Posted on 04/05/2006 8:44:52 PM PDT by FairOpinion
With issues such as the Iraq war and terrorism ranking as high priorities for most voters, Democratic officials have spent much of the past two weeks trying to persuade the press and the public that they are better-equipped to deal with national security and military veterans than the Bush administration and the Republican Party.
The newest effort to burnish the party’s credentials on these issues came Wednesday, when the Democratic National Committee (DNC) announced the establishment of a veterans council — designed to foster a closer political relationship between the Democratic Party, military veterans and their families.
The effort, known formally as the Democratic National Veterans and Military Families Council, was announced in a conference call by DNC Chairman Howard Dean. He said the group would “play an important coordinating role in our effort to support veterans, reach out to veterans, and to connect the Democratic Party with a group of people that we support but the administration doesn’t.”
“We’re very much looking forward to working in a much more organized way with the veterans community and with the active armed forces,” Dean said of the council, which will be co-chaired by Don Fowler, a former DNC chairman, and retired Army Lt. Gen. Claudia Kennedy.
Fowler said one of the goals of the council is to “assert, in the most positive terms, that Democrats and the Democratic Party supports a strong national security policy.”
Fowler added that an effort will be made to organize veterans in all 50 states to support the Democratic Party, citing a desire to “build a base to elect not only veterans who are Democrats, but Democrats who are in harmony with all of these goals.”
About 30 military veterans from across the nation are serving as regional members of the council. One of them is Jim Rassmann: He served in Vietnam with 2004 Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, and garnered national attention after crediting Kerry with saving his life during combat action in the Mekong Delta.
The council also will promote the campaign efforts of the several dozen Democratic candidates for office who are military veterans. The DNC introduced a new Web site, “Fighting Dems,” that lists candidates who meet this criterion.
Many of them are rookie politicians who face long odds in their races, and they risk becoming typecast as “single-issue” candidates whose military background will overshadow their stances on other important policy issues.
But Democratic officials emphasized that the candidates will be able to speak with authority on issues beyond the Iraq war and veterans’ concerns.
“These Democratic veterans, they are not single-issue candidates,” said retired Gen. Wesley K. Clark, who was a 2004 Democratic presidential contender along with Dean and Kerry. “They’ve got a lot of life experience, and many of them have had other professions after they came out of the military service. So they bring a wide range of perspectives into their campaigns.”
Also joining the call was Andrew Horne, a Marine Corps veteran and a practicing lawyer who is challenging Republican Rep. Anne M. Northup in Kentucky’s Louisville-centered 3rd District.
Horne, who returned from serving in Iraq about a year ago, said that he would also heavily emphasize health care issues and the “need to refocus on the needs of all Americans, not just the privileged few.”
Horne also challenged the perception that the military has a Republican lean. “To a certain extent, this whole idea that people in the military are Republican is a Republican talking point that you guys have bought hook, line and sinker,” Horne challenged reporters.
Horne’s race is one of the most competitive involving a Democratic military veteran, though he would need to defeat newspaper publisher John Yarmuth and two other Democrats in the May 16 primary to earn a shot against Northup.
This latest effort to burnish the Democratic Party’s bona fides on national security drew a scoffing response from Republican officials.
Josh Holmes, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee (RNC), said, “It is kind of unfortunate that it takes the approaching election for Democrats to feel like they need to sharpen their focus on national security issues.”
Holmes said the Democrats’ effort is a “relatively new push” that contrasts with the RNC’s more well-developed effort. “For us, veterans and military families in general have always have been an incredibly important group for the Republican Party and supporters of the Republican Party,” Holmes said.
President Bush said in late February — and Holmes also emphasized — that the administration’s fiscal 2007 budget represents a 75 percent increase in veterans’ programs since Bush took office.
“President Bush and Republicans have a very strong record supporting veterans and veterans’ families, and a very strong record in supporting our security, our military and our armed forces as they continue to fight the war on terror,” Holmes said.
Another article in AirForceTimes: Democrats form veterans’ council(link only due to copyright complaint)
They are shameless. They are trying to use our fighting military men and women for their political purposes and election year politics.
Your superb cartoon is an excellent illustration to this article. Thanks!
...or "Why Increased Veteran's Healthcare Benefits Are Important to National Security"...
