In Washington Irving’s book “The Life of George Washington”, the president was quoted as saying “When we assumed the Soldier, we did not lay aside the Citizen.”
The Washington Times reports this morning that, in the spirit of that quote, more veterans are choosing to run for political office this season than they have in the past. The Times highlights the campaign of Bill Russell’s run at the seat vacated by the late John Murtha’s ample ass;
Mr. Russell’s battle with the party establishment is one that many veterans face when looking to make the jump into politics, said D. Patrick Mahoney, an Iraq veteran and president of the Veterans for Congress political action committee.
Mr. Mahoney has been sharply critical of the Pennsylvania Republican leadership’s decision to pass over Mr. Russell, saying the move had less to do with qualifications than with the Republican establishment’s obsession with Mr. Burns’ wealth.
“That’s why you don’t see more veterans running for Congress. It’s so expensive,” he said. “It’s tough for veterans who have been fighting a war, stationed around the world. Veterans who come back and want to seek office — especially the recent vets — generally are not going to be the rich guys.”
Some organizations have tried to overcome that cash shortfall. VoteVets, for an example, has run such stellar candidates as party perv, Eric Massa and the unbalanced Joe Sestak. Of course, with VoteVets, they require their candidates to adhere to the agenda of MoveOn.org and embrace issues that have nothing to do with veterans.
Other organizations that focus strictly on electing veterans are emerging like Iraq Veterans for Congress and Combat Veterans for Congress. I’ve linked their endorsed candidates for your perusal.
Our buddy, Pete Hegseth, executive director of Vets For Freedom, tells the Times why so many veterans are stepping up;
Mr. Hegseth said veterans are getting into the 2010 races for many of the same reasons as other reform-minded candidates.
“Veterans are driven by the same frustrations that the public has with what is happening in Washington … the fiscal irresponsibility and the financial crisis that our country is facing,” the 29-year-old Iraq veteran told The Washington Times.
I’ve been asked why so many in the military are conservative, and it’s really quite simple; No one knows how incompetent the government is than the military – we’ve seen how absolutely worthless politicians and bureaucrats are at completing simple tasks. Veterans have a history of being competent despite the government that works against them at every turn. If you want your government reformed, veterans are the folks who can do it.
