Marines rejoice for your wildest dreams may soon be a reality: James “Mad Dog” Mattis, in a recent interview dodged the question of whether or not he would run as a third-party candidate for President of the United States. And prominent political pundits have started mentioning his name.
[revad1]
The idea of a Mattis run has long been a pipe dream for veterans across America. Heck just hop on Twitter, search his name, and you’ll see people saying things like:
Last week, Bill Kristol of the Weekly Standard went on The Federalist Radio Hour program when the host Ben Domenech mentioned that a veteran wrote in James Mattis during a recent presidential poll among members of the Armed Forces. Kristol, declared that Mattis would be a great candidate if in fact Trump were to win the GOP nomination and a movement began for a third-party candidate.
When asked by the Daily Caller about Kristol floating his name, Mattis, who now works as a fellow at the Hoover Institute, gave a very interesting answer:
“Haven’t seen the reports and I’m quite sure it’s just idle talk.”
Daily Caller writer Jamie Weinstein pushed a bit harder, asking if he would serve if drafted to run. Mattis gave a very un-Shermanesque answer that is unusual to hear:
“I prefer not to discuss further, Jamie. I think it’s merely idle chatter.”
When Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman was pushed to run for the Republican nomination in 1884, he gave an answer that has become a go-to phrase in American politics for those who seriously do not want to run for office:
“If nominated, I will not run; if elected, I will not serve.”
This answer will no doubt have Mattis fans giddy with excitement at the possibility that an American military legend could run for President. Not familiar with what makes Mattis so awesome? Check out some of these incredible quotes:
- “I come in peace. I didn’t bring artillery. But I’m pleading with you, with tears in my eyes: If you fuck with me, I’ll kill you all.”
- “I don’t lose any sleep at night over the potential for failure. I cannot even spell the word.”
- “The first time you blow someone away is not an insignificant event. That said, there are some assholes in the world that just need to be shot.”
- “Find the enemy that wants to end this experiment (in American democracy) and kill every one of them until they’re so sick of the killing that they leave us and our freedoms intact.”
- “Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet.”
- “Marines don’t know how to spell the word defeat.”
- “The most important six inches on the battlefield is between your ears.”
- “You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn’t wear a veil. You know, guys like that ain’t got no manhood left anyway. So it’s a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them. Actually it’s quite fun to fight them, you know. It’s a hell of a hoot. It’s fun to shoot some people. I’ll be right up there with you. I like brawling.”
- “I’m going to plead with you, do not cross us. Because if you do, the survivors will write about what we do here for 10,000 years.”
- “There is nothing better than getting shot at and missed. It’s really great.”