"About 30 military veterans from across the nation are serving as regional members of the council. One of them is Jim Rassmann: He served in Vietnam with 2004 Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, and garnered national attention after crediting Kerry with saving his life during combat action in the Mekong Delta. "
Shameless Democrats and Kerry PING.
Jim Rassmann is the one that fell off the Boat when Kerry ran away from the action.
He has probably been bugging Kerry for a job since 2004...
I bet Kerry promised all of the men that stood up for his traitorous butt, jobs in his "Administration"...
BUT, since he lost..he has no work for them...so he probably begged Dean to take him off his hands....LOL
Army Lt. Gen. Claudia Kennedy
Now there's a ton of combat and national security experience. What a great advisor to the top DNC warrior, Govenor Dean.
He put his life in danger before he saved it ... what a guy!
Lifelong Independent Voter AND a Viet Nam Vet
helping the Republican Party, again,
just like on Nov 2 2004 PING
Kerry Chides Bush For 'Fear And Smear' On Veterans Day
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1520730/posts
Shame on you, Senator Kerry
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1520737/posts
Honorable Viet Nam Vet's
ALWAYS do what's best for their country,
including calling for the outing a of traitor
in the US Senate.
Honorable Viet Nam Vet's
do what's needed to protect President Bush
from attacks from the traitor and his followers.
There is no need to impeach Hanoi Kerry from the US Senate
He is there illegally!
WAKEUP AMERICA!
For those who "forgot" what Hanoi Kerry
did in the past read on and learn the truth.
Hanoi Kerry was still a USNR officer while he:
gave false hearsay testimony to Congress
negotiated with the enemy
helped the US lose a war
abetted in the deaths of millions
created a hostile environment for all servicemen
Why is Kerry still in the US Senate?
This is in violation of
U.S. Constitution Amendment 14 Sec 3 (1868)
Section 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress,
or elector of President and Vice President,
or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States,
or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath,
as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States,
or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer
of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States,
shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same,
or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.
But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.amendmentxiv.html
VA BUDGET FY 2001 $48 Billion
VA BUGET FY 2007 $80 Billion
Nuff said....
As for shameless; these Demrats make 'grave-robbers' look respectable.
Democrats in the military
Naval Academy graduates work to create gay alumni chapter
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1017290/posts
Just what we need more of this/s
Memorial for gay veterans in works
http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3b00fcc557ac.htm
BTTT
And aren't there five different published accounts of Rassmann's Vietnam story, all told by Rassmann himself? Geez. You'd think a profound moment like that would be seared...seared...in his memory. (I didn't know that Kerry had been in Vietnam, as well.)
Oh..NOW the Dems care about us soldiers... How touching.. How low brow, how shameless, and full of lies and contempt.
Yet many current vetrens are running this year AS REPUBLICANS. An article on this even appeared in the Army Times a few months ago. Trust me, if the Times knew there were veterans running as leftists, it would have made front page "news", not page 30 news like the conservative veterans.
And the national socialist left supports the troops huh?
Left explains how they will kill US soldiers (Yes right from INDYBAY's OWN SITE)
http://www.indybay.org/uploads/military_targets_in_the_usa.pdf
Left “supports the troops”
http://homepage.mac.com/cfj/.Pictures/shoot-officers-sf-031503.jpg
And More:
http://www.zombietime.com
PING
How anyone could serve more than 5 minutes in the military and think liberals have the right answers, is beyond me!
Tonk, the FBI files re: John Kerry and the VVAW indicate that leaders of the VVAW met with Soviet KGB agents assigned to Washington DC and passed military intel to their Communist brothers.
It is on my about me page.
Al Hubbard, a leader of the VVAW briefed the NV, Soviets and other communist countries concerning “Electronic Battlefield Vietnam” as to tactics, methods and equipment which put US troops at extreme risk.
http://www.freerepublic.com/~stockpirate/
Newsweek reported that more than $28,000 in illegal contributions were funneled into the campaign of then President Bill Clinton and Kerry, and that "the contributions came out of $300,00 in overseas wire transfers sent on orders from the chief of the Chinese military intelligence - and routed through a Hong Kong bank account controlled by Liu Chaohying."
