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by Brandon Friedman Fri Feb 15, 2008 at 01:17:24 PM PST
This is hilarious.
The Republican Party of Texas, acting on behalf of chickenhawk Senator John Cornyn, has formally requested to review the military records of Senate candidate Rick Noriega. Lt. Col. Noriega announced this publicly this afternoon on his website and on VetVoice.
Hmmm. Now why would the Texas GOP need access to this decorated Afghanistan veteran’s military record? I wonder where this could be going.
Let’s see what the Noriega campaign thinks:
We know where this is going.
The Republican Party of Texas, and by extension, Senator John Cornyn, has requested that I release my military records to them. I am astounded and outraged at the implications of this request. Over the past few years, some Republicans have conducted the most dishonest and disreputable attacks on veterans that our nation has ever seen.
In 2002, we saw the National Republican Senatorial Committee smear Senator Max Cleland of Georgia, a triple-amputee Vietnam veteran, as being in league with Osama bin Laden. This was shameful and goes against every Texas value.
Texans will not stand for this.
Yep. That’s where I thought it was going. Get out the purple band-aids. These guys aren’t even going to be subtle about swiftboating Lt. Col. Noriega. They’re just going to come right out with it. Here is an excerpt from the letter the campaign received from the Republican Party of Texas:
"You have indicated that you intend to make military experience, integrity and transparency the cornerstones of your campaign. We are grateful for your service to this country and we agree that those that seek higher office should support transparency and openness regarding all of their public service records."
These guys must be joking about the "transparency and openness" thing. At least I assume they are. I mean, we are talking about Senator John Cornyn here.
The bottom line is that Rick Noriega will release his military records to the public. In fact, he went further this afternoon in his written reply to the Republican Party of Texas:
I welcome honest scrutiny of every aspect of my service. It's been my privilege to serve our nation for nearly 27 years in places like Afghanistan, and on the Texas border, and I fully intend to release my military records, subject to security review and updating of my most recent training and commendations, to the public. As I am currently serving as the Commander of the 1-141 Infantry, 36th Infantry Division and potentially subject to redeployment, I am not going to allow my family, my soldiers or my country to be put at risk as a result of your political games. You are welcome to view my military records at the same time as the citizens of Texas.
Noriega goes on to state:
These attacks on individuals who have put their bodies and lives on the line for their country are an outrage to all veterans, and they have to stop.
My record of service includes not only my years in the National Guard and Reserves, but also legislating to aid members of the Texas National Guard and all Texas veterans. Among my legislative accomplishments are obtaining health services for Veterans, including a screening for metal traces after exposure to munitions, educational benefits for those who have served Texas and our nation, and spearheading legislation to create a database of medical, social and economic resources for military personnel seeking benefits they have been promised by the government. I also am proud to have authored and supported free hunting/fishing licenses for all Texas guardsman and active duty personnel.
I look forward to discussing with Senator Cornyn why he twice rejected responsible troop deployment limits, twice voted against increased funding for veteran health care, voted against funding for armored vehicles, against increased funding for TRICARE but for allowing TRICARE fees to triple, and against protecting soldiers' civilian salaries while they're serving in Iraq. This is the conversation that we should be having.
So let’s be clear about one thing: Rick Noriega will not be swiftboated on his military record by anyone—let alone some Republican hacks who’ve never donned a uniform and who’ve certainly never set foot in Afghanistan.
You can help Rick prevent any swiftboat attacks by signing his petition here, and you can also donate to his campaign by clicking here.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/2/15/141134/308/115/457529
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