Posted on 05/16/2009 11:15:41 AM PDT by Mount Athos
Rick Strandlof, executive director of the Colorado Veterans Alliance and the man most colleagues knew as Rick Duncan, was front and center during the 2008 political campaigns in Colorado.
He spoke at a Barack Obama veterans rally in front of the Capitol in July, co-hosted several events with then- congressional candidate Jared Polis and attacked Republican Senate candidate Bob Schaffer in a TV ad paid for by the national group Votevets.org.
And the mostly Democratic candidates he supported — looking for credibility on veterans issues and the war — lapped it up appreciatively.
Now, politicians are dealing with news that the man they believed to be a former Marine and war veteran wounded in Iraq by a roadside bomb, in fact, never served in the military — but did spend time in a mental hospital.
Many of the candidates he supported won their elections handily and now say they were defrauded as much as anyone else.
"His fraud is a slap in the face to veterans everywhere and a betrayal to us all," Rep. Polis, a Boulder Democrat, said in a written statement Thursday.
"It sounds like this man had a problem telling the truth and needs help," said Tara Trujillo, a spokeswoman for Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo.
There is little doubt that Strandlof had a remarkable ability to fool people, something aided by the fact that among his fabrications was his claim that he suffered a severe brain injury, which helped cover behavior that associates now concede was often erratic and strange.
But there were also plenty of signs during much of the time Strandlof was working on behalf of candidates for anyone watching carefully.
CVA wasn't registered as a political organization until well after the campaigns were over, and then only at the state level despite being active in federal campaigns.
And although he claimed to represent 32,000 veterans — the biggest post- 9/11 vets group in Colorado — Strandlof always showed up at events with the same small number of supporters, and there were few concrete signs he represented more than a close circle he had gathered around him.
"Nobody really fully trusted any of those numbers. . . . He had a few dozen people who were helping him out. He claimed to have a huge mailing list that no one ever saw. The VFW, the American Legion, none of those traditional veterans groups had ever heard of him," said one prominent veterans activist who worked for Democratic candidates during the campaign and who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"The veterans community was very protective over him because he had portrayed himself as a wounded veteran. This is someone who claimed spending 18 months undergoing physical rehabilitation after suffering debilitating injuries. . . . You don't go at somebody like that hard," the activist said. "Perhaps we learned a good lesson here."
Republicans say the candidates Strandlof supported are either disingenuous or incompetent.
"I think they owe the people in Colorado an apology," said Dick Wadhams, the state GOP chairman. "Somebody who took that kind of prominence in the campaign should have been vetted by the Democrats. Even if they have no idea he was a fraud, I think they bear heavy responsibility."
Strandlof did manage to fool at least one Republican.
Strandlof was on the veterans advisory board for Rep. Doug Lamborn of Colorado Springs in 2007, and he resigned, saying he didn't support the Republican administration's stance on the war.
And Wadhams, who directed Schaffer's campaign, said that Republicans missed a chance as well to uncover Strandlof, conceding that if his fraud had been revealed during the campaign, it would have "severely hurt Udall and other Democrats."
Representatives for both Udall and Polis said Strandlof didn't directly work or volunteer for either campaign.
In Udall's case, Strandlof appeared in an ad paid for by an independent political group that was legally barred from communicating or coordinating with the Democrat's campaign. (Jon Soltz, head of Votevets.org., said in a statement that his group usually checks the credentials of veterans used in ads but didn't in this case "because he was already a well-established leader of a veterans group in Colorado.")
In Polis' case, the relationship was closer. Strandlof and his group co-hosted what his staff described as "a handful" of events with Polis, including a party highlighting a "Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq" held during the Democratic National Convention.
"There is a lot of hearsay, and Rick Duncan claims he's best buddies with Jared — which is not true," said Polis spokeswoman Lara Cottingham. She said Strandlof came to the campaign offering help, and they were glad to have it.
The Polis and Udall campaigns emphasize that Strandlof was a bizarre exception to the outpouring of help they received from veterans disillusioned with Bush-era policies.
"His actions in no way reflect on the credibility of real veterans who supported Mark's campaign or on the importance of their issues," said Trujillo, Udall's spokeswoman.
According to The Associated Press, CVA's board on Wednesday night decided that the group would disband in the wake of news that Duncan was actually Stradloff.
Why would they be red faced? It’s not like it is the first time this has ever happened? Most vets who claim thing like this have been found to be frauds.
Another proof that Liberalism is a disease.
This guy is more than likely a criminal under the stolen valor act of 2005. H. R. 3352. He should be reported.
Soviet Socialist Republic of Boulder!
I wonder how many of those sitting behind Obama were Vietnam vets? Especially that guy with the hat ...
Wasn’t the guy John Skerry trot out in the 70’s a fake too?
He (search Rick Strandlof) also belonged to the “World Can’t Wait” group:
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/1006-03.htm
... that was started by the RCP (Revolutionary Communist Party):
http://zombietime.com/world_cant_wait_sf_11-2-2005/
Have the Dems found ONE real veteran since John Kerrey? Have the Dems found ONE veteran who tells the truth about his military experience since ... um ... Truman?
Looks like the same guy... Also ran a group named ‘Reno Tahoe Grand Prix Foundation’. See:
http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20060423/SPORTS/104230025
“Standlof has presented a 35-page business plan to many of the movers and shakers in Reno, and the feedback has been largely positive. Working with a venture capital group in Silicon Valley, he has secured a commitment for a $3 million purse, the largest Motorsports purse in the history of Nevada (take that, Las Vegas). He has made contact with the City of Reno to begin work on permits and cooperation from the police and fire departments. He is also working with the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority on marketing of the event. An endeavor of this magnitude takes a lot of planning and organization, but it looks as though Standlof has his ducks lined up.”
What bothers me most my friend are the real vets that followed this asshat criminal.
And his cons haven’t gone unnoticed it seems:
http://www.bestweekever.tv/2006/02/21/is-rickur-having-the-best-week-ever/
The “Grand Prix” stuff might be a double (triple?)entendre... check the comments
Well...talk about calling Captain Obvious...he IS after all, a Democrat.
What on earth does your post have to do with this subject at hand? This is about a Democrat non-soldier impersonating a soldier, a not uncommon occurrence.
Well, birds of the same feather...and mental state...flock together.
There are so many out there faking service when they did not serve or embelishing their military service that anyone using their military service for political reasons, employment reasons, or financial gain needs to be checked out. I’ve heard and read about so many military fakes over the years I think there may be more phonies than the real deals out there.
Everyone should read the book Stolen Valor, the author really points out how harmful to society these guys can be. This is not about some guy saying something at a bar to impress the ladies- or adding a little to a story for the grandson- this can be harmful when it is at this level. Posers caused a lot of problems during the Vietnam War by using their fake stories for political purposes, and many managed to even get Veterans Benefits they were not entitled to. It is much easier to check people out now and we all need to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
It really is stolen valor- stolen from those that rightfully earned it, but it can sway people politically and can cost the taxpayers and others a lot of money.
We all want to support the real Veterans, we must be careful to identify the real ones and not give our support to those that are phonies.
The Stolen Valor Act was passed in this country a few years ago, and it is a good start- but many prosecutors are not willing to go after the fakers, and the laws about this need to be tougher. I think anyone that claims military service or lies about their service should be treated the same as someone that impersonates LEO. Impersonating military personnel should be a crime.
Or most likely both.
bttt
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