CLICK THE PIC presentation of its allegations of war crimes committed continuously by American soldiers. Eman Ahmed Khammas spoke for nearly an hour, talking about all the people (all innocent, of course) who were killed, maimed and/or widowed by the American occupiers. Heads nodded all through the room as Khammas told of American snipers perched in mosque minarets, picking off Iraqi civilians and children. She told of Iraqi prisoners being dragged to death by American soldiers, of torture... that prisoners had told her that electric drills were used to drill holes in their bodies, (all together now...) by American soldiers. Eman said that all Iraqi prisoners were tortured... by American soldiers. Whole towns were target and destroyed, on purpose, by American soldiers...
-DCFReeper tgslTakoma
Still shots:
http://community.webshots.com/photo/549055079/2445349380034825999PptwaO
Video:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6599057591689504914
Interview:
http://www.motherspeak.org/intervs/eman.html
>>>He said the group would “play an important coordinating role in our effort to support veterans, reach out to veterans, and to connect the Democratic Party with a group of people that we support but the administration doesn’t.”
????
Veterans groups are suppose to be nonpolitical.
The Victory Fund financial cofounded by David Mixner.
http://www.victoryfund.org/clientuploads/documents/Victory_2003_E-Resolution.pdf
Page 25 specifically says The Gay & Lesbian Fund provides financial support to openly lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender candidates and officials.
TRANSLATION: "We're going to slash defense spending in order to increase social handouts."
>>>>Tonk, the FBI files re: John Kerry and the VVAW indicate that leaders of the VVAW met with Soviet KGB agents assigned to Washington DC and passed military intel to their Communist brothers.
Don't forget, CLINTON did also!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1507094/posts
Gorbachev Praise-a-thon on CSPAN2
>>>Clinton admitting to being in USSR in 1969 or 1970.<<<
Well done!
These people will get their due. Bunch of dangerous idiots. And something has gone wrong in Murtha's head. What. Heaven only knows.
Yeah, Gore/Lieberman were trying to throw out Florida military ballots (from USS Cole Survivors-no less) in 2000 because of a Republican talking point.
The Democrats might want to start by not calling our military personnel terrorists and comparing them to Nazi death camp guards.
bump for later.
>>>He said the group would “play an important coordinating role in our effort to support veterans, reach out to veterans, and to connect the Democratic Party with a group of people that we support but the administration doesn’t.”
Military Basepay:
FY2001 E-7 over 16 years $2607
FY2006 E-7 over 16 years $3435
Thanks for the ping!
bump
Thank you!
Now, will you call Murtha and the dems and tell them they're done?
; )
They will only be done if we can fix the voter fraud. The checks and balances for that is suppose to be congressional oversight.
Amen, brother!
The fact that a gang of traitors once found themselves in uniform, doesn't make me any more likely to support said traitors now.
Thats the way the stinkin' commie demonratz'll take your back!
Let's call 'em on it.
ping
BTTT
Thanks for the ping. The DNC is missing it big time with this issue. It's not Repub or Dem, it's conservative or liberal and our military will never be liberal. I hope they waste a lot of dollars on this push because it's not gonna work for them.
True enough.
And I hope the RNC will work with the DNC to make certain our military gets to vote this time.
RIGHT~ I felt SO SUPPORTED in Democratic Liberal Seattle when my husband was deployed.
SOOOO SUPPORTED (/sarc)
They all "support the troops", ya know...WELL WHAT ABOUT US? Weren't WE (my husband and my family) "THE TROOPS"...
Nope, no support, none!
Here is Seattle the PTA from a local High School is trying to BAN military recruiters from the School (and ANY public place if they have their way)...
Yep, those democrats in Seattle are pretty darn supportive...just as "them".
Lemesee ... anytime there was a DemocRATic Pres when I was in the service we got - LESS PAY, and more crap. When Slick Willie was in office we had a much harder time getting supplies, and had a really tough time keeping our aircraft airborne due to lack of parts. Oh yeah ... AND LESS PAY!
And to pick Wesley Clark, who was fired from his Army job by his boss for questionable conduct - NOW THERES A STERLING CHARACTER TO REPRESENT MAINSTREAM AMERICAN VETS!
WHAT A LOAD OF HORSE SH*T!
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