Source: The Bulwark
by Adam Kinzinger
“If past is prologue, Vance and Walz will raise their service records — or their opponent’s — during their debate Tuesday night. Vance has tried, and failed, to accuse Walz of stolen valor. Walz, for his part, has simply thanked JD for his service. That’s the grownup answer. But the reason military service can be such an issue is that the gap between the military and the rest of society is as wide as it’s been in a century. As of 2015, less than 1 percent of Americans were in uniform at any given time, and that fraction of a percent isn’t representative of Americans as a whole — it’s whiter, more Western and Southern, and more likely to have a family member in the military. The result is an American public, including most voters, who respect the military but don’t understand it.” (09/30/24)
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/does-it-matter-that-vance-and-walz-are-veterans