Randy "Duke" Cunningham. Self proclaimed war hero.

http://dukecunningham.org/vietnam.html

How about some "Swiftboat" action here?

find this post offensive and just as evil as the repubs...

He's a crook for certain..but let's not sink to their level.

Cunningham account of vulgar gesture disputed
Congressman says he was returning behavior of heckler
Source: San Diego Union-Tribune. 9 September 1998 pp. B-1, B-8.

By Dana Wilkie
Copley News Service

Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham’s contention that he made an obscene gesture during a recent public appearance in response to similar behavior from a man in the audience has come under dispute from some of those who were there.

The man accused by Cunningham has denied he made such a gesture and others present — though not all — said he didn’t do it.

While speaking Saturday at a gathering of prostate cancer patients, Cunningham cursed at a man the Escondido Republican said was heckling him.

“He flipped me the bird first,” Cunningham, who had prostate surgery last month, later told a reporter. “The guy interrupted me four times, and when he started bad-mouthing the military, I had enough. I didn’t need that crap.”

Rancho Bernardo resident Chuck Cotton, who like Cunningham is a retired Navy man, insists he never made an obscene gesture at the congressman, and that he interrupted only once to suggest that defense spending should be cut even more than it has been.

“That’s when he gave me the finger and said ‘(expletive) you,’” said Cotton, a radioman during World War II and a retired purchaser for McDonald’s restaurants. “I think it’s unfortunate for a public official to make that kind of expletive, and to gesture to anyone publicly is uncalled for.”

“I did not give him the finger,” he added.

John Fistere, a retired engineer from El Cajon who sat near Cotton, said he never saw Cotton make a gesture at Cunningham. A reporter covering the event also said it did not appear Cotton made an obscene gesture.

The 74-year-old Cotton engaged in “a little bit” of heckling, Fistere said, adding that Cotton’s comment was loud enough for the audience of about 100 people at the San Diego Rehabilitation Institute to hear. But, he said, “I didn’t hear a lot of comment from anyone.”

On the other hand, the physician who organized the event, Israel Barken, said Cotton not only made such a gesture but “shouted” at Cunningham after the congressman shifted his remarks on prostate surgery to his opposition to military spending cuts in Congress.

“I was sitting in the first row and this guy (Cotton) was in the second row, very close,” said Barken, who formed the San Diego Prostate Cancer Support Group at Alvarado Hospital. “He started shouting, ‘Cut! Cut! Cut! Cut!’”

“It was an incident that shouldn’t have happened, and the whole meeting was about something else.”

Cunningham’s chief of staff, Patrick McSwain, said the congressman has already apologized and admitted he acted “inappropriately.”

“He has repeatedly interrupted and heckled, and very personally thought that the guy had made this gesture to him,” McSwain said.

“He’s done talking on the issue. He has recognized that he’s made some inappropriate comments, and that’s the end of the story.”

Meanwhile, Rep. Barney Frank — the gay Massachusetts Democrat about whom Cunningham made a crude comment during his speech — said yesterday that Cunningham has an odd fascination with homosexuality.

In describing his prostate cancer experience, Cunningham said that a rectal procedure he had undergone was “just not natural, unless maybe you’re Barney Frank.”

Cunningham later apologized for that reference, too.

“He tends to frequently blurt out stuff on gay issues,” said Frank in a telephone interview in Washington. “He seems to be more interested in discussing homosexuality than most homosexuals.”

But Frank dismissed Cunningham’s insult as coming from a man not well respected in Congress.

“He’s not a guy who’s taken all that seriously,” Frank said. “He does not have a high reputation for the thoughtful, analytical content of his remarks.”

It is not the first time Cunningham — who underwent surgery to remove his cancerous prostate gland last month — has come under fire for controversial remarks about homosexuals or the military.

In 1995, he referred to gays as “homos” on the House floor, and later apologized. He also has suggested that gays in the military would “degrade the national security.”

Referring to President Clinton’s anti-war activities during the Vietnam War, Cunningham once said Clinton “would be tried as a traitor and even shot” if he lived in another nation.

He challenged Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., to a fist fight during a House debate on congressional spending. And in March, when a top Army official told a House subcommittee about efforts to combat sexual harassment and discrimination in the military, Cunningham called the efforts “BS” and asserted that “our kids don’t like . . . political correctness.”

—————————
Staff writers Dwight Daniels and Gerry Braun contributed to this report.

Yeah, a real brave man that hasn't a fucking brain in his head.

food for the freepers

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Go to that site noted in the OP, and read the real story about his 'war hero' record, and how he broke into his CO's office. Murtha spent 37 years in uniform, and never pulled the crap that Cunningham did. Total apples and oranges. And if you don't like the OP source, check this out: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/cunningham/20050715-019-ex-navya.html

Yet Cunningham often behaved as if the rules had been written for others.

