Posted on 07/20/2004 9:53:07 AM PDT by NotchJohnson
THE SORROWFULLY PITIFUL MAX CLELAND
Looks like Max Cleland has really taken to his role as The Poodle's attack dog. Yesterday Sad Max had a telephone conference call with reporters during which he said that President Bush attacked Iraq and deposed Saddam Hussein because "his daddy was a failed president." Cleland said that Bush wanted to be "Mr. Macho Man" and said that Bush "flat-out lied" when he asked the congress to authorize a war against Iraq.
Cleland's role as Kerry's dog washer is particularly troubling to myself and fellow Georgians who have known him so long. I don't think any of us realized the depth of the bitterness this man is able to generate over real and perceived misfortunes. I dare say that with each Cleland rant there are more and more Georgians who are thankful that he no longer represents this state in the U.S. Senate.
The Cleland story that the left is trying to portray to the rest of the nation is that evil, hate-filled Republicans in Georgia attacked his "patriotism" during the 2000 Senate Race. I was sitting right here doing talk radio in Georgia during that time ... and it just didn't happen. Cleland's patriotism wasn't attacked. What was attacked was his leach-like attachment to Tom Daschle. Daschle recognized that Cleland wasn't strong enough to stand up to Senate leadership. He quickly became little more than a yes-man to Senate Democrats ... a loyal foot soldier who could be counted on to toe the leadership line even when the leadership cause was at odds with the expressed desires or best interests of the Georgians whom Cleland represented.
After 9/11, when the congress was creating the Department of Homeland Security, Democrats wanted to make sure that their treasured government employee unions came away from the table stronger than ever. Republicans felt that in matters of national security the President ought to have the authority to dismiss or transfer key government personnel involved in homeland security matters. Democrats disagreed. They yanked on Cleland's leash and he stood fast against the Homeland Security bill. Georgia voters aren't particularly fond of government employee unions, and they saw Cleland kowtowing to the Democratic leadership, and they fired him.
Get over it, Max. Georgia voters saw you kissing union ass, and they didn't like it. You refused to stand up to your Democratic Party puppeteers, and the voters cut your strings for you. If you had worried as much about what the people of Georgia thought as you did about what Daschle and company wanted you might still be a U.S. Senator today. Now you rant about Bush trying to be "macho" and fighting this war against Saddam's terrorist aims because his "daddy was a failed president." Funny ... but we down here in Georgia don't seem to remember you saying anything about Clinton's war in Bosnia! That war over ethnic cleansing was quite OK with you, wasn't it Max? But let a Republican fight a war against a bloody butcher who has actually used WMDs to kill his own people ... and you get squeamish. Now you're reduced to being an attack lap dog for John Kerry.
Look .... this is a man who introduced a bill in the U.S. Senate that would have given law enforcement officials the ability to simply seize your property if they ever found you in a public place connected to interstate transportation, such as an airport, Interstate highway or bus station, with more than $10,000 cash on your person. Quite the defender of individual freedom, this Max Cleland. He worked hard to earn his defeat in Georgia. Now he's working just as hard to get some federal job hand-out from The Poodle.
How sad.
FMCDH(BITS)
How about an attack lap-dance dog for John Kerry???
Cleland and his supporters continually harped upon his physical disabilities as "war" wounds, always portraying the results of an unfortunate alcohol-related accident as some kind of "bravery" to be contrasted with President Bush's alleged "cowardice."
The funny thing is, when Kerry loses the election Cleland will be tossed aside like used tissue paper. He's a disabled prop for the Kerry campaign, and he knows that the GOP won't attack him because then he'll use his disability as an excuse. Pathetic.
WideAwake, please let me remind you and others on this thread to remain wide awake and verb vigilant regarding Mr. Cleland; He was INJURED, not WOUNDED. Pity and concern are appropriate, hero-worship is DECIDEDLY not.
Cleland wasn't drunk...he was about to drink some beers until the accident happened.
I was under the impression that an intoxicated colleague dropped a live grenade and that Cleland picked it up not knowing that it was live.
Shut up, Max.
Do Not Pick Up Live Hand Grenades! Duh!
...used for third based at the Democrat annual picnic.
"Max has been used for a long time now. Kind of feel bad for the guy."
I don't. Then again, I don't feel sorry for any prostitutes, its always their choice in the end how they spend their time.
Cleland is no different than Al Gore. He just can't believe "We the People" didn't buy into his views, and now he's having public temper tantrums every time he gets the chance.
He's going to implode next week on national tv, watch and see. Liberals just can't help it any more.
It really is quite a shame that so many who wish to respond to Max's irrational diatribes feel a need to distort what really happened, and what he really did do in the war, in an effort to cut him off at the knees. Whoops - bad choice of words.
I'm not saying you felt that need, but obviously whoever came up with the version that led to your "impression" did. Kind of like Ms. Coulter claiming that Max's injuries could've occurred back home at Ft. Dix. It is an unfair characterization of what happened to him.
