Steve Daines sent me a mailer yesterday. Said because he is the son of a veteran, he knows “firsthand the sacrifices our veterans have made.” It is with this that Daines irretrievably loses any chance for my vote.
I spent a year in the field artillery with the American Division in Vietnam. The people who know firsthand what that means, and its aftermath, are those who served beside me and those whose experiences in war were similar to mine. Not my daughter, not colleagues who have not served the USA in its armed forces.
Stories told to you by others when you are sitting in a comfortable chair are not “firsthand” experiences. It is deceitful to suggest they are.
Rank untruthfulness seems not to matter to politicians this year. But lying outright to veterans to try to seduce their votes crosses the line in so many ways.
We have decisions to make this election, but I sure as heck will never vote for Daines. It would be disrespectful to veterans everywhere to do so.
Tom W. Stonecipher
Bozeman
Bozeman Daily Chronicle Letter to the Editor 10/8/20