Ever feel like you’re screaming something from the rooftops, but no one pays attention unless they already know what you’re yelling? That’s the way it is for me on the IQ/military issue.

First it was John Kerry — arguably, at least, depending on whether you buy the “botched joke” argument. Now it’s Charles Rangel:

“No young, bright individual wants to fight just because of a bonus and just because of educational benefits…If a young fella has an option of having a decent career or joining the army to fight in Iraq, you can bet your life that he would not be in Iraq.”

Hot Air has video and comments here.

As I showed in an article for The Weekly Standard (and The Heritage Foundation detailed in an in-depth study), this is simply false. People in the military have above-average IQs, and they are more likely to hold high school diplomas than other Americans. They have plenty of options for a future; they choose the military, as much as Rangel despises that fact.

In addition, Rangel is wrong in stating that “most all of them come from communities of very, very high unemployment.” From Heritage:

“We found that recruits tend to come from mid­dle-class areas, with disproportionately fewer from low-income areas. Overall, the income dis­tribution of military enlistees is more similar to than different from the income distribution of the general population.”

If far-left politicians want to bash the military, that’s their choice and their ballot-box risk. We have free speech in this country. But they could at least get their facts straight first.

Robert VerBruggen blogs at http://robertsrationale.blogspot.com.