While he was in flight school, he reportedly was almost court-martialed for illegal conduct. Cunningham denies the allegation -- spelled out in the book "Fall From Glory: The Men Who Sank the U.S. Navy" by Gregory L. Vistica -- that he illegally broke into Miramar offices to compare his personal records with those of fellow pilots. But two of his former commanding officers support the allegation.

In Vietnam, he served with valor -- his plane was shot down the day he became an ace -- yet Cunningham threatened to boycott the ceremony where he was to receive the prestigious Navy Cross. The reason: He wasn't getting a higher honor, the Medal of Honor.

Jack Murtha never behaved as though the rules had been written for others. He understands leadership, up and down the chain. He is not a 'do as I say, not as I do' type of guy. THAT'S the big difference.

And on edit: Let's talk about Murtha's war record:

Five, count 'em, FIVE tours in Nam (as a groundpounding Marine--Infantry, not flitting above the fray)

Bronze star with combat V

Two, count 'em, TWO Purple Hearts

DSM

First Vietnam combat vet elected to Congress

He learned about military service from the bottom up, beginning as a raw recruit when he left Washington and Jefferson College in 1952 to join the Marines out of a growing sense of obligation to his country during the Korean War. There he earned the American Spirit Honor Medal, awarded to fewer than one in 10,000 recruits. He rose through the ranks to become a drill instructor at Parris Island and was selected for Officer Candidate School at Quantico, Virginia. He then was assigned to the Second Marine Division, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. In 1959, Captain Murtha took command of the 34th Special Infantry Company, Marine Corps Reserves, in Johnstown. He remained in the Reserves after his discharge from active duty until he volunteered for Vietnam in 1966-67, receiving the Bronze Star with Combat "V", two Purple Hearts and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. He remained in the Reserves until his retirement. This first-hand knowledge of military and defense issues has made him a trusted adviser to presidents of both parties and one of the most effective advocates for the national defense in Washington. At the request of Presidents and Speakers of the House, he served as chairman of delegations monitoring elections in the Philippines, El Salvador, Panama and Bosnia.

He was awarded the Navy Distinguished Service Medal by the Marine Corps Commandant when he retired from the Marines. http://www.house.gov/murtha/bio.shtml

And I've had the displeasure of having him and his crooked butt-buddy Duncan Hunter representing the city I live in.

that's ONE DOWN, anyway!!!!

Cunningham didn't know when to quit stealing. And he Cunningham did embellish his war stories to the tune of a John Wayne type of idiot. And his buds were the classy nastiest men around. Duncan Hunter and Bob Dornan I'm sure they cried along with Cunningham at his press conference, when the Duke broke down and cried.

Yet on three other occasions, he held the media in thrall.

The first was when he was a freshman in Congress and his Top Gun credentials gave him instant credibility in the debate over the first Iraq War.

The second was in 1992, when he and Reps. Duncan Hunter and Bob Dornan took to the House floor to challenge Clinton's patriotism before the C-SPAN cameras and an all-but-empty chamber.

The third has come in recent weeks, as federal investigators targeted him and raided his home. Sizing up the media crowd yesterday, Cunningham said, "Wow!" and chuckled softly.

DID YOU KNOW THAT REP. RANDY "DUKE" CUNNINGHAM (R-CA-50) was an official attendee at the scandalous 1991 Tailhook Association Meeting in Las Vegas? I had no idea that this repugnant ideologue in the House of Representatives was part of that misogynist mess.

is that he said he was the model for the Tom Cruise character in Top Gun. That kinda turned my stomach. What a creep.

joke of more ready rooms than you could shake a stick at. Even hubris-laden flyboys found that character to be a total and complete asshole. It just wasn't realistic at all, an absurd caricature at best. About the only thing they got right were the flight suits, and the big watches and wallets...!

Funny thing is, that stupid movie persuaded a lot of people to sign up for glory...their disappointment when they saw the reality of it all had to have been huge.

Spreading the TRUTH, on the other hand,
is fine by me.

Spread it far, spread it wide.

never take away his combat deeds.

...He is also a REAL War Hero. One of the dogfights he was involved in is standard learning for every fighter pilot. He and his back-seater BARELY survived, in fact, their aircraft broke in half as they flew out over the water, and radio traffic from the incident tells the story. They were in a flat spin and on fire, ejecting MOMENTS before the plane disintegrated and landing in the water only 5 miles from the North Vietnamese coast.

