about a dozen veterans seeking office; all but one of them Democrats

WP
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/18/AR2006021801295.html

After War Injury, an Iraq Vet Takes on Politics

By Peter Slevin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, February 19, 2006

CHICAGO, Feb. 18 The smiling candidate in rimless eyeglasses and a long woolen skirt maneuvers carefully among tables and chairs as she works a crowded Starbucks. She is taking small steps, and the reason for the slight awkwardness in her gait is not instantly clear.

Reaching to shake hands with a voter, she says: "You may have heard of me. I'm the Iraq war vet who's running. I was injured over there." Talking with another, she says: "I actually lost both my legs. I can walk because I got really good health care."

Tammy Duckworth, Democratic candidate for Congress, cannot escape the catastrophic wounds she suffered as an Army helicopter pilot in Iraq. And, for the purposes of her candidacy, she does not want to. For better or worse, her injuries are her signature, her motivator and, she hopes, her ticket into the consciousness of voters in the Illinois 6th District.

"I can't avoid the interest in the fact that I'm an injured female soldier," Duckworth, 37, says in an interview at her campaign headquarters in Lombard, west of Chicago. "Understand that I'm going to use this as a platform."

<<snip>>

Duckworth, who considers the Iraq war a mistake, is among about a dozen veterans who served in Iraq or Afghanistan running for federal office this year, at last count all but one of them Democrats. The party leadership is calculating that candidates who wore the uniform can offer a credible counterpoint on national security to Republicans who have dominated the debate from the campaign trail to Capitol Hill.

And it looks like Hackett is going to say that the dems are using these guys. Is he really dropping out of politics all together?

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doesn't hurt the entire Democratic party. At this point, he is just being a loose cannon.

Do you have a link to any of your suppositions that Hackett is planning anything negative against the party at large? I have a problem with people who make these off the cuff comments when they have nothing to back it up. It soounds too much like another group of people at site which are known by a name rhymes with "creeper". If I;m wrong, I humbly apologise but I'm more than a bit sick of, "I heard", "they say", "it's been said" etc. These nebulous comments need to be backed up with links to confirm their reality.

http://vetpac.org/SaluteInfo.html

There are over 50 vets running for Congress as Democrats this year; a couple of dozen gave a press conference on the Mall with Max Cleland front and center introducing them. I couldn't whip out my checkbook fast enough to send a $25 donation to VETPAC and a letter of support to Senator Cleland. This is SUCH encouraging news.

The address given at the press conference:

VETPAC
1725 Eye Street NW
Washington, DC 20006

Hekate

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From the website:
It is with great pride that there are over fifty American military veterans, who have once again answered this nation’s call and are running for Congress as Democrats. Men and women who have proven their abilities as leaders, and have lived their lives with integrity and honor. They have stood watch and fought to protect our way of life. Now they seek to take the fight to Congress and to continue that fight in the halls of our Capitol and to ensure our rights stay protected.

The Veterans' Alliance for Security and Democracy (VETPAC) is committed to helping these men and women achieve success at the polls in November.VETPAC is dedicated to promoting the values for which veterans have served, fought and died.
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Let them TRY to swiftboat all of these people!!

This is a powerful and important group. They represent the truth against 30+ years of propaganda from Republicans, insinuating that THEY are the heroes and Democrats are "weak" or "spit on troops." This is a critical meme for our party to overthrow, and we need to support them across all states.