Posted on 04/15/2005 11:37:43 AM PDT by Impeach98
(SACRAMENTO) – Move America Forward (website: www.MoveAmericaForward.org) is calling upon Senate Democrat Leader, Harry Reid, to apologize to a retired Air Force veteran who was told off by Reid’s Chief of Staff after the private citizen wrote to Reid’s office in support of the nomination of John Bolton to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.
Retired Air Force veteran, Cory S. Estes, was scolded in an email by Democrat Leader Reid’s Chief of Staff, Susan McCue, who told Estes, “to get off your extreme partisan puppetry and think this through,” in response to Estes’ email to Reid’s office in support of Bolton’s confirmation.
Reid’s Chief of Staff also told Estes, who says he served in the United States Air Force for 20 years, to, “stop and think about what you as an individual can proactively do to protect this great nation.”
When Estes responded to the insult-laden email from Reid’s office, Estes’ email was deleted without being read according to the Read-Receipt received by Estes. In that email Estes explained, “I proudly and honorably served in the US Air Force for more than 20 years. I think I can very safely say that I have not just stopped and thought, I have proactively given a large part of my life to the protection of this great nation.”
Estes was furthermore insulted by Reid’s Chief of Staff who accused Estes of, “Name-calling at the behest of the rich republican propaganda machinery…”
The tongue lashing from Reid’s Chief of Staff came in response to an email from Cory Estes, a resident of Bucyrus, Ohio.
Estes wrote a short email in support of John Bolton’s nomination to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations after Move America Forward asked its members to contact Reid’s office to not only state support for Bolton’s nomination but to request that Reid not engineer a Democrat-led smear campaign against Bolton during his confirmation hearings. Senator Reid has obviously rejected the pleas not to smear Bolton.
“We have witnessed the character assassinations of Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, and Supreme Court nominees Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas. We wanted our supporters to communicate to Senate Democrat Leader Reid that we didn’t want the same despicable act of character assassination to be used against John Bolton,” said Melanie Morgan, Co-Chair of Move America Forward.
Estes forwarded his email exchange to Move America Forward, explaining that he “didn't appreciate being treated so rudely” by Senator Reid’s office.
“Senator Reid owes this twenty-year veteran of our Armed Services a swift and sincere apology. We also call upon Minority Leader Reid to take disciplinary action against his Chief of Staff to set an example that this kind of hostile and unprofessional conduct against private citizens will not be tolerated,” Morgan said.
“Our elected officials and their staffs are employed by the citizens of this nation who pay their salary. Senator Harry Reid is supposed to answer to and serve the public, but his office apparently thinks it works the other way around. This has the chilling effect of telling the public to shut up and keep their views to themselves,” said Melanie Morgan, Co-Chair of Move America Forward.
“Is it any wonder that more and more Americans are turned off by the political process?” Morgan asked.
Senator Reid appears to be the architect of the anti-John Bolton smear effort being conducted by Democrat members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. According to the April 10, 2005 edition of Time Magazine, Reid is also considering an effort to block Bolton’s nomination through filibustering.
[Reid] was considering expanding the filibuster threat to include Bush's pick to be U.N. Ambassador, John Bolton, whose confirmation hearings begin this week. "We might filibuster him," Reid told TIME. (Source: Time Magazine, 4/10/2005)
“It’s clear that Democrat Leader Reid is willing to use any and every shameful tactic to dishonor John Bolton. What’s so disturbing is to see him also willing to dishonor those Americans who have given so much service to our country, but who dare to support John Bolton,” Morgan concluded.
However, I am posting this thread with the release from Move America Forward because I think it highlights the fundamental points:
1) Senator Reid's Chief of Staff is employed by Mr. Estes - but they seem to think it's the other way around.
2) Our political class and the media lament the public's lack of engagement in the political process, but this shows the chilling effect of a Senator's office telling a citizen off.
3) It was clear that "damn the facts" the Democrat Leader was going to tank Bolton's nomination if he could from the get go, and they didn't want any citizen input to get in the way of that.
Partisan puppets... has a certain ring to it.
The shocking thing about this is that the offending party is the CHIEF of STAFF to Harry Reid. This isn't some low level flunky, but the head person.
