Check out the comments on this thread about an ad for Barack Obama by former Air Force chief of staff Merrill McPeak, and see how quickly cons are to attack a military person because he isn’t a lockstep Republican (McPeak supported Dole and Bush). You’ll understand quickly where the “phony soldiers” mindset comes from.
It’s interesting to me the contradiction of vehemently denying something and supporting it at the same time. They denied up and down that Rush Limbaugh would ever say that soldiers were “phony” if they didn’t tow the Republican line, and yet they clearly believe it. They deny up and down that America tortures, but wholeheartedly support it and are glad we do it.