Yesterday, Lieutenant Colonel Rick Noriega released his military records, detailing 27 years of proud service in the Army National Guard. I'm sure that even as I write this, the hatchet men of John Cornyn, Colonel Noriega's Republican opponent in this November's Texas Senate race, are combing through his records in a futile effort to smear an American hero who has served his country honorably at home, and abroad in Afghanistan.
Cornyn won't find anything he can use against Noriega, though, so it's clear what he intends to do instead: mark my words, John Cornyn is going to wage a war against our men and women in uniform. In fact, Cornyn's campaign has already started. His spokesman yesterday accused Noriega's many vet supporters of being "pawns" in this campaign, implying that they lacked the ability to make up their own minds.
It's one thing to attack your opponent -- that's what Noriega signed up for when he entered this race. But to attack our heroic veterans and our brave men and women in uniform is really just too much.
The veterans who Cornyn is insulting are men and women who have forgotten more about honor than John Cornyn will ever know. It is outrageous that a man who dodged the draft back in 1971 dares to attack the integrity of men and women who have served honorably.
I call on Mr. Cornyn to disavow his campaign's insulting reference, and to apologize to our troops and veterans. Chicken hawks like Cornyn sit on their perches, far away from danger, but they have no idea what troops go through.
I guess that's why he's consistently voted against giving us the equipment and training that we need to succeed in the field, and seems to have no problem insulting the honor of our men and women in uniform. He's out of touch, out of line, and frankly, Texans deserve better.
In the meantime, John Cornyn should know that he's got a fight on his hands. He's stirred up a hornet's nest of trouble with veterans like myself, Jon Soltz, and many, many others.
I guess it's a sign of how afraid Cornyn is that it's only February and he's already going negative against his opponent. On this one score, I agree with John Cornyn. He should be afraid.
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