Red State Rebels

A day of remembering

As Americans, we will never forget the bright September morning seven years ago when nearly 3,000 people died in New York City, Virginia, and Pennsylvania.

But nor will we allow free-floating fear over terrorism to cloud our judgment at the ballot box. We will not forget how the Bush-Cheney administration used 9/11 as a cynical excuse to launch an unfounded war in Iraq, a war that has now claimed 1,180 more American lives than we lost on 9/11, a war that Sen. Barack Obama opposed from the beginning, a war that has left the mastermind responsible for 9/11 at large seven years later.

The campaigns say they're taking a day off politics today, and that is fitting. Given the toxic remarks made at last week's Republican Convention, however, it's ironic that John McCain will join Obama at a celebration of community service in New York later today.

Perhaps today will be a turning point in the campaign. Perhaps for the next 55 days, the candidates will stick to the issues, tell us how they plan to govern, avoid unfounded attacks, and inspire us to a more perfect union. That would be the most fitting tribute to everyone who has died in the name of America, whether on the streets of Lower Manhattan or the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Idaho veterans stand up for Obama

Dozens of veterans and their families - perhaps 150 people total - turned out Thursday night for the Idaho Veterans for Obama kickoff at Boise's Veterans Memorial Park.

The evening was emceed by Obama organizer T.J. Thomson - who is now chair of the Idaho Veterans for Obama - and featured speeches by former Hillary Clinton state chairman and Vietnam veteran John Greenfield; former Idaho Gov. Cecil Andrus, a Korean War veteran; and U.S. Senate candidate Larry LaRocco, an Army captain in Germany during the Vietnam era. All emphasized the idea that intellect, judgment, and character - not military service - is what Americans look for in a president, and that Barack Obama is a better choice than John McCain on all those counts. Greenfield said that while all Americans honor McCain and his service, he is "110 percent" behind Obama as the wisest, most competent candidate in the race.

Thomson added that Obama has a family history of military service (his grandfather served with Gen. George Patton in World War II), that he sought membership on the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and that he introduced the Dignity for Wounded Warriors Act in the wake of the Walter Reed Hospital scandal.  (Click here to read more about Obama's stands on veterans' affairs and here to access the Veterans for Obama web page.)

Senate candidate Larry LaRocco noted that it was Larry Craig's inattention to veterans' issues that first inspired him to run for Senate, and it's an issue that keeps him going despite Craig's decision not to seek another term. Recounting his firsthand encounter with terrorism at the hands of the Baader-Meinhof gang in Germany, LaRocco - who has been endorsed by Wes Clark and Max Cleland - vowed to do his utmost to serve Idaho's active-duty military personnel and veterans. LaRocco expressed his support for increased pay and educational benefits for veterans; fully funded Tricare; more focus on treatment for traumatic brain injuries; counseling for veterans, including Guard and Reserve members; an increase in the mileage reimbursement for travel to health care appointments; and serious oversight "when it comes to sending troops into harm's way."

Others on hand for Thursday's kickoff included U.S House candidate Debbie Holmes; Marine veteran Greg Funk, who is running for the state Legislature in District 15; and state Rep. (and state Senate candidate) Nicole LeFavour, whose partner Carol Growhoski is a veteran.

New Walt Minnick campaign commercials

These will be on the air throughout the District beginning Tuesday, July 29:

Walt Minnick: Keep promises to our veterans

'You can't have him ...'

Check out this new ad from MoveOn.org and AFSCME, who are trying to get it on the air in several key states. It's been a while since I was a new mom, but I can sure identify with this woman's sentiments.

I kept waiting for her to say something like, "He hasn't met his dad yet, because my husband's been in Iraq since before our son's birth." But although that doesn't seem to be the case for this little boy, there are many families with parents who are missing huge chunks of their children's first years because of repeated tours in Iraq, and thousands of parents who won't be coming back at all. So when the GOP's candidate John McCain said last week that it's "not too important" how long we stay there ... well, I am sure that many, many young families would beg to disagree ... strongly.

Update: Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama today laid the blame for the failure to capture Osama bin Laden exactly where it belongs.

Larry Craig tries to derail GI benefits

Remind me again: Which party supports the troops? From the Huffington Post:

Mostly avoiding the political spotlight since his brush up with both the law and the bathroom stall, Sen. Larry Craig quietly created presidential campaign ripples on Tuesday by interjecting himself into the debate over a popular veterans education measure.

The Idaho Republican, who was famously made a pariah in his own party after allegedly soliciting sex in the Minneapolis airport men's room, announced that he would offer an amendment to the forthcoming Iraq war supplemental that would strip the legislation of Sen. Jim Webb's GI Bill. ... The bill is, for all intents and purposes, a non-controversial measure offering veterans who have served three years educational benefits equal to the highest tuition rates of in-state public universities. Updating an antiquated system that was implemented during World War II, Webb's legislation took more than a year to craft and currently has 57 co-sponsors.

More here.

LaRocco pitches in for veterans

Anyone who's ever caught Larry LaRocco as the guest auctioneer at an Idaho Democratic event knows that he has a real talent for it. (Remember when he drove up the bids for a roll of George W. Bush toilet paper at the '06 state convention?)

Not many Idahoans know that LaRocco has put that skill to wider - and notable - use as the volunteer auctioneer for Fisher House Foundation, a group that shelters families of military service members. According to its website, Fisher House supports military families with airline tickets and "homes away from home" that help family members remain close by when a service member must be hospitalized for illness or injury. Tonight's charity auction, in Lansdowne, Virginia, caps the Fisher House Charity Golf Tournament, an event recognized by the Department of Defense program, “America Supports You.”

By contrast, LaRocco's likely opponent this fall, Republican Jim Risch, was also back East last week to cash in at a party thrown by Washington, D.C., lobbyists Jeffrey Kimbell and Rick Murphy of R.B. Murphy & Associates, known for their work on behalf of such corporate giants as Altria (formerly Philip Morris). As a LaRocco campaign press release noted today, former congressman LaRocco’s "charity work contrasts with Risch’s favorite charity—himself."

LaRocco is a Vietnam-era vet of the U.S. Army, while Risch - three years older - somehow managed to avoid military service during that tumultuous time. Also worth noting: LaRocco has been endorsed by Gen. Wes Clark and a host of Idaho veterans.