If this is the temperment of these people, no wonder they spend all of their time trying to frustrate any progress.
Unfortunately, John Bolton's appointment to the United Nations is one of the important things we need to accomplish for purposes of assuring American security.
I hope Reid has the character to fire his Chief of Staff and get someone in there who has American interests first and the understanding that they work for the people, not the other way around.
Patches Kennedy's office has been insulting, laughing at, and hanging up on me for years.
This is news?
The news is they now don't care if their caught - so their willing to put it in writing! :)
You mean it wasn't one of Harry's kids working for him?
Needs 3 ps for a really effective alliteration. Pusillanimous partisan puppets. Now THAT has a ring to it.</p>
Reid’s Chief of Staff also told Estes, who says he served in the United States Air Force for 20 years, to, “stop and think about what you as an individual can proactively do to protect this great nation.”
When Estes responded to the insult-laden email from Reid’s office, Estes’ email was deleted without being read according to the Read-Receipt received by Estes. In that email Estes explained, “I proudly and honorably served in the US Air Force for more than 20 years. I think I can very safely say that I have not just stopped and thought, I have proactively given a large part of my life to the protection of this great nation.”
No, and not Boxer's family members either :P
It's news if you don't do anything about it. Call the talk shows. Write letters to the papers.
Such as people who wear yellow (unbeknownst to them - knockoff) "Live Strong" arm bands and put yellow "support our troops" ribbon stickers and "Kerry/Edwards" bumper stickers on their SUVs?
Is Reid a veteran his own self? Just wondering. If so he should know better.
and these are the people who are saying that John Bolton has a "bad management style?" Good lord.
There is probably one major flaw in your thinking.
You are assuming that these liberal jerks in Washington consider 20 years of loyal service in the United States Air Force a good thing.
Remember the hateful attitude that Queen Hillary displayed to the military personnel that work in the White House.
There is a generation of these people that think freedom comes from peace marches and don't recognize that America's military might and our priciples of freedom are the twins of our security.
Terrific point!
too many americans being turned off by the political process and accepting the status quo is what has got us in the mess we're in right now. If people truly cared about what it meant to VOTE and be a citizen, we wouldn't have all these leftists on the democratic side and money hungry gasbags on the right who are neither one concerned for the american public.
Well I think that Mr. Estes serves as a sterling example. 20+ years service to his country via the Air Force, and active engagement in the political process including writing to the Senate Democrat Leader regarding the nomination of U.S. Ambassador to the UN
Thank you.
Mr. Estes certainly does. If you'll noticed, I quoted a mr. Morgan, not Mr. Estes.
"I quoted a mr. Morgan"
That would be Melanie Morgan of Move America Forward (see top of this page)
right, right. Melanie Morgan. Her first name only comes up once in the thing, had to re read it a couple times to find it. Male or female, my point still stands. Morgan's quote was the focus of my post, not the stellar citizenship of Mr. Estes
She got a lot of acclaim out here in CA for being the "Mother of the Recall" when she jump started the campaign on her radio show on KSFO San Francisco in a discussion with former CRP Chairman, Shawn Steel. It was a historic campaign - first recall of a statewide elected official in California history.
The idea was picked up by Eric Hogue of a Sacramento radio station and Messrs. Kaloogian and Costa ran the initial committees.
If only we had gotten State Senator Tom McClintock as the replacement of Gray Davis.
as a former californian with family still there I can agree with you on that point. McClintock was the best choice.
Good for her that she is trying to get people back involved in the political process. If more people were as involved as Mr. Estes this country wouldn't be in the shape its in today.
To be honest, I'm surprised that a guy from Ohio got any kind of response from Reid's staff at all. I've always gone under the assumption that Congressmen and Senators typically just completely ignored mail coming from outside their electoral districts.
I sent Susan McCue an e-mail. Should I have capitalized "cow"?
With the email subject line with Bolton in it, coming just as Reid's office was orchestrating the 'stop Bolton' effort, I'm sure the Chief of Staff was especially sensitive to what the email was all about, if for no other reason than to wonder how it is that people would be emailing them around the time they were putting together their strategy to have a united Democrat Party front against Bolton.
