Posted on 08/26/2004 3:57:25 PM PDT by .cnI redruM
Max Cleland suffered terribly when he went to fight in Vietnam. He accidently picked up a live grenade and suffered mutilation. This was tragic and I genuinely feel sorry that he is confined to a wheelchair the rest of his life.
Another sorry thing occurred when Cleland served in the US Senate. He went along with Tom Daschele's directions and voted against the formation of The Department of Homeland Security under President Bush's terms and conditions. This cost him his Senate Seat because his opponent hammered him on this particular vote and a very large number of Georgians agreed it was not a good decision.
If Max Cleland had ended it there and found a nice happy place to retire from politics, I could only congratulate the man for A) Serving his country, B) Overcoming a tragic physical disability to win a seat in the US Senate. Max Cleland had the opportunity to go out of politics a true role-model.
Unfortunately, Cleland felt embittered by his defeat. He accused his opponent Saxby Chambliss of having ridiculed his patriotism. No Max, Chambliss ridiculed your decision making. He was calling you misguided, rather than treasonous. Terry MacLow-life and a host of other embarrassed Democrats jumped on his bandwagon and spent a lot of time and hot air claiming they lost Election 2002 because a bunch of mean Republicans called them unpatriotic.
Even at this point, Cleland could have shrugged and walked away. His bitterness right after a painful election defeat could be easily forgiven. Other Democratic politicians behaved far worse than Cleland had during the 2002 Election. Cleland would still have left politics a positive and likeable figure.
Cleland's true loss of respect occurred because he allowed his service to his country to be used by John Kerry as a prop for a cynical and cheap campaign stunt. Cleland was enlisted by Senator Kerry to deliver a personal letter from Senator Kerry to President Bush that called on President Bush to stop the Swift Boat Veterans For Truth from airing ads that attacked John Kerry's service as a naval officer in Vietnam. This was done publicly at President Bush's ranch at Crawford, Texas. The media was invited and strongly encouraged to attend.
The letter is nothing more than a cheap publicity stunt on several levels.
A) President Bush has no authority to curtail these ads. Swift Boat Veterans For Truth is an unregulated 527 corporation. They are one of the misbegotten offspring of the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Act.
MoveOn.Org is another such scurrious offspring. These people question President Bush's service record during the Vietnam War and they also produce ads that equate our current president with former German Chancellor Adolf Hitler. I find it uniquely curious that none of the concerned senators signing the letter to President Bush has dispatched Currier Cleland, missive in hand, to one of John Kerry's palatial manses to demand that he make them also cease and desist.
B) If John Kerry took serious offence to the SwiftVet ads and was about to throw the gauntlet down to George W. Bush and demand that they meet at high noon with the pearl-handled six-shooters, he would display far more gravitas if he delivered the letter without inviting his media fan club along for the ride. If these ads were truly the causus bellum for a personal grievance between the two men, gentlemen would handle that, well, personally. Dan Rather would be forced to look elsewhere for his nightly propaganda points.
C) Former Senator Cleland was met by two supporters of George W. Bush who offered to convey the letter onward to President Bush. They also offered him a letter to carry back to his principle, John F. Kerry. Cleland would not deign to deliver his letter to anyone other than George W. Bush himself, and refused to carry any letter back. Hopefully, if elected, John Kerry will keep this pathetic performance in mind before placing Max Cleland in charge of the postal service.
Max Cleland has allowed himself to be used as a tool by a cynical, pathetic politician. Waving the bloody shirt has given way to displaying the cauterized stump. Senator Kerry could truly care less about the dignity and honor of Max Cleland, or for that matter of any other soldier present, past or future. Max Cleland should feel embarrassed he ever chose to be a part of this farcifal display.
A $136,000 Link Max Cleland, Bush political appointee.
Max Cleland, who made a staged appearance at the Bush ranch Wednesday, was appointed by President George W. Bush to the board of directors of the Export-Import Bank in 2003. The same Max Cleland who is spending nearly all of his time attacking President Bush is, amazingly enough, a Bush political appointee.
According to a bank spokesman, Cleland makes $136,000 a year off this very cushy job. A couple of questions come to mind here: If Cleland had any decency, wouldn't he resign? Why would he accept a political appointment from a man he so loathes and thinks represents the very worst in American politics? Max Cleland's extremely partisan activities are being subsidized by the American taxpayer.
But, wait, it gets more sinister. There is now a definitive link between President Bush and the attacks against him. This link is as direct as most of the links that have been highlighted between Bush and the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth: Bush gave a $136,000 job to one of his attackers and a key member of Kerry's "band of brothers." By the logic of most of the press corps, this means George W. Bush must be responsible for the activities of Kerry campaign's band of brothers (see this chart). Who knows what deep game is being played here, but somebody should call the New York Times.
This makes sense? Give me a break! He intentionally picked it up. It accidentally went off. Big difference in making Ol' Max look like a victim, or the victim of his own actions.
Figuratively speaking...
He was drunk and fooling around when he picked up the grenade. This is why no purple heart.
What is GA Jimmy saying about all this?
It is ironic that Kerry sends a man with multiple limbs missing who has no purple heart to deliver a letter to Bush, when Kerry is athletic, able and has THREE purple hearts.
The story I read was that it was his grenade that fell out of his pack when he was getting out of a helicopter. He did pick it up I guess, after he dropped it.
It has not been proven that he was drunk. The grenade however was not from the enemy as there was no combat. that's why no PH
Correct.
Guess what guys? The Swift Vets are back :)!
http://orsa.blogspot.com/2004/08/swift-boat-vets-torpedo-kerry-again.html
My point was that he didn't ACCIDENTALLY pick it up. Max has been handled with kid gloves. See #8.
Exactly. Pathetic ain't it. I wish he had more respect for himself.
Wonder what kind of Drugs Ol' Max is on. He is not even a lacky--He is stage prop for the Demoncrats.
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