Opinion: This isn’t politics as usual. It’s a betrayal of veterans like me.

I spent 20 years in the US Army, serving during both Bush administrations. I deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan based on decisions made in secure rooms by experienced, qualified leaders who were advised by trusted military officials and national security experts. Those decisions were grounded in strategy, intelligence, and a deep understanding of the weight of war.

Today, those same life-and-death decisions are being made with less care and oversight than ordering takeout. Policies are being shaped not in secure briefings but in private group chats, encrypted apps, or even on social media platforms, driven by billionaires and political opportunists rather than seasoned public servants.

This isn’t politics as usual. This is dangerous.

Click here to register for free at Cardinal & Pine’s May 20 “Voices for Veterans,” a discussion of veteran affairs cuts and voting rights in Fayetteville.  

Over the past few months, I’ve watched headlines roll in with a pit in my stomach. Cuts to vital veterans’ services. Mass layoffs of VA staff. Unelected power brokers carried out the unraveling of programs that took decades to build, with no accountability to the American people. President Trump, backed by billionaires like Elon Musk, has allowed political allies to gut federal agencies, including those that directly serve veterans and their families.

And politicians like my own representative, Chuck Edwards, are standing by silently, or worse, cheering it on.

We’re talking about nearly a million veterans and their spouses losing their jobs and benefits across the country. People who served with honor. People who did their part. And now they’re being thrown aside by a man who claims to be a patriot, and by elected officials who enable him. That’s not patriotism. That’s betrayal.

Like many veterans, I’m angry. So, I did what any concerned citizen has a right to do. I went to a town hall and voiced my outrage to Representative Edwards. I told the truth. I told him to do his job.

Instead of listening, he had me escorted out of the room by the police.

I am a retired, disabled combat veteran. I didn’t raise my voice in violence. I raised it in frustration. Because I know I’m not alone in feeling like this government has forgotten us.

I love this country. I have given everything for it. My wife and I lost everything in Hurricane Helene, and we’re still rebuilding. And now, the benefits I earned through service are at risk, thanks to politicians like Edwards who refuse to stand up to Trump or the wealthy donors behind him.

Chuck Edwards has spent his time in office fighting against Medicaid expansion, underfunding our public schools, and pushing policies that favor profits over people. Now, he’s helping dismantle critical federal institutions like the Department of Education, the FDA, and the IRS, all under the guise of “draining the swamp.” In reality, they’re draining the lifelines of working-class Americans.

When Edwards later tried to discredit me by calling me a “failed Democratic candidate,” it didn’t sting. I ran for office in one of the most Republican-leaning districts in the state, not because I thought I’d win, but because I believe in public service. He even sent me a letter after the race thanking me for running. That letter, like most of my family’s belongings, was lost in the hurricane. But I haven’t forgotten it.

Let me be clear: I did not threaten violence. I stood up and expressed what millions of veterans feel—abandoned and enraged. What I said wasn’t “profanity,” unless saying “Do your job” now counts as obscene. Legally, under Cohen v. California, even offensive speech is protected. And morally, staying silent in the face of betrayal would have been the real obscenity.

Edwards has tried to distract from his record by attacking me and the media that reported the truth. He claims the coverage “glorified” my actions. But what he fears is the movement they sparked. He fears that more people will find their voices and start holding him accountable.

That’s why I launched Resist & Persist, a nonprofit dedicated to amplifying the voices of veterans. We’ve sacrificed too much to be dismissed. We’re not asking for special treatment. We’re demanding that the promises made to us be kept. Real patriotism means caring for those who served, not silencing them. Politicians like Edwards want to stifle those speaking out and exposing how our VA system is being dismantled. On May 20th, I will be a part of a panel in Fayetteville giving Voices for Veterans. 

Veterans like me didn’t fight for democracy just to come home and be ignored by politicians who value their careers over our country’s future. We won’t be quiet. We won’t sit down.

We will resist. And we will persist.

 Jay Carey
SFC (Ret.), U.S. Army
Founder, Resist & Persist
resistpersist.org