You might remember the “Fighting Dems” of 2006, war veterans seeking congressional seats as Democrats.
The new U.S. News looks at veterans in both parties who are pursuing the same goal in 2008. Among those quoted is a Duke University expert:
[B]oth chambers were flush with veterans after
World War II. There were only 95 in 1941, but the number had swelled to
323 by 1959. That began dropping in the 1970s, in part because the
draft ended in 1973, says Peter Feaver, a political scientist and
military scholar at Duke University.Feaver has examined military veterans in Congress and the cabinet
from 1815 to the period leading up to 9/11. He concluded that the
greater the preponderance of veterans, the less the likelihood of the
United States engaging in military action, but as a corollary, when
force is used, it’s in a big way. “It’s sort of like the Powell
Doctrine. Force is used rarely but decisively,” he says. Translated to
barracks-speak: War is hell, but if you’re in for a dime, you’re in for
a dollar.
Earlier Locker Room posts have also highlighted Peter Feaver’s expertise.