Here Come Smears of Veterans: 2008 Edition

Well, it was only a matter of time. Rick Noriega, who honorably served our nation in Afghanistan, and is running against Bush-crony Senator John Cornyn, has the Republican Party of Texas trying to cast doubt on his service.

In a letter to Rick's campaign (PDF), the party asked him to sign a waiver to release all of his military records to them. It was a petty political move. A full release of records would include the names and personal information of a number of other people who want no part of a political campaign, a number of things that may compromise security, and Rick's own personal information (like social security number, etc). They knew he couldn't and wouldn't sign their waiver, and any JAG would tell him that he shouldn't. So, what we're left with is a political stunt - when he rejected their request, they could start with, "What is Rick Noriega hiding about his military record?" The Swift Boating would be on.

Rick is standing up to this, forcefully, and you should join him in slamming this slash and burn campaigning that the Texas GOP wants to engage in. Click here to join Rick's petition.

As he explains in post at VetVoice.com , Rick will release all of the records he is allowed to release, to all the people of Texas. There's a lot to be proud of in his record, and I think it will help for the people of Texas to examine it and see what a patriot he is. But, today, Rick Noriega put his foot down and refused to be bullied by political hacks who want to smear one of our great veterans, in favor of a guy who never served a day in his life, like John Cornyn.

Stand up for Rick, and for all the veterans who have answered the call of their nation again, by running for public office.

Follow Jon Soltz on Twitter: www.twitter.com/jonsoltz

Comments

[Bob Egan]

Former President Ronald Reagan - served in a non combat role. He later seems to have confused his role as an actor playing a tail gunner with the real thing.
Bob “B-1 Bob” Dornan - avoided Korean War combat duty by enrolling in college acting classes (Orange County Register article)
Jesse Ventura What? He was a SEAL in Vietnam fer' Christ's sake. Well, maybe not: http://www.cursor.org/stories/seal_or_udt.htm
Phil Gramm - avoided the draft, did not serve, four (?) student deferments
Don Nickles, Senate Minority Whip - Did not serve
Senator Richard Shelby, did not serve
Jack Kemp, did not serve (was fit enough for pro football, but "failed" the physical?)
Dan Quayle, avoided Vietnam service, got a slot in the journalism unit of the Indiana National Guard when the unit was at 150% capacity
Eliot Abrams, did not serve
Richard Perle, architect of Gulf War II, did not serve.
Mich McConnell was in the Army for about 3 weeks(I'd love top see that discharge, maybe he told)
Rudy Giuliani, did not serve
Michael Savage, did not serve
Ann Coulter, did not serve
George Will, did not serve
Bill O'Reilly, did not serve
Sean Hannity, did not serve
Bill Bennett, did not serve. Didn't want to gamble on fate?
Pat Buchanan, did not serve, lots of bar fights though.
Pat Robertson - did not serve, apparently used Daddy's connections to get off the ship in Tokyo while his buddies went on to combat in Korea. Praise the Lord!

[Bob Egan]

G.W. Bush - decided that a six-year National Guard commitment really means four years. Still says that he's "been to war." Huh? http://www.awolbush.com

VP Cheney Five(5) deferments, the last by marriage (in his own words, "had other priorities than military service"). http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ideas_opinions/s tory/82490­p-75535c.h­tml

Majority Whip Tom Delay - avoided the draft, did not serve. "So many minority youths had volunteered ... that there was literally no room for patriotic folks” like himself. Do you smell something?

Rush Limbaugh, did not serve. Was 4-F due to an anal cyst. Must have hurt. http://www.toostupidtobepresident.com/shockwave/ chickenhaw­ks.htm

Representative Saxby Chambliss, Georgia - did not serve, had a "bad knee" (yet somehow feels he has a right to attack Max Cleland's patriotism. Max doesn't have any knees.)
Attorney Gen. John Ashcroft - sought deferment to teach business ed at SW Missouri State.
Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert - avoided the draft, did not serve.
Majority Leader Dick Armey- avoided the draft, did not serve.
Trent Lott - avoided the draft, did not serve.
Karl Rove - avoided the draft, did not serve, too busy being a Republican.
Former Speaker Newt Gingrich - avoided the draft, did not serve

[ProudNeoCon]

Jon,

You would be so much convincing if you would try to protect ALL veterans, including one's on republican side. I yet to find any post where you complained against liberals trying to prevent military recruters from working, ROTC being harased on campuses or vet running a republican being called a "cold blooded killer".

That said, Rick does not have to release his service record. Unless he is planing to make his military service a cornerstone of his compaign. If he does, than it is he who puts his military record in the center of the compaign and as such it should be public.

[LeftVetPatriot]

Typical neocon nonsense.

Veterans of all and all parties are called '_______ killers' by critics and opponents across the political spectrum whether running for office or not.

