The weird thing is not how many lefties lie about military service (the propensity toward fabricating a military past is probably independent of political background) - the weird thing is how liberals flock to these guys and embrace them. Finding people with military service is ho-hum on conservative blogs, because it's not that uncommon. Being former military gives you little cachet on the right, but on the left it is a cause celebre.

For the record I'm a lifelong Republican who has attained the rank of Admiral in the army and I do not support this president who was selected not elected.

the weird thing is how liberals flock to these guys and embrace them

Not really. It's entirely within character for the average Leftist once you understand their attitudes towards "victim groups". A military or ex-military person who then turns on the military (in other words, becomes an apostate) thus becomes a member of a victim-group and thus deserving of sympathy. All this is automatic -- the actual person does not matter. (Remember, the Left is concerned with groups and sets, not individual persons.)

But it is this automatic association with victims, out-groups, and minorities that leaves the Left open to exactly these kinds of problems. It is fatally easy to lie to them; they will believe any outlandish tale as long as it fits the "narrative".

Isn't it simply that those who have "served" (at least in the minds of those listening) have more credibility when it comes to criticizing the military?

I'm sure that's the only reason this Thom guy said he'd served in all these elite units or whatever....aside from being totally and completely insane.

I think that's part of it - they (wrongly) believe it gives them a pass when they criticize foreign policy or the war. I respect and appreciate Paul Hackett's service in Iraq, but I think he's wrong on the war.

With a politician though, I think it's also a case of "padding the resume" to appeal to a larger part of the electorate.

And incredibly stupid too, because it's so easily checked, and when it backfires on you, it has a very negative effect on your appeal. "Vote for me. I'm a liar".

I think the apostate narrative arc explains much of the appeal. Also, it allows the moonbats to scream, “”How dare you question his/her/our patriotism!?!” all the more shrilly.

Even better, vets’ credibility for attacking the military is beyond dispute. Career military people are just violent flatheads who weren’t smart enough to get a job in the real world (i.e., academia), so their comments on military funding and deployment can be pretty much ignored. But people who were brave enough to serve and yet still share the left’s basic distaste for the military—people like that are golden. They’re so valuable that, if you can’t find some, you might be tempted to make them up.

I don't think its all about credibility. Certainly that's where it starts.

But then they start developing stories about where they went and what they did.

"I was in the shit, man. VIETNAM."

I think there's a little ego-bolstering going on too. In their pants.

Isn't it simply that those who have "served" (at least in the minds of those listening) have more credibility when it comes to criticizing the military?

Well, sure. But I kind of agree with Lauraw here - there is a huge element of Walter Mittyism in these stories. "Leftist" when it's said and done is just shorthand for effete timidity pretending to importance.

But then they start developing stories about where they went and what they did.

You know, back when I was running guns in Guatemala for the CIA, I knew a guy named Osvaldo Gomez y Aguilar who was like that. He was always making shit up. It drove me crazy. Which is why the CIA made me retire to Minnesota and pretend to be a regular citizen.

A military or ex-military person who then turns on the military (in other words, becomes an apostate) thus becomes a member of a victim-group and thus deserving of sympathy.

Since Bart hasn't weighed in yet, I'll say it. Aren't such people turning against the stern authority figures who had been taking care of them? And bringing them shame in the process?

Instant simpatico.

I'm absolutely stunned at the number of highly placed lefties who simply make shit up about their lives. Bill Clinton's life membership in the NRA, or watching black churches burn when he was a kid. Al Gore clearing the land with a double-headed axe, to name but one (yo! Al! Even in Carthage, TN, they got chainsaws). Kerry's seared, seared memories of Christmas in Cambodia. It goes on and on. This kind of thing is beyond creepy; it's a sign of major mental illness.

But I think this military thing is something else. Lefties believe in credentials: degrees, awards, accolades, resumes. Also in anecdote. They substitute these for cohesive argument. Watch their faces; they truly don't understand how an army-loving righty can disagree with someone who's been in the army. Because, you know, he was in the army. So he knows, see?

ANOTHER LIAR WITH FAKE MILITARY SERVICE WHAT NEXT WILL THEY TRY?

Compared to ZERO YEARS John Howard and ZERO YEARS Tony Blair and CHAMPAGNE DUTY George Walker Bush...

Yeah, you "conservatives" are in like Flynn.

I at least joined the US Marine Corps.