Republican Alabama Senate candidate Judge Roy Moore’s campaign on Monday hit Democratic candidate Doug Jones over his support for kneeling athletes but not yet taking a stand on strengthening the military.
Jones tweeted last month, “I want to be crystal clear here, I support the right to protest, & freedom of expression. #TakeAKnee focuses on inequality & injustice”:
“On the landing page of his campaign website, Doug Jones lists ten values that he says he’ll take to Washington, but he says not a single word about combating terrorism or strengthening the military,” said Moore’s Senate campaign chairman Bill Armistead in a statement.
“Even under the ‘issues and priorities’ section of his campaign site, Doug Jones has not one word to say about the importance of the military or his position on defense and foreign policy,” he said.
The campaign noted Jones’ support as a delegate to the 2012 national Democratic convention for President Barack Obama, who shrunk the size of the military during his tenure.
“Doug Jones has been joined at the hip with Barack Obama for years. It was at the 2012 Democratic convention, where Doug Jones was serving as a delegate, that the Democratic delegates voted to remove God from their platform. It was during Obama’s two terms as president that there were significant cuts in spending and personnel for the American armed forces,” Armistead said.
“Under Obama, the active Army went from 562,000 soldiers in 2012 down to 475,000 in January of 2017, while total Pentagon spending went from $691 billion in 2009 down to $580 billion in 2015. Further, at the end of Obama’s term, the Navy had only 272 ships – the lowest number the Navy has had since 1916.
“While Jones doesn’t show support for the military, he has repeatedly said that he supports athletes who disrespect our country and flag by kneeling during the playing of the national anthem. Doug Jones has his priorities completely upside down,” Armistead said.
“Like Barack Obama, Doug Jones would be a disaster for our armed forces and for the 117,000 Alabamians who work in support of our military personnel,” he said.