The military record of any veteran running for office has no bearing on my vote but it should always be public.

[LeftVetPatriot]

any and all, k'hylk...

[ProudNeoCon]

Sounds like you agree that his military record should be public...

[elkabong]

"...Contro­l of the initiative is control of the battle. In the alley, at the poker table or in politics. One must raise. The American public chose Bush over Kerry in 2004. How, the undecided electorate rightly wondered, could one believe that Kerry would stand up for America when he could not stand up to Bush? A possible response to the Swift boat veterans would have been: "I served. He didn't. I didn't bring up the subject, but, if all George Bush has to show for his time in the Guard is a scrap of paper with some doodling on it, I say the man was a deserter."

This would have been a raise. Here the initiative has been seized, and the opponent must now fume and bluster and scream unfair. In combat, in politics, in poker, there is no certainty; there is only likelihood, and the likelihood is that aggression will prevail...­"

- David Mamet

[PierreLeClerke]

FOLLOW THE MONEY

This Sen. Cornyn is a criminal. He has been in bed for years with big Oil and the Weapons and Insurance Industry along with Big Pharma.

Follow the $ We are convinced he got careless when the arrogance of no real oversight threw caution to the wind over the last seven years.

You'll find more then a few bones buried in his back yard.

[army193]

Jon, I just signed the Petition..­.Disable Vet 1968-1969.­..(I call them all chickenshit)

[parryisle]

Recently John McCain displayed some more of his clever hypocritic duplicity by hitting upon some who he alleged had smeared Bob Dole after that disabled vet had endorsed him. Strange that McCain is not remembered ever once coming to aid of triple amputee, Max Cleland, when that hero was smeared and defeated by a candidate whose resume reads he was deferred from the war due to as high school football injury. Hey, let's face it, in the new Republican Party draft dodgers are the new American heros. Why did this happen when we remember the keynote speaker at the GOP convention in 1952, Gen. MacArthur, calling the Democrats "the modern war party." As a vet I find it utterly obscene that McCain can be so comfortable when seen with pro-war draft dodgers like Joe Lieberman (who told Judy Woodruff why he did not serve, "Of course, I would have loved to have been part of that group but I was a parent and in college. Yeah, right!!") We shall see whether McCain's status as a hero can put him in the Oval Office while a hero such as Cleland was evicted from the Senate. steve,WW2, USN

[jdm58]

John Cornyn is a blight on the Texas landscape. He is a Bush croney, and not only supports the "swift-boating" methods of his party, but also supports the destruction of artic wilderness and the Gulf in favor of oil exploration. He is against ANYTHING that comes across his desk in favor of renewable energy, healthcare reform, or ending the Iraq war (as long as he doesn't have to serve there!). Bush, Rove, Rice, and Cheney have all fund-raised for him here in the LoneStar State. The Democratic Party in Texas is vastly under-funded in comparison. You don't have to be a Texan to support the effort to rid us ALL of John Cornyn from the U.S.Senate­. Go to texdemocrats.org for more info on how to help.

[KeysDan]

Richard Nixon, then out-of-office, mentioned in an interview about military casualties, that soldiers were "expendible" and should not be a major factor in considering military options. Apparently, that mind-set continues in Republican thinking of wars as the first-line in foreign policy.

[KnoxBlues1]

And how about George W. Bush's military record? And Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rove, Wolfowitz, etc. Of course, most of them do not have any military record.
Impeach the lot of them.

[TXfemmom]

Every veteran and everyone who supports our veterans should be appalled by this.

Noriega served admirably, while all these war-mongering Republican thugs protected their butts at home.

This is an example of what they shall continue to do, and the Dems better be prepared to smack, hit, claw, and stomp them into the ground, with the use of the truth being loudly and proudly proclaimed and be willing to fight, fight, fight them with everything they have.

I am concerned that Obama's little we want to kiss and hug them and bring them into the fold is just too darned weak. We need somebody tough, bold, and ready to pound at the Republicans with everything they have, and just realize that the Republicans and their supporters hate America and shall never, ever join into a relationship which is positive with anyone who is progressive.

[coop]

Oh please, now the Hillary people are selling the talking points of the Republicans. (Democrats are weak and wanna kiss and hug the terrorists, blah blah blah).
Using intelligence and discussing issues should always be the first option. If you can't reason with people, THEN you can use increasing amounts of pressure. The last option should be to fight. Intelligence is not a weakness, stop letting the Republicans define everything.
Hillary on the other hand who believes fighting is the first option would have no choice but to fight, because "On Day One" the Republicans will be investigating her and doing everything they can to take her down. How productive would she be then?

[anelder]

Yuck, with sentiments like yours youngster we will never get the job done.