HE IS A CRIMINAL NOW, but he is a War Hero, and I, for one, will not stoop to the level of the reich-wing and KKKarl Rove!

While I am pleased that justice is being served, I take no joy in the fall of a decorated veteran.

Just like Poppy being a "war hero" by getting shot down and abandoning his crew?
Thats what his job was.
John Kerry saved people, putting his life on the line, and look what happened to him.

The more serious danger to US pilots in Vietnam came from surface to air hits...the skies over that country were not filled with MIGs coming after our lads. It wasn't a 'Red Baron' environment by any stretch of the imagination.

He shot down the dignity of more than one female at TAILHOOK, though--a real 'hero' that one!!! Sexist PUTZ, if you ask me!!

As an aside, the Greg Vistica book that is mentioned at the top of your link was such a bombshell that the CNO actually put out, at his morning meeting and for dissemination far and wide, that Navy personnel should be DISCOURAGED from reading the book, because it was all lies, a load of trash, tripe!!! His admonition probably boosted sales by the tens of thousands, at a minimum.

I ordered my copy the very same day...And let me tell you, that book is accurate!

....counting on we Democrats "not to sink to their level." I see nothing wrong with a review of Cunningham's war record. If it's clean, so be it. If if there are problems, he ought to get his ass kicked. Mercilessly. Publicly. While he's down. If that distresses those of you who think we need to make nice while the conservatives try to wreck us one more time, tough. We're in a battle for the future of this nation and parts of it are not going to be pretty. I can live with that; those of you who can't need to get out of the way......

why do we need to swift-boat someone who has resigned? He could make for good talking points for CA races, but why should we attack him? Use him as an albatross. How many ads attacking James Tranficant were there after he resigned?

What is interesting about him is who his friends are in the halls of Congress. Find his friends, especially the ones up for reelection in 06, make the connections, make them strong, clear and easily understandable to the voters, and associate his GOP pals with him.

To that extent, it is helpful that people who are not familiar with the man develop an understanding of just how sleazy he has been over the years. When you claim some GOP scuzz running for reelection has consorted with the devil, you have to make sure folks understand just who the devil is!

The dude's lost his house seat, faces jail time and millions in fines...not to mention the personal disgrace he and his family will now have to endure. Serves the bastard right...but he did this all to himself. Let the record speak on that. There's nothing more need to be said here...and his military record doesn't mean squat.

compare him to Jack Murtha, and that simply cannot stand.

The reason to 'keep Cunningham alive' has nothing to do with his service record in and of itself. It has everything to do with his CORRUPTION, and his FRIENDS in the GOP Congress. Who has he entertained aboard the Duke-Stir? How many of his House fellows have benefitted in the same way he has? Are there any connections?

When you turn over one rock, there's usually more than one bug or worm under there...who are the others????

The military means nothing. Cunningham didn't attack Murtha...Chickenshithawks did. Wanna stick up for Jack? Those are the people who need to be constantly exposed for their own hypocrisies.

Sliming Cunningham's military record in one broad stroke downplays the financial corruption and distorts what I will believe is a true, heroic war record. Just as Democrats were outraged when false claims were made about Kerry, I would feel the same if it were done, warrantless, against Cunningham.

This is ALL about how absolute power corrupts absolutely...how Cunningham's position, not his military record, was abused and how he sold out not only his constituents, but his entire country in the end. If there's a comparison to be made...and historians already are doing it...it will be the contrasts of how someone who had done so well had fallen so far.

Wanna go after others? Let's follow the MZB money...there's two other Repugnicans that need to have their "rocks" turned over. Sliming Cunningham serves no purpose other than a "feel good" thing. Leave that to the freepers. My schadenfraude was seeing him resign in disgrace...and knowing there's a lot more on the way.

He's a cretin who has besmirched the military, and the Navy especially. A very sharp young officer by the name of Paula Coughlin, who had a bright career ahead of her, quit in disgust because of his failure to lead (and active efforts to block investigations) WRT the Tailhook scandal--an outfit near and dear to his heart. Many officers who were there and were not assholes got caught up in that mess, and he did nothing--in fact, he actively blocked efforts to change the culture. It's always been all about him. He was a poor example as an officer, and a poor example as a congressman. He's a greedy bum.

http://www.thewashingtonnote.com/archives/000031.html

I'm sick of faux heroes, and he's one of them.

heartbeat!
We dems need to show some teeth and hit them back with everything they have thrown at us!

.

Sorry, I'm just tired of thinking the batterer will change to a saint.

I'll give credit there.

But he's a dick. And a fuckin crook.

McCain is the only one that comes to mind.