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.
Keyword...rather than "allowed" I would say "enjoyed"...I have respect for anyone who served, not the least Cleland. He should have retired gracefully, but CHOSE to do kerry's bidding as an errand, or is that errant, boy. Too sad, too bad...
FMCDH(BITS)
Waving the Cauterized Stump; OMG! Pass the barf bag.
The point was the Bush was generous to an enemy, who in turn didn't even have the decency to resign his appointed position, when he joined with Kerry and started the foam-at-mouth attack against Bush.
Tell me about it. We're almost talking circus freak here.
God, I get sick of sticking up for Cleland's military record, but again, I am forced to.
He was NOT DRUNK. He WAS planning on going out for a drink, but ended up not doing so because he got his legs blown off. Also, another soldier dropped the granade, after having flattoned the pin so it would come out easier. Cleland picked it up so a copter wouldn't land on it and set it off, not knowing the pin had fallen out.
If you feel as if you must persist at ridiculing him on how he got his injuries instead of his ridicule worthy public service record and shameless self serving whining since his defeat, then I challenge you to give me ONE PIECE OF PROOF that your version of the story is right and mine is wrong.
This isn't hard. Max Cleland Military Record = Good and praiseworthy. Max Cleland's Senate record and whining after defeat = Bad and pathetic respectively.
Speaks volumes about both men.
No. It's his acting like a victim while taking orders from Kerry that makes people forget his history and learn much more about Kerry.
He makes himself currently un-honorable.
His gratitude for Bush's appoinment says a lot about the sensitivity and integrity of every crapweasel dem! If they weren't all lying scumbags, a better approach might have been for Kerry to call off one of his attack ads as a sign of good faith.
Applause for your post! I totally agree. It is incredibly sad that someone like Max Cleland has allowed himself to be used as a prop, to become so embittered that he cannot see reality, and to expose his Senate record as a leftist's joke, but those are his choices, NOT the injuries he got in the military. Let's focus on the stuff that counts.
Max Cleland is a HYPOCRITE!
He was smearing Bush in early Feb 2004.
See an article by Ann Coulter... http://www2.swiftvets.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=5428
http://www.anncoulter.com/columns/2004/021104e.htm
"On "Hardball" Monday night, Cleland demanded to see Bush's pay stubs for the disputed period of time, May 1972 to May 1973. "If he was getting paid for his weekend warrior work," Cleland said, "he should have some pay stubs to show it.""
OMG. . .was not ready for that 'funny shot'. . .LOL for sure.
I thought a helicopter tire blew while he was working on it--am I thinking of someone else?
Just like Ronny Reagan, Jr. How pathetic.
As the Aussies might put it, he's a wank!
He's becoming smaller with age. Sort of an ADA version of Jimmy Carter.
"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."
How do you "accidentally" pick up a grenade? To me, Max Cleland is either (a) a clumsy, stupid buffoon or (b) a hero.
My answer is (a).
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