Posted on Mar 14, 2016
Military Times survey: Troops back Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders for president
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In an exclusive survey of American military personnel, Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders emerged as active-duty service members' top choices to become the next commander in chief.
The Republican front runner Trump was the most popular candidate in a subscriber poll that closed Sunday, with 27 percent saying they would back the business mogul if the election were held tomorrow. Sanders, the independent Vermont senator, was a close second at 22 percent.
The results — based on responses from 931 active-duty troops, reservists and members of the National Guard — do not offer a scientific status of military voting preferences. However, they do show that the outsider candidates’ messages are resonating with individuals in uniform.
Notes: The survey was conducted March 9-14. About 64Notes: The survey was conducted March 9-14. About 64 percent of respondents identified as enlisted personnel, and 36 percent identified as officers. (Photo: Military Times subscriber survey)
The data also suggest that military personnel have not been dissuaded by political rivals who contend Trump and Sanders have weak foreign policy credentials and don't have recognized experts as national security advisers.
In the poll, nearly half of the service members surveyed said they were unhappy with the discussion of national security issues in the presidential race so far. Fewer than 5 percent were "very satisfied" with how the topic has been broached.
Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, who has made national security issues one of the centerpieces of his campaign, was nearly last in the Military Times survey, with only about 9 percent of candidates favoring him. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz had almost double that, with 17 percent support. Those surveyed offered only slightly more support for Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich (8 percent) than potential third-party candidates (6 percent).
Democratic front runner Hillary Clinton received a little more than 11 percent backing.
About half of the respondents in the survey were enlisted soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines, in the pay grades of E-4 through E-7. Among officers, Trump still led the field but by a much smaller margin, with his 21 percent slightly outpacing Cruz at 18 percent, Sanders at 16 percent and Clinton at 15 percent.
Almost a third of those surveyed do not affiliate with either the Republican or Democratic parties. Sanders was more popular than Trump among that group, but one in seven of those individuals indicated they plan on backing a third-party candidate.
Trump also appears to be the most polarizing of all the candidates, with several dozen respondents, in a comments section of the poll, calling him dangerous for the military and the country. Three individuals polled said they’d leave the service if he becomes commander-in-chief.
The former head of U.S. Central Command, Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis, received one write-in vote in the poll. Mattis, who retired in 2013, is revered among many rank-and-file troops for his unapologetic frankness with the military's civilian leaders, particularly when it came to debating the harsh realities of waging war.
Mattis was asked about his political aspirations during a speech last summer, and politely put the matter to rest.
The Republican front runner Trump was the most popular candidate in a subscriber poll that closed Sunday, with 27 percent saying they would back the business mogul if the election were held tomorrow. Sanders, the independent Vermont senator, was a close second at 22 percent.
The results — based on responses from 931 active-duty troops, reservists and members of the National Guard — do not offer a scientific status of military voting preferences. However, they do show that the outsider candidates’ messages are resonating with individuals in uniform.
Notes: The survey was conducted March 9-14. About 64Notes: The survey was conducted March 9-14. About 64 percent of respondents identified as enlisted personnel, and 36 percent identified as officers. (Photo: Military Times subscriber survey)
The data also suggest that military personnel have not been dissuaded by political rivals who contend Trump and Sanders have weak foreign policy credentials and don't have recognized experts as national security advisers.
In the poll, nearly half of the service members surveyed said they were unhappy with the discussion of national security issues in the presidential race so far. Fewer than 5 percent were "very satisfied" with how the topic has been broached.
Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, who has made national security issues one of the centerpieces of his campaign, was nearly last in the Military Times survey, with only about 9 percent of candidates favoring him. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz had almost double that, with 17 percent support. Those surveyed offered only slightly more support for Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich (8 percent) than potential third-party candidates (6 percent).
Democratic front runner Hillary Clinton received a little more than 11 percent backing.
About half of the respondents in the survey were enlisted soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines, in the pay grades of E-4 through E-7. Among officers, Trump still led the field but by a much smaller margin, with his 21 percent slightly outpacing Cruz at 18 percent, Sanders at 16 percent and Clinton at 15 percent.
Almost a third of those surveyed do not affiliate with either the Republican or Democratic parties. Sanders was more popular than Trump among that group, but one in seven of those individuals indicated they plan on backing a third-party candidate.
Trump also appears to be the most polarizing of all the candidates, with several dozen respondents, in a comments section of the poll, calling him dangerous for the military and the country. Three individuals polled said they’d leave the service if he becomes commander-in-chief.