Well since she didn't spell "constitutional" correctly I am sure she will tolerate the lack of capital letters - especially if it was used as part of a term of endearment, which I am sure was your intent ;)
-----Original Message-----
From: Cory XXXXX@columbus.rr.com
To: Anderson, Kai (Reid) Kai_Anderson@reid.senate.gov; Hafen, Tessa (Reid) Tessa_Hafen@reid.senate.gov; McCue, Susan (Reid) - Susan_McCue@reid.senate.gov; McCallum, David (Reid) David_McCallum@reid.senate.gov
Sent: Thu Mar 17 09:05:17 2005
Subject: Bolton Nomination
Bolton is the best possible person for the job of U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Senator Reid needs to get off of his extreme partisan horse, quit playing political games, and get back to representing his state in the Senate.
Cory S. Estes
Bucyrus, Ohio
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
That email from Mr. Estes, elicited this response from Democrat Leader Reid’s Chief of Staff, Susan McCue:
----- Original Message -----
From: McCue, Susan (Reid) - Susan_McCue@reid.senate.gov
To: XXXXX@columbus.rr.com
Sent: Thursday, March 17, 2005 9:33 AM
Subject: Re: Bolton Nomination
And you, cory, need to get off your extreme partisan puppetry and think this through. Blame the UN for the world’s ills if it makes you feel better. But maybe you should stop and think about what you as an individual can proactively do to protect this great nation. Name-calling at the behest of the rich republican propaganda machinery isn’t it. Supporting our two-party constitional democracy is.
You provoked me into doing so! Thanks.
Wow. Now that takes some gall...
Liberal Dems are like Roaches, you step on one, they just run out another one. We need the Orkin man.
That's the Melanie Morgan I am getting E-mails from? Admin Moderator, will you please erase that picture before my wife sees it and bans me from my computer.
Isn't that what Tom DeLay's job is? To kill the pests in the House and Senate?
Some more pics to hid from your wife:
...
Melanie Morgan with Congressman Tom Tancredo and MAF Co-Chair, Howard Kaloogian
...
Above Right: Morgan Leads Pro-Troop Candlelight Vigil Supporters
Melanie Morgan and Rush Limbaugh
This is typically the same response I get from Boxer's office too. I've gotten much better responses from her local office here in San Diego. At least they don't talk back .. which means I usually leave them speechless.
Anyway .. after Rush Limbaugh's EXPOSE' of Reid on his web site yesterday - and which may remain during the whole weekend - I wonder if Dingy Harry was a little testy yesterday and it was rubbing off on his staff.
LOL *bump*
"Puppets" has two of its own right ;-)
HEY!! Say it don't spray it.
Yah. Perhaps we can start using "Partisian Puppet Dittos" when we call in to Rush ;-)
This sort of activity is routine for the Reid regime!
His office has been this way for many years, I will never forget or forgive his staff TWICE hanging up on me when I tried to argue for the Black Rock Desert to NOT be made into an "NCA & Wilderness" area.
It appears that he hires punks from the Bravo-Sierra Club, and they have no qualms about hanging up on anyone who does not share THEIR views.
To rub salt in the wound, once the issue has been settled, they will send the opposition letters thanking them for SUPPORTING the issue they opposed!
Sierra Harry Reid, the caricature of a bad politician come to life.
INTREP
I occasionally send things off to Senators and Congressmen (my own) but in this case wrote to Reid's office because he, as the Minority Leader, is in a leadership position. Otherwise Nevada can have him. When I saw a reply in my Inbox I was surprised but expected to see the typical "Thank you for contacting Senator Wahwah, he has been informed of your message and will make a decision based on......." type of thing. I was shocked to see what was there and was angry but used lots of control so as not to respond in the same tone. At the time I did not know Ms. McCue was the Chief of Staff but felt her response was out of line. Now that I know her position in Senator Reid's office I have much stronger feelings. Alas, they are for naught... these long-timers in Washington get there, stay there, and very quickly become immersed in the narrow little DC world of power. They lose all touch with the reality of life in the rest of the country, the REAL USA. This goes deeper than a staffer being rude or a veteran being insulted. This is indicative of the arrogance that lives and breeds like a virus in the halls of OUR government. I believe the Founding Fathers of two hundred years ago would be shocked and dismayed to see how things have evolved.
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