First, Cleland was a war hero by whatever standard you want to apply. Four days before he was wounded, he earned a Silver Star at Khe Sanh - that's right - providing medical care to wounded comrades under fire, then bringing them to safety.
His wounds occurred at an LZ a few minutes from KS, when a soldier from another unit dropped a grenade while disembarking from a chooper. Cleland saw it on the ground, picked it up, boom.
That's the deal. The only thing he did wrong was to not leave a grenade lying on the ground below his helicopter. There is no need to beat him up about what happened there, and there is no need to diminish the fact that he served ably and he gave three limbs to his country. Why not just talk about what Max is doing now, or has done recently, and lay off the BS effort to tear down his service?
Making fun of Cleland for his unfortunate accident is not appropriate. Anyone who gets injured, nomatter the circumstances, while honorably serving their country, deserves nothing but our thanks and admiration.
Open season on his political crap, nobody was happier to see his defeat for his Senate seat more then me, but it is not appropriate to mock his service to his country, which was honroable.
I feel really bad for the guy, have for a long time. I pray for him whenever I see him on TV.
Thank you very much.
I got in the same position on another thread, having to defend Cleland's war record. I got hammered by everyone.
I'll say now what I said then, open season on his political record, and his views now, but he deserves our respect and admiration for his service.
This is a very nice sentiment but in this case wrong. The way they portray this man, is to leave us thinking that he lost his limbs in some heroic action serving this country, so how dare you question anything that comes out of his mouth! I am sick of being lied to by democrats about anything. It is time to call them on all of their BS.
Exactly. He allows us to believe he was a hero, thereby diminishing the sacrifices of those who really were.
Max is a war hero in his dweeb little mind. I know some real war heros'and they never brag about their actions in combat. Humpty Dumpty, was so incompetent that he dropped and then picked up his own grenade(alcohol Involved)resulting in his now present physical condition. Max and jfk will never be the man that our President Bush is in their lifetime. Oh by the way, I am disabled myself, but so what, I still have a superior mind and attitude, unlike maxy and kerriscare.Bush/Cheney 2004
The RATs made a "hero" out of him because they don't have any real ones. Maxie's a "victim", and that's close enough to "hero" for them.
The truth is not kind or politically correct. Their was nothing I said that was false.
“When the battalion command post came under a heavy enemy rocket and mortar attack, Captain Cleland, disregarding his own safety, exposed himself to the rocket barrage as he left his covered position to administer first aid to his wounded comrades. He then assisted in moving the injured personnel to covered positions.
“Continuing to expose himself, Captain Cleland organized his men into a work party to repair the battalion communications equipment, which had been damaged by enemy fire.
“His gallant action is in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service, and reflects great credit upon himself, his unit and the United States Army.”
Except for that part about him getting blown up by dropping his own grenade. That was.
John Kerry got one too. Is he a "hero"?
I'm talking about Cleland. You said he is not a "real" hero. And my question to you is, in light of the facts recited in his Silver Star citation, why isn't he a "real" hero? What is the difference between his actions and the actions of those you consider to be "real" heroes?
As I said below, I have no issue with taking Max to task on his actions as a politician. But it seems a bit lowlife to try to play down his obviously valorous action in service to his country, simply because you take issue with his political actions later in life.
Are you saying that the grenade incident is a myth? If so, I take back what I said. I have never seen it refuted, even by Cleland himself.
That is exactly what happened. Well at least according to the vets that were with him that day in Vietnam.
The actual version of events has been well known for some time now. But there are those who like to tell the incorrect version instead, because it makes it look like Max did it to himself. Kind of like those who would say he was drunk at the time.
Name names. When you are done, I'll give you the name of the guy who dropped the grenade.
Having been an eyewitness to many acts of bravery (as opposed to heroism; I never met a single hero in 13 months) in Vietnam, I tend to take these citations with a grain of salt. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt he deserves. He showed great courage.
Here you go; Cleland is a slug
Max Cleland should stop allowing Democrats to portray him as a war hero who lost his limbs taking enemy fire on the battlefields of Vietnam.
Cleland lost three limbs in an accident during a routine noncombat mission where he was about to drink beer with friends. He saw a grenade on the ground and picked it up. He could have done that at Fort Dix. In fact, Cleland could have dropped a grenade on his foot as a National Guardsman – or what Cleland sneeringly calls "weekend warriors." Luckily for Cleland's political career and current pomposity about Bush, he happened to do it while in Vietnam.
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/anncoulter/ac20040212.shtml
Here you go; Cleland is a slug
Indeed, if Cleland had dropped a grenade on himself at Fort Dix rather than in Vietnam, he would never have been a U.S. senator in the first place.
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/anncoulter/ac20040212.shtml
Here you go; Cleland is a slug
There was no bravery involved in dropping a grenade on himself with no enemy troops in sight. That could have happened in the Texas National Guard – which Cleland denigrates while demanding his own sanctification.
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/anncoulter/ac20040212.shtml
I'm sorry - I thought you said that people who were there with him that day were telling your version of the story. I must have been mistaken.
Nope, after looking back at your post, that is what you said. Who?
Sorry, my bad!
