetoric has skewed the situation and made it seem like Republicans care more about the country’s military. We’d like to point out, once again, that this has been outward talk from Republicans.
The GOP: Slashing Soldiers’ Support System and Rights For Years Now
Inwardly, the Republican Party has spent the past few years tearing apart key support systems for American soldiers. Such heinous actions continue come about on the voting floor of Congress. Republican congressmen continue to decrease healthcare coverage for soldiers and lambast soldiers that don’t support Republican candidates. In that vein, it seems as though Republican leaders are willing to throw soldiers under the bus behind the scenes while advocating for them in public and in the media.
Casting The Blame Onto President Obama and Democrats
Soldiers and their families continue to notice their shrinking rights and benefits. With a little magic, Republicans shoved the blame onto the shoulders of Democrats and President Obama. It’s not difficult to check voting records and see that GOP congressmen are largely the ones passing these anti-soldier bills. Enough rhetoric is capable of making the American public believe without fact-checking, though. Although Democrats receive blame for these issues, they’re the ones trying to support soldiers.
Democrats Blocked By GOP Congressmen In Raising Soldier Pay
Earlier in 2015, Democratic senators brought forth an interesting bill. The measure proposed a 3.8% pay increase for federal works. Members of the military were included in the proposal, but Republicans stalled the bill into oblivion. At the time, Democrats realized that soldiers are underpaid in this country relative to their duties. Republicans said the same thing in public, yet they refused to increase pay for those very soldiers they claimed to advocate for on a daily basis.
President Obama Set To Raise Pay For Soldiers By 1.3% In 2016
As president, Barack Obama can only initiate small pay raises for federal workers. Anything beyond his power requires a vote from Congress. He initially proposed to raise pay for federal workers on August 28, 2015. On January 1, 2016, such measures would go into effect and raise pay for federal workers by 1%. Soldiers, however, would see their earnings rise by 1.3%, which isn’t a huge amount. Every penny makes a difference, though, and this would be the largest increase of pay since 2010.
The GOP Response: Absolute Silence So Far
After President Obama proposed the pay increase, Republicans didn’t say a worse. The party has yet to make a formal response, and we doubt that one is forthcoming. It’s obvious that Republicans’ silence is based on the fact that Obama did something good for the soldiers. Republicans have cast Obama as the anti-military president and the Democrats as the anti-military party. By remaining silent on this pay increase, Republicans are revealing just how dishonest they’ve been about their support for troops.