We must engage from across the aisle since we will never have a hefty majority in the house and senate and a democratic president. Our forefathers knew the danger in that. We will always - and should always - have a minority repreented. It's the extremes we must diminish in size. Is it possible you are one of those on the left?

[Liberal2]

Why don't you list some of the points on which you picture "engagement". You know, like economic policy, protecting Constitutional rights, military policy, diplomatic strategies, renewable energy, R&D funding, basic research, tax policy, deficit reduction, trade policy, healthcare, etc.

[thefringecenter]

Surprise! Republicans see veterans as scum, too dumb to avoid being shot at and not smart enough to inherit old family money. If we relied upon Republicans to fight we would all be speaking Apache.

[Waitaminute]

Whatever Noriega did in the military is more then what Cornyn did if cornyn didn't serve. Like putting on the uniform.

[specultr]

Cornyn registered for the draft during the Vietnam war and got a low number (28). But he got a student deferment somehow and didn't go because he thought "college was important.­"

[anelder]

Wearing the uniform is not a badge of perfection. That uniform is just something that most asssuredly should count as a leg up. It's not an end all.

I use senator McCain as an example. Being a brave man who gave up a lot does not make his ideas the best for this country. He has led his life with ambition and a goal for the presidency. We have to many who aspire to have that power. Not enough who like our first president are by character, and in this day aptitude, worthy of it.

[darthmaul]

Noriega isn't trumpeting his service. The point is that the Republican candidate is trying to smear Noriega's military service, when he himself has none. If I were Noriega, I'd say "I'll show you mine if you show me yours. Oh, that's right you don't have one!"

[Canukistani]

The torture party will stoop to anything in fact they already have.

[lisakaz]

They like torturing vets it seems as well. They certainly don't care if their reckless, feel-good flagrant violations of law lead to vets being tortured.

[Waitaminute]

Ask for John Cornyn's Military records!

[certainot]

most of the groundwork for previous swiftboating happened on talk radio and probably will continue. the rumors and distortions may start somewhere else but the uncontested repetition on talk radio all over the country or at the local level is needed to get it taken seriously so it can move into other media and keep going.

the way for candidates like noriega and their supporters to deal with the problem and draw attention to it may be to wave the signs and boycott relative to the LOCAL right wing talk radio station that repeats the lies and distortions that may often be directed from national party headquarters.

many local sponsors of the local limbaugh station may not know how instrumental their station has been/will be for selling this bush disaster and the next war, or the dominant part it has payed in cutting down good candidates and giving us sycophants like cornyn.

[wagonjak]

See "The Craftiness of the Right" by tristero at digby to get a wonderful factual run-down of how lies and distortions get passed up from garbage like Limpballs and Sludge to the MSM...well worth reading!

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/

[certainot]

Thanks for the link! it's a great rundown of the techniques that have made talk radio so successful as a framing and propaganda tool the last twenty years. while other media can utilize the same techniques talk radio offers several advantages-- 1)there is no real opportunity to contest or correct, 2)the repetition goes on all day, all week, all year if needed, reaching huge areas of the country where there are no alternatives on the radio during working or driving time.3) talk radio also gives time to test the excuses and rationalizations that someone like limbaugh is so good at presenting to excuse or defend the inexcusable. the listener gets a selection to choose from that bests enables their own denial and hypocrisy. the best ones trickle up to the rest of the media.

[realitytrumpsbull]

I think it broke down like this: Bush and Cheney, both oilmen, were picked to 'run' for office, and got handed the job by the people that sponsored them. Why do I make that tinfoil-hat assertion? Because if it wasn't for oil company influence on our political process, there's no way a halfwit idiot fucktard like Ted Stevens could be in public office. In a word you can call it 'corruption'.

Go beyond that, into composition and selection of forces, and the immense pressure to burn up copious amounts of diesel fuel and equipment,
and 'backdoor draft' and so forth, yessir, 2 trillion dollars and deliberately blanked-up stratemgemenity, and the whole likely story about Iraq.

My hat goes off to the guys n gals still in uniform, they do what they're told, and I support that, but I think this administration sucks goat balls, and Congress is supposed to
act as a co-equal branch of our government, here, not just Check-n-go.
I'm a firm believer in the statement that 'there is no accident', and the more dirty laundry that keeps getting dragged out into the light of day, the better. I think it's been rotten for years, the whole business, and I fully agree with what Cindy Sheehan has to say.
It'll be interesting to see what our military gets used for in the future, and where. General skinhead, on the march...do­n't just question authority, question EVERYthing­...

[deke33]

Rick's response should immediately be. I will, just as soon as Braveheart Cornyn releases his military record. What, you say, Cornyn has no military record? What did he do during the Nam War? You mean this Republican who felt no compunction about sending other people's loved ones to fight an unjust war, did not serve in his generation's war? And you want my military records?