On December 22, 1944, the 101st Airborne was surrounded by German troops in Bastogne. A German surrender party, showed up carrying a white flag. The message was as follows:
To the U.S.A. Commander of the encircled town of Bastogne.
The fortune of war is changing. This time the U.S.A. forces in and near Bastogne have been encircled by strong German armored units. More German armored units have crossed the river Our near Ortheuville, have taken Marche and reached St. Hubert by passing through Hompre-Sibret-Tillet. Libramont is in German hands.
There is only one possibility to save the encircled U.S.A. troops from total annihilation: that is the honorable surrender of the encircled town. In order to think it over a term of two hours will be granted beginning with the presentation of this note.
If this proposal should be rejected one German Artillery Corps and six heavy A. A. Battalions are ready to annihilate the U.S.A. troops in and near Bastogne. The order for firing will be given immediately after this two hours’ term.
All the serious civilian losses caused by this artillery fire would not correspond with the well known American humanity.
The German Commander
General Anthony McAuliffe responded with the following reply:
“To the German Commander, ‘Nuts!’ The American Commander”
The 101st Airborne didn’t surrender then and they didn’t surrender later. The weather started to clear and on December 23, Allied air force units were finally able to attack and also drop desperately needed supplies of medicine, food, blankets, ammunition and even volunteer surgeons who flew in by military glider. On December26, Patton’s Third Army arrived ending the siege.
Last night, the Republicans in the House of Representatives sent a similar message to Speaker Boehner and President Barack Obama. They said “Nuts.” They weren’t sent to congress to surrender on their core principles. It is ironic that this happened almost exactly 68 years after the siege of Bastogne. Obviously, there is no comparison with the incredible courage of the 101st Airborne standing up to the German Army and House Republicans standing up to President Obama, but it may be an equally important moment in defending our country.
To those brave men and women who ran for congress with a vow to stand up for their core principles we all owe a debt of gratitude. More importantly, we owe them our support. For the first time, in a very long time, real leaders have surfaced and they said “Nuts” to more taxes. They said “Nuts” to more spending and they said “Nuts” to business as usual. They will pay a severe price, in the short run for this decision. They will be painted as naive and irresponsible fools who put politics above principle. Republicans in the House will get the majority of the blame for going over the fiscal cliff. They will also be assaulted and insulted by RINOs in their own party who believe that the courage to compromise is the highest form of valor. But ultimately, I think that if they stay the course, they are the ones who win, and by winning they will change history. Even those who disagree are ultimately impressed with those who stand up for what they believe. Real leadership and courage is never out of style.
TDM