Andrea Tantaros Defies Critics and Logic, Doubles Down on George P. Bush Attack

By Alex GriswoldJan 29th, 2016, 3:53 pm
 

tantarosAfter embarrassingly calling out Jeb Bush‘s son George P. Bush for not serving (he did a tour of duty in Afghanistan as a Navy Reserve lieutenant), Fox News host Andrea Tantaros doubled down, arguing that he received “special treatment.”

Tantaros, who has never served in the military, tweeted out a link to her Facebook page Friday.

Don’t bother clicking the above link, because Tantaros, who has never served in the military, got the URL wrong. But here’s her argument for why she’s sticking by her original tweet.

The men and women who choose to serve our great Republic are to be commended, but George P. Bush’s service falls into the realm of textbook special treatment for children of ‘political dynasties’ with direct commission and online classes, not exactly standard fare in the US military. His three weeks of direct commission training is far less than a Plebe receives prior to entering the U.S. Naval Academy.

I appreciate George P’s service – regardless of how outside the norm it is – but it most certainly offers no inoculation against political critique.

But the arguments presented by Tantaros, who has never served in the military, are unpersuasive.

Tantaros, who has never served in the military, misrepresents Bush’s “special treatment.” The Direct Commission Officer Indoctrination Course only lasts three weeks because it’s intended to indoctrinate civilians who are already skilled in their specialization of choice (doctors, lawyers, etc.). A small town dentist would get as much “special treatment” as the nephew of a president did. By portraying it as some cozy fast-track for the rich, Tantaros slimes hundreds of everyday Americans as well.

In any case, the worst that Tantaros claims is that Bush received “special treatment” when it came to his officer training. She provides no evidence (nor can she) that there was anything “special” about his eight-months of service in a combat zone. Tantaros herself appears to have never spent eight months serving in a combat zone.

Tantaros, who has never served in the military, is right to say Bush’s military service should not inoculate him from criticism. But her criticism was of his lack of military service. You’d have to be as dumb as an Outnumbered host to not see the connection between the two.

By the way, considering that she’s going out of her way to diminish and belittle a veteran’s service, now might be a good time to mention that Andrea Tantaros has never served in the military.

Even if he received “special treatment” (he didn’t), it’s still a stupid point on Tantaros’ part. This isn’t the Vietnam War, where the sons of the rich were forced to serve and were stuffed in cozy positions as a result. George P. Bush, a high-profile rising GOP star raking in the dough, chose to leave that all behind and serve his country. He could have received all the special treatment in the world and it still would have been infinitely more selfless than, say, Andrea Tantaros’ life choices.

Speaking of Vietnam, Tantaros, who has never served in the military, is a supporter of Donald Trump, a candidate who received five draft deferments during the Vietnam War. Why, it’s almost as though her concerns about “special treatment” are entirely political and don’t go any further than attacking one person because of his last name.

[Image via screengrab]
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This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.

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