John McCain is a Better Man and Republican Than Donald Trump

Sen. John McCain stands with his arms at an odd angle.  He moves them only by moving his whole shoulder.  His arms reach for objects by moving outward and then forward instead of in a normal forward flow.  

On October 26, 1967 a 31 year old John McCain was flying his 23^rd bombing mission over North Vietnam.  He was shot down and ejected from the cockpit, but that is a violent act and he broke both arms and a leg upon impact with the ocean.  Those were not the wounds he suffers from today.  

The North Vietnamese who pulled him from the water deliberately crushed his shoulder with a rifle butt and then bayoneted him.  He was transported to the Hanoi Hilton, the North’s primary prisoner of war camp.  There he was refused medical attention until it was discovered that his father was an Admiral in the United States Navy, and commander of all U.S. forces in Vietnam.

            With this knowledge McCain became a high value prisoner, one who could be used for propaganda purposes.  Damaged, ill, sick and in pain, McCain was offered a chance to be released from the prisoner of war camp.  But John adhered to the military Code of Conduct, which said that officers were to be released in the order in which they were captured.  McCain would only agree to release if all officers captured prior to him were released as well.  

            In response to his refusal to be part of North Vietnamese propaganda efforts the Vietnamese set out to break him with torture.  He was bound with rope, suspended from bars so his weight was born by the sockets of his shoulders.  [This is similar to crucifixion, by the way, with the victim’s own weight making it hard to breathe.]  He was beaten, like clockwork, every two hours.  Eventually, he tried suicide.  Think about that.  This man was willing to take his own life, but he was not willing to get preferential treatment. 

            Having reached his breaking point he ultimately made an anti-American propaganda statement, which he still considers dishonorable.  Now think of that, this man admits to feeling shame because he wanted the pain to stop.  But he would not accept preferential treatment.  He refused to make any more such statements and the beatings continued.   

            John McCain’s wartime injuries have left him permanently incapable of raising his arms above his head. 

Donald Trump’s movements are unencumbered.  He did not serve in the military.  Trump has never been beaten, never been threatened with imminent death, never faced peril, faced pain, faced disfigurement.  He has dared nothing, paid for nothing and therefore has earned nothing except with a checkbook.  Writing a check and making business decisions is not analogous to torture.  Don’t even try to compare the two.

When was the last time you were hung from a beam and beaten for disagreeing with people who had complete power over you?  

I am as staunch a Republican as they make.  I am used to arguing with Democrats over policy.  I pull no punches and face what comes.  But I have never gotten used to facing dissention from my own side.  Donald Trump is not qualified to be President.  But neither is he qualified to be a Republican.  His comments are offensive and they are wrong.  The Democratic Party, as it currently stands, is a danger to this country, but let me make this as clear as I can: if you think Trump speaks for you, LEAVE my party!  I would rather lose without your vote than win with it.  Period.

God bless John McCain because he has repeatedly kept the faith.