08.03.06
Mary Beth Harrell And The Fighting Dems
Here’s the AP report on the press conference today, Texas Democrats rally to fight back at ‘cut and run’ charge:
The “Texas Fighting Dems” staged a small rally at the Sun City retirement community to support fellow Democrat Mary Beth Harrell, the wife of an Army veteran and mother of a soldier in Iraq. She is running against incumbent Republican John Carter of Round Rock in the 31st Congressional District.
With a color guard, American flags and red-white-and-blue bunting on the podium in front of a crowd about 60, the Democrats lashed out at Carter, who sent a campaign fundraising letter to his supporters last month calling Harrell a “cut and run” liberal.
It’s a pretty basic article of what went on. Unfortunately they even let Mary Beth Harrell’s opponent crank out the same lies that the press conference refuted:
“I think it is an honor that Mrs. Harrell’s son is serving his country in Iraq,” said Carter’s chief of staff, Richard Hudson, in a statement. He also criticized Harrell for supporting Pennsylvania Democratic John P. Murtha, one of the most outspoken critics of the war in Congress.
Carter believes immediate withdrawal from Iraq “sends the wrong message to our troops and the terrorists they are facing and he will continue to speak out against it. There is no substitute for victory in Iraq,” Hudson said.
That’s a straw man argument. Immediate withdrawal is not what John Murtha’s plan is or what Mary Beth Harrell is for in Iraq.
A few quotes from KEYE’s story, Six Democrats, Veterans All, Line Up In Sun City.
Harrell said she was offended by Carter’s letter. “My boy’s over in Baghdad right now,” she told the assembled crowd that braved the heat to see the line-up of hopefuls. “I would never, ever support a policy in Iraq that would squander my son’s service or embarrass my husband.”
[…]
“I think John Carter’s tactics are despicable,” Courage said. He defended the Democrats’ call for a “redeployment” of troops in Iraq by accusing the administration of not having a plan to win. “The United States cannot be the policeman for the world,” he added.
El Paso Democrat Rick Bolanos said he and three of his brothers served simultaneously in Vietnam and defended Harrell’s sacrifice as the mother of an active-duty soldier. Bolanos said Carter’s letter has united Democrats. “We’re not going to stand for that kind of behavior anymore,” Bolanos said.
I was unable to attend. If you went please comment to this post. More to come on this.