Eli Crane for Congress?

I heard Eli Crane discussing his candidacy for congress in Arizona CD 2 and his comments aroused some questions in my mind:

1. Why would a Navy SEAL leave active duty at 13 years? Why surrender a lifetime monthly retirement check, buttressed by automatically adjusted “disability”, and a lifetime of free medical care for him, his wife, and children (until they reach 25) – when he had just seven years to go? The military has the biggest Golden Parachute of them all – why cut away?  This begs the question of whether his departure was voluntary because -in most veterans’ views- leaving that short of retirement is insanity. There are beaucoup active duty service members who have had more than two combat tours and are sticking it out to get the coveted blue ID card.  Anyone’s type of discharge is available for free online at: USA.gov, VA.gov. But that won’t tell you the reason for separation. Statistically, the most common reason for leaving active duty that close to  retirement – among all ranks – is receiving a DUI, Domestic Violence or some other misbehavior resulting in disciplinary action. A less than honorable discharge would have prevented him from obtaining lucrative employment as a defense contractor – the go-to option for honorably separated veterans.
   1. What rank was he at separation?  Rank is given at certain milestones in a military career. Not achieving the expected rank at the appropriate time is grounds for separation from the service.
   2. Were all those 13 years spent on active duty? Many don’t realize the SEALs have their active and inactive reserve component as well. If he spent much time in the reserves his retirement would have been delayed until age 60. With the draw down from combat zones in the last few years a reservist’s accumulation of retirement points would have been significantly curtailed. It also would lessen the severity of “13 years of combat.” – which no active duty service member has ever spent in continuous combat. There are non-operational assignments between combat tours and both Congress and the Pentagon closely monitor the time their service members spend deployed specifically for the impact on Quality of Life. 
   3. It is a maxim among retirees that veterans who separate from active duty after ten years but before twenty lie about their reason for leaving.  It is also a maxim that political candidates “magnify” their qualifications just like veterans’ resumes are “magnified” by transition specialists before separation.  A perfect example is Brandon Martin’s campaign bio – total Bullshit. 
   4.  I’ve trained with and served with Navy SEALs. There are many real Warriors amongst them.  There are also their share of “Legends in the Own Minds” as there are in all special operations units (and many more in the “rear-with-the-gear” MOSs).  My experience is the REAL warriors never tire of killing the enemies of their country – either through patriotism or the sheer, surreal thrill of engaging in combat and coming out the other side alive – or not.  In a perverse way, real warriors are a little suicidal – in a societal sense.  I felt it when I signed up and I suspect some young men very close to me felt the same when they signed up for the Marines. I’m reminded of that every time I watch Lt. Dunbar ride his horse in front of the Confederate lines. We get it.  But thank God we still produce men like that in this country!
2. Being that near retirement – “over the hump and all down hill from here” and leaving for “family reasons” sounds too much like the soon-to-be-investigated / voted -out – of  – office politician running for cover. 
3. Crane’s statement that he intends to stay in Congress “only 6-8 years” coincides, remarkably, with the minimum time required for congressmen to receive (I don’t dare say “earn”) a lifetime retirement of 30% of $180,000 – plus medical – all tied to the Cost of Living. That’s $60K a year for life. Altruism is a rare quality in humans as it is. It is even rarer in a country hell-bent on worshipping Mammon – willing to sacrifice personal liberty for the military-industrial-complex. There are exceptions: Pat Tillman immediately comes to mind – and some young men I know personally. But those kind of men are rare. 
4. Does creating a customized bottle opener business qualify for the Fortune 500? Crane confesses to knowing only that “men like beer.” Is that a curriculum vitae for statesmanship and representation in the halls hallowed “for the most worthy?” Has anyone verified his claim to be “a successful businessman” in this economic climate? George Washington told Congress that even the most ardent patriot had to be sustained by material reward. The same with patriotic businessmen.  
5. Being in the military – for any length of time – doesn’t automatically bestow omniscience in domestic or international affairs. There is justifiable argument that it inhibits it.
6. Least of all, neuro-linguistically speaking, Mr. Crane does not have the steely-eyed look of a Warrior. Admittedly this is the weakest arrow – Audie Murphy was a baby faced hero many times over. You can be with a shit hot unit in a very large combat zone and still not see the Tiger.

Since America has been deifying every servicemember as a Hero , asking the hard questions of veteran candidates has been dang near sacrilegious.  But it is as wrong for conservatives to ignore the inconvenient truth or the hard questions as it is for the Left to conduct their standard puff piece of the Clintons, Obama, or Biden.  “A man who is good enough to shed his blood for his country is good enough to be given a square deal afterward.  More than that no man is entitled to, and less than that no man shall have.” – Teddy Roosevelt.

So, to answer those shocked beyond belief that I “DARE” ask, I EARNED the RIGHT, not only as an American citizen, but as a retired, combat veteran and retired CBP officer on the Mexican border (sorry for blowing my own horn) to ask the hard questions. Being asked by a quasi-conservative, metrosexual, germ phobic, New York bar tender how I “DARE” ask these questions reminds me of the Cochise County Republican Committee chairman asking how I “Dared” run for congress in 2019. Apparently I need permission from the media and the Party to exercise my constitutional rights.  

It is incumbent upon every American citizen who was gifted that right by the blood of our Forefathers to do the same. I hope Crane’s public persona matches his real person. But until that is proven my vote is withheld. I don’t discriminate in vetting any person. They are all subject to the same criteria on my Bullshit Meter (ask my kids).

It’s the only way we can keep from continually sending profit-minded RINOs like McCain, McConnell, McSally, and the perennial candidate Brandon Martin to congress where they can be bought off.