{"id":6208,"date":"2025-08-19T09:48:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T13:48:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/morgancountyusa.org\/?p=6208"},"modified":"2025-08-19T09:49:43","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T13:49:43","slug":"can-a-better-squad-of-veterans-storm-capitol-hill-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/morgancountyusa.org\/?p=6208","title":{"rendered":"Can a Better Squad of Veterans Storm Capitol Hill in 2026?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In an article in the current print edition of the 40-page newspaper the Capitol Hill Citizen<\/a><\/em> (August\/September 2026), reporter Steve Early asks the question \u2013 Can a Better Squad of Veterans Storm Capitol Hill in 2026?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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And he answers yes with four new candidates who are veterans \u2013 Dan Osborn (Nebraska), Nathan Sage (Iowa), Richard Ojeda (North Carolina) and West Virginia\u2019s own Zach Shrewsbury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In memoir about his post 9\/11 military service in Iraq, one disillusioned former Army officer denounced the entire \u201cgeneration of politicians currently in power\u201d who have \u201cfailed America\u2019s veterans \u2013 and the American people.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Criticizing the shortcomings of both major parties, Paul Rieckhoff argued that \u201conly veterans have the credibility to reach across party lines and represent everyone.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s because they, not ordinary civilians, \u201chave been trained and hardened in the most extreme conditions and possess a unique set of skills that make them exceptional political candidates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rieckhoff says that  ex-military people can provide \u201cstrong leadership in difficult times.\u201d They \u201ccan heal our divided country, strengthen our tattered reputation and lay the groundwork for a populist political movement that challenges the status quo and propels veterans into Congress for decades to come.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since this prediction two decades ago, both major parties have doubled down on their recruitment, training, and funding of so-called \u201cservice candidates.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In reality, most successful service candidates soon become part of the Congressional status quo, rather than mounting any populist challenge to it, Early reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vets currently serving on Capitol Hill are mainly former officers or NCOs who regularly rubberstamp big Pentagon budgets and favor U.S. military intervention abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early says that any helpful bonding based on their shared veteran identity has been rare during the Trump era. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cVeterans on the ballot next year will include many right-wing Republicans seeking re-election,\u201d Early writes. \u201cThey will face challenges from a new crop of mainly centrist Democrats who hope to revive their party\u2019s struggling brand by playing the veteran card as well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Early writes that there is a different kind of vet challenging for power in Congressional races in 2026 \u2013 military veterans whose new patriotic duty is challenging the billionaire class and defeating its loyal political servants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith plenty of alpha energy, they are promoting what one calls \u201cpaycheck populism,\u201d not accommodation with Trump,\u201d Early writes. \u201cBut they need a grassroots army behind them to win at the polls next year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early reports that Marine vet Zach Shrewsbury just launched his second campaign for the Senate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If successful in the Democratic primary, he hopes to confront incumbent Republican Shelley Moore Capito whose \u201cfamily has ruled West Virginia for decades like feudal lords passing power down like heirlooms while our towns crumbled and our people suffered.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shrewsbury\u2019s grandfather was a union coal miner but he grew up in a Republican family, a reflection of the state\u2019s shift from blue to red over the past half century. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After dropping out of college, he spent five years in the military, stationed in Japan, Malaysia, South Korea and Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Shrewsbury returned from overseas determined to serve his country in a different way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through Common Defense, he got involved in progressive electoral politics and then environmental justice campaigning in a state long plagued by poverty and pollution. His current project is Blue Jay Rising, which integrates voter registration and community engagement with much-needed mutual aid initiatives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early reports that \u201cas a Senate candidate, Shrewsbury will once again draw on his military service to speak truth to power about how billions of taxpayer dollars that could be better spent at home have helped fund Israel\u2019s \u2018illegal, immoral, and massive attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure\u2026to drive Palestinians out of Gaza.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

[To order your print copy of the 40-page Capitol Hill Citizen, go to capitolhillcitizen.com<\/a>]<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In an article in the current print edition of the 40-page newspaper the Capitol Hill Citizen (August\/September 2026), reporter Steve Early asks the question \u2013 Can a Better Squad of Veterans Storm Capitol Hill in 2026? And he answers yes … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/morgancountyusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/morgancountyusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/morgancountyusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/morgancountyusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/morgancountyusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6208"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/morgancountyusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6208\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6212,"href":"https:\/\/morgancountyusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6208\/revisions\/6212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/morgancountyusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/morgancountyusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/morgancountyusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}