I believe, Willie Horton was a hero to the demo-commies. They probably awarded him a silver star for his actions against unarmed females while on furlough. Compliments of Mikie Dukakis, demo-crap, Super Trooper. Bush/Cheney 2004 Keep America Free!!! Vote for President Bush.
Ok I just gave you a source, and you will not accept it. LOL! Whatever! Believe what you want to believe.
Can't you even back up your own claim? You seemed so sure of it when you made it. Surely you can come up with one measly name of a person who was there who backs up your version of events.
Try this one. Since you seem to place value on what people who were actually there - as opposed to Ann Coulter - have to say, perhaps this will be a little eye-opener:
S.C. veteran’s revelation changed a life
Batesburg-Leesville man surprised ex-senator by correcting an old war story
By CHUCK CRUMBO - Nov. 9, 2003
Staff Writer
All Steve Price remembers about an explosion on a hill in Vietnam is helping a badly wounded soldier. “There was blood all over. I thought he was dead,” said Price, who was an infantryman in the Marine Corps back in 1968.
Three decades later Price — now a 54-year-old resident of Batesburg-Leesville — learned the soldier not only survived but went on to serve as head of the Veterans Administration and a U.S. senator. The soldier was Max Cleland of Georgia. “I was aware of Max Cleland. I had seen him on TV,” said Price. “But I never had any idea it was the same person who was on the same hill where I was back in 1968.” Price concedes “it’s a pretty wild story.” But it’s also illustrative of the coincidences of life in the military, something the Midlands and the nation will reflect on when Veterans Day is celebrated Tuesday.
On April 4, 1968, Price was with the Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines. Charlie Company was opening up Route 9 going into Khe Sanh, near the demilitarized zone between the then-separate North and South Vietnams, and had secured a mountaintop.
Cleland, a captain in the Army Signal Corps, and his team flew by helicopter to the hill that Price and Charlie Company held to set up a radio relay tower. When the helicopter landed, Cleland and his soldiers jumped off and the helicopter immediately ascended. Then there was an explosion.
Price, who was digging a foxhole, thought the blast might have been an enemy mortar round. It was common for the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese to shoot at landing helicopters, Price said. This time, a soldier was severely wounded. It was Cleland and he had lost an arm and a leg. His other leg was badly mangled.
David Lloyd, one of Price’s buddies in Charlie Company, was among those who rushed to help. He applied a tourniquet to one leg. “I tightened that belt as best as I could,” Lloyd said.
Lloyd, Price and other Marines loaded the wounded captain onto a helicopter that hauled him to a field hospital. The blast was caused by a grenade that had fallen on the ground. It exploded as Cleland reached to pick it up.
For years, Cleland believed he was the one who dropped the grenade, which led to the loss of his right arm and both legs. Cleland retold the story in 1999 on a History Channel program. Lloyd, who was watching the show at his home in Annapolis, Md., picked up the phone and called Cleland’s office. The story, Lloyd said, was wrong.
Lloyd said the blast was caused by another soldier’s grenade — not Cleland’s. Lloyd said he knew because after Cleland was loaded onto the helicopter, another soldier, who had been hit by shrapnel, was crying. Lloyd tried to console the soldier, who said he had dropped the grenade. The grenade exploded when its cotter pin had fallen out, activating the explosive, said the 57-year-old Lloyd. The soldier told Lloyd that he had straightened the pins so it would be easier to pull them when he had to throw a grenade.
Lloyd’s revelation, which checked out, changed Cleland’s life, Cleland has written. For 30 years, Cleland had blamed himself for his injuries.
Lloyd later tracked down Price and told him the story about Cleland. “I remembered the incident. It stood out in my mind,” Price said. “But that was just about it.”
Disregarding your own safety to aid those who are wounded and under fire would seem to be worthy of such a citation, no matter how jaded you may be.
Cleland's military service wouldn't be an issue today had he, the Kerry Campaign, the Democrats, and the liberal media not trashed President Bush's honorable service in the 111th Fighter Interceptor Squadron.
It was they who started this who-did-what in Vietnam. It seems that they aren't man enough to finish it.
Whatever Cleland did in the military has been greatly diminished by what he's doing now.
Assuming the citation is accurate.
"[Cleland] didn't step on a land mine. He wasn't wounded in a firefight. He couldn't blame the Viet Cong or friendly fire. The Silver Star and Bronze Star medals he received only embarrassed him. He was no hero. He blew himself up." (Baltimore Sun, Oct. 24, 1999)
"Cleland was no war hero, but his sacrifice was great. ... Democratic Senate candidate Max Cleland is a victim of war, not a casualty of combat. He lost three limbs on a long-forgotten hill near Khe Sanh because of some American's mistake ..." (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Sept. 29, 1996)
From Ann Coulter's "File Under 'Omission Accomplished'" article.
Well now he's throwing grenades for Kerry. I guess that's an improvement.
Well now he's throwing grenades for Kerry. I guess that's an improvement.
Well, at least ole Max is a quick learner! But losing 3 limbs is a hard lesson to learn.
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