The former head of U.S. Central Command, Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis, received one write-in vote in the poll. Mattis, who retired in 2013, is revered among many rank-and-file troops for his unapologetic frankness with the military's civilian leaders, particularly when it came to debating the harsh realities of waging war.
Mattis was asked about his political aspirations during a speech last summer, and politely put the matter to rest.
Military Times survey: Troops back Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders for president
Posted from armytimes.comPosted in these groups: 
Politics
Election 2016
Politics Election 2016
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 6
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SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL Why anyone in the military is supporting any of this collection of retards, criminals, and overall assholes amazes me.
In the blue corner you have Hillary who at best showed exceedingly poor judgement, and at worst committed treason. The other choice is Bernie Sanders who wants everyone to share and share alike with no real plan to pay for it all.
In the Red Corner you have Kasich and Rubio who I can only presume are hanging around for the set of steak knives at the end of the primaries. Neither one has a real path to the nomination, and they really are kind of sad little men. Ted Cruz who should be campaigning under the Templar banner as he comes across with that level of religious zealotry. Donald Trump who is just as batshit crazy as Kim Jeoung Un. The only difference is Donald may have a little more money.
None of them have served in the military. Clinton, Sanders, Cruz, and Rubio all have congressional experience, and Hillary does have the former First Lady and former Secretary of State on her resume too. The flip side is while she was First Lady, she set women back fifty years with her "Stand by Your Man" routine, and we all know what happened as a result of her time at state. Rubio is an empty suit. He has a terrible attendance record in the senate, and his voting record shows it. Donald is a real estate developer who has shielded his assets while bankrupting several companies.
So all of this leads me back to why would any service member or veteran be supporting any of these candidates? First off, it is what is expected. Vote DNC or RNC. That is what is expected of the voting public. Second, people believe the rhetoric that a vote for any candidate other than the aforementioned DNC or RNC candidate is a wasted vote. Third, voters with conservative leanings do not want to see the DNC candidate win, and voters with liberal leanings do not want to see the RNC Candidate win.
Until we get rid of the party system, and allow the process to play itself out, we are going to continue to be slaves to the ruling class, with the illusion of freedom. Sad reality is we have gone from the "Land of the Free" to "For Sale to the Highest Bidder."
In the blue corner you have Hillary who at best showed exceedingly poor judgement, and at worst committed treason. The other choice is Bernie Sanders who wants everyone to share and share alike with no real plan to pay for it all.
In the Red Corner you have Kasich and Rubio who I can only presume are hanging around for the set of steak knives at the end of the primaries. Neither one has a real path to the nomination, and they really are kind of sad little men. Ted Cruz who should be campaigning under the Templar banner as he comes across with that level of religious zealotry. Donald Trump who is just as batshit crazy as Kim Jeoung Un. The only difference is Donald may have a little more money.
None of them have served in the military. Clinton, Sanders, Cruz, and Rubio all have congressional experience, and Hillary does have the former First Lady and former Secretary of State on her resume too. The flip side is while she was First Lady, she set women back fifty years with her "Stand by Your Man" routine, and we all know what happened as a result of her time at state. Rubio is an empty suit. He has a terrible attendance record in the senate, and his voting record shows it. Donald is a real estate developer who has shielded his assets while bankrupting several companies.
So all of this leads me back to why would any service member or veteran be supporting any of these candidates? First off, it is what is expected. Vote DNC or RNC. That is what is expected of the voting public. Second, people believe the rhetoric that a vote for any candidate other than the aforementioned DNC or RNC candidate is a wasted vote. Third, voters with conservative leanings do not want to see the DNC candidate win, and voters with liberal leanings do not want to see the RNC Candidate win.
Until we get rid of the party system, and allow the process to play itself out, we are going to continue to be slaves to the ruling class, with the illusion of freedom. Sad reality is we have gone from the "Land of the Free" to "For Sale to the Highest Bidder."
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Trump I can see but with Bernie we wouldn't have any money for the military.
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Wasn't Sanders a conscientious objector who refused to serve? Hmmmmmm...... THAT would be a great POTUS.
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PVT Robert Gresham
Cpl Joshua Pitts - He worked the conciencious objector angle until he turned 26, and could no longer be drafted, according to Snopes.com, Cpl Joshua Pitts. He was an objector all through college, and just kept on sending requests for objector status until he was too old to be drafted.
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