Columns

The Tet Offensive and Democrats

DONALD MYERS, A Mind of
Published: October 13, 2012

Stick with me on this one because it is going to be interesting. The Tet Offensive in 1968 spelled doom for the United States in Vietnam.

The offensive itself was a disaster for the North Vietnamese (NVA) and especially the Viet Cong (VC) because of the huge number of their troops that were killed. Although many VC units continued to exist throughout the rest of the war, they were almost totally manned by troops from the north since they had taken such horrific losses.

The offensive was a miscalculation by the leadership in the north, but politically it was a bonus because of the reporting in the United States. The actual offensive covered the entire country and had some initial successes. The one area that caused the most difficulty for the allies was in the city of Hue where it took an extended period of time to expel the NVA. Our media turned a military disaster for the north into a political defeat for the United States.

Before the Tet offensive, the propaganda arm of the north was superb and it worked overtime to influence what occurred in the south. That propaganda also had its influence on what the United States did and how we acted in this country.

By 1967, demonstrations in the United States were having a significant impact on the war. Ho Chi Minh was looked at as a hero and many of our troops were considered the bad guys. Far too many troops were denigrated when they returned from a combat tour in Vietnam. I personally did not suffer this, but I know many others who did.

The propaganda from the north stated that the southern government was despised and corrupt while military forces merely needed the opportunity to overthrow it. Much of that was true and coups had occurred. The north believed that the people would rise up and the military would turn on the American troops if given the opportunity. The story was preached constantly and the northern leadership came to believe it. Over time, the north actually believed its own propaganda and thus we had the Tet Offensive.

In our country, the Democrats constantly preach that republicans want dirty water, dirty air, poor schools, reduced taxes for the rich, elimination of social security and Medicare, a war on women, no regulations on businesses, etc, etc.

When Gov. Romney won the Republican nomination the attacks intensified to include his being the head of Bain Capital. Political ads accused him of taking over various companies and running them into bankruptcy while making millions personally. He was accused of being a rich man who was totally out of touch with the typical American.

The Senate Majority Leader Reid accused him of not paying taxes for the last ten years and offered no proof other than a disclosed individual told him so. What they preached is that how could a man who cared so little for the typical American to become president.

From the time that it was obvious that governor Romney was the republican candidate until the republican convention, the political attack ads continued and governor Romney did not have the money to respond in kind until after the convention and he was officially nominated. In politics, that was a lifetime and it impacted on the polls and how the general population thought of the governor.

Listen to a typical democrat and he repeats these talking points about republicans in general and Romney in particular. No amount of facts can dissuade most of them. Republican only care for the rich, Democrats care for the poor and the middle class, republicans want to eliminate social security, and democrats will save it. The list is nearly endless.

The debate last week between President Obama and Gov. Romney was an awakening for many people because they saw and heard a different person than the one who had been described by the democrats and media. The most shocked person was the president and he was unable to respond to what the governor was saying.

I suspect that he had prepared to debate the Romney that the democrats described and that one was absent. The real Gov. Romney arrived and he did not know how to deal with that. Since then, the media and Democrats have accused Gov. Romney of lying and not supporting what he had been saying during the campaign. They expected him to be the individual that they had described and were shocked when someone different arrived.

As the days have progressed it seems that more and more are realizing that they did not truly know the real Romney. Much like the NVA and VC in 1968, the democrats, especially the leadership, believed their own propaganda and as a result paid a huge price.

Donald J. Myers, a retired colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps, is a regular columnist for Hernando Today. He lives in Spring Hill and can be contacted at dmyersusmc@aol.com.