fromthepresident A Nonpartisanship
All members can take pride in MOAA’s well-earned reputation for nonpartisan clarity and reason, which allows your association to eff ectively advocate for the military community.
As your advocates on Capitol Hill, a significant portion of MOAA’s job is to influence the political process, provide members with perspective on the legislative environment, and encourage members’ par- ticipation in the political process. During this election season, I want to address another key MOAA precept: non- partisanship. We are sometimes asked by members with strong political leanings why we don’t take a stronger stand for or against this or that political fi gure or party, or how we can justify giving an award to a particular legislator.
First and foremost, as a 501(c)(19) orga- nization, MOAA must remain strictly non- partisan — or we’d lose our tax exemption. MOAA represents your interests on
Capitol Hill regardless of what party leads the House or Senate. That means, as a purely practical matter, we must work both sides of the aisle. Playing political fa- vorites works against you when your party or candidate loses an election — as most eventually will. Our 11 lobbyists also seek both Republican and Democratic cospon- sors for bills we endorse, to minimize per- ception that an issue is a partisan one. We put issues fi rst, not parties or people.
We’ve honored legislators as divergent as Sens. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) for sponsoring legislation on con- current receipt and other issues. We’ve hon- ored Reps. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) and Susan Davis (D-Calif.) for their work on military pay, survivor benefi ts, and health care.
Some ask, “How can you give Sena- tor X or Representative Y an award after he [or she] did this or said that back in 2010?” To advocate eff ectively for our members, we can’t aff ord to hold grudges. Today’s opponent could be tomorrow’s ally. If a legislator leads the charge on one of MOAA’s issues, that legislator will re- ceive our praise for that action — even if we might be on opposite sides of another issue. It’s a truism that “the most impor- tant vote is the next vote.” That’s as true for you as it is for leg-
islators. Thanks to a grant from the De- mocracy Fund, MOAA’s Military Family Initiative has launched the Military Voter Education Project with a simple, powerful message: “You are your most powerful ad- vocate — vote!” The project’s web portal* enables uniformed service family mem- bers to request an absentee ballot, fi nd the address of their local board of elections, and learn deadlines for ballot submission. MOAA received this grant precisely be- cause of our nonpartisan reputation. Since 1929, MOAA has been a voice of nonpartisan clarity and reason, advocat- ing for the military community and urging all to exercise one of their most precious rights: the right to choose their local, state, and national leaders. All MOAA members can take great pride in that achievement.
— Lt. Gen. Dana T. Atkins, USAF (Ret)
*online: Find information about military absentee voting at
www.moaa.org/absenteevoting. 8 MILITARY OFFICER NOVEMBER 2016
PHOTO: ROB CANNON
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