A candid photo of US Rep. Ryan Zinke (R–MT)
Last week, Montana’s own Ryan Zinke celebrated his first month as a congressman by correcting the President. Obama was mistaken to think his proposed operation against ISIS could be successful without large-scale ground operations, Zinke said to pretty much any news outlet that would listen. In doing so, he also dropped a thunderbolt: Ryan Zinke used to be in the Navy. I think I speak for all Montanans when I say that I am shocked to learn of this chapter in his life. It’s no wonder Zinke never mentioned his military service, though, what with America’s pervasive bias against the troops. The only way to restore respect for the men and women of our armed services is to get them into combat immediately, before our quick successes in Iraq and Afghanistan convince the public that war is something anybody can do. That’s my argument in this week’s column for the Missoula Independent, and I’m sticking to it. Probably, this one will cost me some readers. Not you, though—we’ll both be back here tomorrow for Friday links. Right?
I couldn’t believe that you are a Montanan when reading this article and if it is true, what planet did you escaped to this past year because you certainly got it wrong about Rep. Zinke not revealing his military history. He mentioned it in nearly every ad on TV during his campaign and at every talk he did traveling the state. Comments like ” its a little irresponsible of Zinke not to have mentioned this before” is simply not true and should be retracted by you publicly. It is not fair to him and irresponsible of you.
Cookie,
I am pretty sure Dan was being sarcastic (and more than a little douchie) about Zinke’s military career. I didn’t vote for Zinke, but I am grateful for his service to our country and I have nothing but respect for his military opinions. It’s easy to be a journalist in Missoula, USA thanks to be people like Rep. Zinke.