Democrat vets issue call to political arms

WASHINGTON — Marine Lt. Col. Tim Dunn landed in Iraq the day the country's interim president was assassinated just outside U.S. command headquarters. He spent the next six months dodging guerrilla attacks, sometimes surviving by sheer luck.

"I never really experienced anything like I experienced in Iraq," said Dunn, a decorated veteran from North Carolina who also served in the Persian Gulf War and Kosovo.

What Dunn said he saw in Iraq — the lack of security, soldiers and vehicles without proper armor — is helping fuel his latest mission: running for Congress.

Standing Wednesday on the National Mall with 39 other veteran-candidates, Dunn motioned toward the Capitol dome and told a small crowd, "We are fighting for change, all of us. It's time to take the Hill."

More than 50 war veterans are running as Democrats for the House in the fall elections, 10 of them veterans of Iraq or Afghanistan.

Republicans said they have 41 veterans running and two are Iraq vets: Van Taylor, who is seeking a Texas congressional seat, and Hiram Lewis, who is running for a Senate seat in West Virginia.

But the Democrats have united under a single banner, calling themselves Veterans for a Secure America. They say they're running to give voice to public impatience with the Iraq war and broad distrust of a Republican-run White House, House and Senate mired in scandals.

"We need you now more than ever," former Democratic Sen. Max Cleland of Georgia, a triple amputee Vietnam veteran, told them at their gathering. "Our country is headed in the wrong direction."

Dunn said he expected the veterans to have "instant credibility" with the public on national security issues, a realm Republicans traditionally dominate.

"The Republicans have done a very good job in portraying Democrats as weak on national security," said Michael Duga, a spokesman for the group. "These men and women offer a fresh voice. They all bring a unique perspective."

The Washington gathering evoked memories of the day in 1994 when Republican House candidates stood on the Capitol steps with an enlarged copy of the Contract With America and denounced the long-entrenched Democratic leadership for corruption and arrogance.

In contrast to the Republican revolutionaries, the Democrats propose not to shrink the government, but inject it with compassion and common sense — though they don't necessarily agree on how to do it.

Some back creating a timetable for a swift withdrawal from Iraq. Others urge that troops be kept there until the United States is certain the Iraqis can defend themselves.

They also vary greatly in how much emphasis they place on their military service.

For a few, like Tammy Duckworth, who is running in a heavily Republican district in Illinois, military service is a compelling part of their campaign. Duckworth, who did not attend Wednesday's meeting, lost both legs when the Black Hawk helicopter she was co-piloting in Iraq was struck by a missile. She calls the Iraq invasion a mistake.

Jim Nelson, a Methodist minister from Georgia who is running against Republican Rep. Jack Kingston in a district that includes the Army's Fort Stewart, said his service in Vietnam would be crucial in helping him win the support of the district's large military population.

"One thing I like about this gathering is that it shows that this group is not weak on defense, that we truly care about the country," Nelson said during a break in Wednesday's daylong activities.

But other Democrats — such as Herb Paine of Arizona and Bern Ewert of Virginia — barely mention their service on their campaign Web sites. David Fierst, a bankruptcy lawyer in Ohio who served with the storied 82nd Airborne Division, said he was running because he was angry over the Republican-passed Bankruptcy Reform Act, not the war.

Political analysts and activists said military service may help the Democrats in some districts, but service alone has never ensured victory when issues are much more locally focused.

Schorr Johnson, communications director for the North Carolina Democratic Party, said that should Dunn survive the Democratic primary this spring, his race against incumbent Rep. Robin Hayes, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, is more likely to turn on the issue of trade than war.

Hayes cast the deciding vote to approve a trade agreement with Central America after telling constituents in his textile-dominated district that he would oppose it to protect their jobs.

Democrats are wary of past Republican successes in neutralizing a challenger's military service and even turning it into a liability — from Cleland in Georgia to Republican Sen. John McCain in the 2000 presidential primary and Democratic Sen. John Kerry in the 2004 presidential race.

The current candidates said they expect similar attacks. Bill Winter of Colorado appears to pre-emptively defend against such criticism with a note on his campaign Web site that says, "We want to be very clear about one thing from the start. Bill wasn't a hero in the [Marine] Corps. He never saw combat or saved lives or won medals or anything like that. He simply did his duty and served his country and is proud of that service."

Republicans dismiss the Democratic veterans as a novelty act bound to fail.

"Every one of those Democrats is running in a district they can't win," said Carl Forti, communications director for the Republican House campaign committee.

Eight of the 10 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are running in districts that voted for President Bush, some overwhelmingly, in 2000 and 2004. And in the two Pennsylvania districts Bush lost, the Democratic challengers face incumbent Republicans who were sent to Congress with 60 percent or more of the vote in the last three campaigns.

Ironically, the Democratic vets who see themselves as potential saviors of the Democratic Party believe their first major battle won't be with the Republicans but with their own national leadership. They worry that it will write them off as long shots and refuse to supply badly needed campaign cash.

Indeed, Democratic strategists are reluctant to discuss the veterans on the record. Adrienne Elrod, spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, issued a statement saying only that veterans have an advantage over "a Republican incumbent who has failed to make the needs of American families a priority."

"The DCCC doesn't get it," Cleland said. "They have lost touch with reality. This is the point of the spear for Democratic victory."

But while the Band of Brothers is focused on House races, it's already inspiring candidates elsewhere. Scott Holcomb of Atlanta, a candidate for Georgia secretary of state, served in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq and joined the Washington gathering Wednesday.

"There are two kinds of people who get into politics: Those who want to be somebody and those who want to serve," Holcomb said. "This group wants to serve."
The Oxford Press


The one thing I have not heard anyone talk about is blogging. Are any of these candidate for or against the milbloggers? I think it's an important question that someone should ask. If I get the opportunity it will surly be my first question.

Which sort of just gave me an idea, maybe something we can all ask of our candidates regardless of party. Maybe we should all write our candidates and ask them what they think of blogging from a forward deployed position. And if they agree with the administrations current policy. ??