One Candidate Holds The Hearts And Wallets Of Military Members (VIDEO)


I have always assumed that members of the military would tend to lean Republican. The image of a conservative soldier has taken root in my mind. Maybe it’s because I watched too many old war movies. Or maybe it’s because of my own family, those who have chosen to serve in the military are my more conservative relatives.

I don’t know.

It certainly made me wonder about which candidates the members of the military would be supporting for President. The Huffington Post has answered my question, if financial donations are any indication of future votes.

The HuffPo reports that an analysis of political donations by active and retired military was undertaken by Center for Responsive Politics, which is the website that follows and reports on money in politics.

They found that the candidate who got the most money from the armed forces was none other than that crazy old Socialist from Vermont, Senator Bernie Sanders. When looking at donations of $200 or more, Sanders was found to have received $374,600. Fellow New York Democrat Hillary Clinton came in second with $247,649.

Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, he of “I raised so much money for the vets,” came in dead last with a take of only $15,502. In fact, Trump has received less money than other Republicans who dropped out of the race weeks ago.

There could be several explanations for this pattern, and the HuffPo focused on one in particular. The military, which is now all volunteer, is made up largely of younger people. It has become an often reported fact that Bernie polls very well among millennials.

The article did touch on some of the other factors, too. For example, there was Trump’s self-promotion and self-congratulation around the money that he claimed to have raised for veterans. All of the questions about how much money was actually raised, where it went, and who controlled the donations couldn’t have helped to endear Trump to military members.

He also made disparaging remarks about John McCain, a well respected, genuine war hero. I can’t imagine soldiers serving in action liked that very much. Especially when we consider that Trump claims that he was basically in the military himself because he went to a military high school.

Trump is a loose cannon. He uses bombastic and dangerous terms about war. Remember when he said he’d “Bomb the sh*t out of” ISIS?


The men and women who actually have to drop those bombs, carry those guns, secure those villages, clear those landmines… They are probably not so eager to give this guy any more power.

They seem to prefer the man who was a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War. They seem to prefer the man who voted against the Iraq War and who says that he would avoid sending more troops into the Middle East.

Says Tyson Manker, spokesperson for the group Veterans for Bernie:

The people that are going to be put into these life and death situations to fight an enemy, we want to know that it’s not a waste. Bernie Sanders has shown the judgment and frankly, we trust him.

I’ll second that!

Featured image by the U.S. Army via Flickr. Available through a Creative Commons Generic License 2.0.

Karen is a retired elementary school teacher with many years of progressive activism behind her. She is the proud mother of three young adults who were all arrested with Occupy Wall Street. To see what she writes about in her spare time, check out her blog at "Empty Nest, Full Life"