Adam Kokesh and the Anti-War Conservatives

My Lai Massacre

On March 16, 1968, the US Army moved its forces into a small village in Vietnam and proceeded to massacre approximately 400 unarmed citizens of the Republic of Vietnam. These people were mostly civilians and included women and children. This event would become known as the My Lai Massacre. The event caused worldwide outrage and intensified the protests against the war at home. Three U.S. servicemen who tried to stop the killing and to protect the wounded were berated by U.S. Congressmen, and received hate mail, death threats and mutilated animals on their doorsteps. It was not until thirty years later that these men were honored for their actions.

It can be difficult sometimes to know what patriotism really is, even when we are looking at it. Were those soldiers who sought to prevent the My Lai Massacre unpatriotic? They disobeyed their commanding officers, something that goes against the very nature of a soldier. A soldier swears to defend the Constitution and to obey the orders of the President and of the officers.

Soldiers tend to be conservative. The idea of putting on a uniform and serving one’s country–giving one’s life if need be–tends to be more of a conservative notion. Anti-war protests have long been tied to leftist groups and causes, and this was mostly the case during the Vietnam War. In those good old days, you could generally count on a Conservative to back the fight against Communism, and for the Liberals to protest in the streets. But it just may be that the Left no longer has a monopoly on anti-war sentiment.

Take Adam Kokesh. Kokesh enlisted in the Marines in 1999 during his junior year of preparatory school as part of the Delayed Entry Program. He volunteered for deployment in Iraq and served in Fallujah from February to September 2004, where he was engaged in several firefights. After an honorable discharge, Kokesh resumed his studies and completed his bachelor’s degree. In February 2007, Kokesh became and active member of the Iraq Veterans Against the War. He is currently a graduate student at George Washington University.

On September 2, 2008, Kokesh made an impassioned speach at a Ron Paul rally in St. Paul, MN, where he said,

While it is our responsibility now to resist tyranny civily, while we still can, there may come when we will say to the powers that be, be it with your blood or ours we have come to water the tree of liberty … who will stand with me?

Adam Kokesh’s Rally for the Republic Speech (Worth Watching)

Kokesh is also known for his outspoken opposition to Sen. John McCain. At the GOP nomination of McCain, Kokesh was present in the crowd and held up a sign which read, “McCain Votes Against Vets” and yelled “Ask him why he votes against vets!” while McCain was speaking. Other members of the audience shouted Kokesh down as he was escorted out by security. Dana Goldsten from The American Prospect interviewed Kokesh, who claimed to have gotten a guest pass from a Ron Paul delegate. He further said,

“What the Republican Party is doing with their take on the war in Iraq is spinning it in such a way that it’s about victory or defeat. But they can’t face up to the fact that you can’t win an occupation. In an occupation, everybody loses. What we’re calling for is an immediate withdrawal of all occupying forces in Iraq.”

Adam Kokesh Protests McCain

It would seem that despite McCain and Palin’s attempts to brand themselves as “mavericks,” the real maverick of the Republican party is Ron Paul. He certainly stirred up a lot of debate in this years primaries, and despite not winning the nomination, has continued his message and to work for the ideas that he believes in through his website Campaign For Liberty and through political rallys throughout the country. He is reminescient of a Pat Buchanan or Ross Perot in this sense, except that Ron Paul supporters strike one as being much, much more serious. A lot of that has to do with timing. Support for American politicians by U.S. citizens is at a very low point. President Bush’s approval rating hovers around the thirty-percent mark as conservatives continue to abandon him, while Roger Kimball notes that 59 percent of the American public would vote to replace the entire congress. The fact that many people were greatly energized by Adam Kokesh’s Rally for the Republic speach rather than being turned off is very telling of where the American citizenry is right now. That’s  not to say that liberals have not gone to new lengths either, in their own way. One notable example would be the Obama Youth singing what strikes one as worship music to Sen. Obama:

Obama Sing for Change – the “Obama Youth”

What with our “maverick” Republicans and our Democrats singing for change, one would think that the status quo was truly about to be toppled. But considering the amount of attention that third party candidates have gotten this election cycle, and the waves made by Ron Paul, it seems that people like Adam Kokesh don’t see much change coming from either candidate. On his blog, Adam Kokesh-Revolutionary Patriot, Kokesh writes of his displeasure at the political options. Despite comments from many Obama supporters, and their attempts to bring the Marine into the fold, Kokesh rejects the Democratic candidate as well:

How many times do I have to say this: I cannot in good conscience vote for a pro-war candidate. Obama wants to keep 40k troops in Iraq indefinitely, on permanent bases, add more Blackwater mercenaries, and have a surge in Afghanistan. If that’s not pro-war, I don’t know what is. McCain and Obama will both perpetuate the decline this country is on at about the same rate. The difference is that Obama will do it smoothly, sing you a lullaby, and after four years we might be more screwed as the public will be lulled into submission. McCain will do it erratically and clumsily, piss people off, and get more of the public engaged, if only because of their shared disgust for him. Both are ’situations’ that are not good for this country. I will be voting third party or writing in Ron Paul.

It would seem then, that war and a foreign policy based upon the Bush Doctrine will remain more or less in effect, regardless of who wins the election. Whether this Doctrine will ensure the safety of our people or bring our country to ruin is not entirely clear. Like many things, only future historians will be able to look back and comment on the actions we are now taking. One certain thing is that the Republican party has shifted to the Left. It has been moving in that direction for some time, but especially since the election of George W. Bush with his program of “Compassionate Conservationism.” This has left a number of leading politicians in the cold, without a part. Notable among them are Ron Paul, Chuck Baldwin, and Pat Buchanan: the libertarians and paleo-conservatives. Historically the DNC has been a splintered party united only in opposition to the status quo, which they regard to be summed up by the GOP. But this time around the Democrats are more or less united behind Obama, while the Republican party is being torn apart. I know a few people who are voting for McCain, but I don’t know a single conservative who actually likes McCain. Probably the best argument against the Neo-Cons from a conservative position is Where the Right Went Wrong, by Patrick Buchanan.

So where does the country go from here? The election will happen soon enough, but when the dust settles there is still going to be a large segment of the population that will feel disenfranchised. Where do you stand in this, and what can be done? If you are a conservative, will you be voting for McCain? And if so, is it a “lesser of two evils” vote? Or perhaps you are a liberal who supports Obama in the hopes he will end the war? If that is the case, you may be very disapointed if Obama wins. In any case, give me your thoughts.