I opened up my email recently and saw that I had received an unsolicited junk mail from Ann Coulter-- one of the many very conservative and very reactionary radio talk show personalites who, like the very well known Rush Limbaugh and others have become so infamous for some of their outrageous statements-- containing her weekly column. (
link).
In her article she writes that:
I dedicate this column to John Murtha, the reason soldiers invented fragging.
She has stepped over the line.
Let me explain why this kind of talk is unacceptable. "Fragging" is the murder of non-commissioned and commissioned officers by their troops. Made infamous in Vietnam, there is no doubt that this exceptionally rare crime has been with military forces at least since the Romans marched out of Italy. But even as recently as the run up to the invasion of Iraq there are tragic, isolated incidents that are punishable, under the Uniform Code of Military justice, by execution and at the very least life in prison.
Now, Ann Coulter has added her reactionary and despicable voice to this sad story. She is claiming that because of his political beliefs Jack Murtha deserves to be "fragged". This is a treasonous statement. This is an attack on the very fundamental nature of our country. This is raw uninhibited Stalinism at its worse. It is the ultimate assault on our Constitution and on the fundamental character of our country. And we, as a people, cannot continue to be silent.
Ann Coulter does not speak for the American soldier. While she was in college attending Frat parties hundreds of thousands of dedicated American were putting their lives on the line - every day - in far away and dangerous lands that Ann Coulter could not even pronounce. Ann Coulter's military experience revolves around being escorted in and out of Iraq for a USO type visit and then returning to her air conditioned office to spew this sort of filth onto the American people. Congressman Jack Murtha is a twice awarded purple heart recipient and the holder of the Bronze Star. His more than 20 years as a US Marine - with service in Vietnam and beyond - and his unwavering support for the US military throughout his career as a Representative from Pennsylvania is unmatched. And yet this scum of American society, Ann Coulter, states that he is the reason that fragging was invented.
This is not about agreement with Jack Murtha's position and plan for the redeployment of troops from Iraq. This is no longer about whether one agrees with this Administration's strategy for dealing with the future. I have very strong feelings about both and agree with many things that Congressman Murtha says - and disagree with the vast majority of the lies that come from this failed Administration. I make no secret of my disdain for this President's strategy and for my open rejection of his rubber stamping right wing reactionary Congress. Does that make me the reason that fragging was invented? I had dinner with a group of doctors who strongly disagree with this Administration's failed health care polcies - does that make them candidates for fragging by the ER staff? How about the small business owner who cannot survive because of the spiraling cost of health care? Should they be fragged? I was at a gas station and the driver across the pump was cursing about the price of fuel - frag him?
By tacitly justifying the assassination of Jack Murtha (which, in effect is what she is justifying) Ann Coulter has attacked every Veteran in America and she has attacked the very right of every American to express political opinion and I for one am willing to lay down my life to preserve the fundamental freedoms guaranteed under the Constitution - a Constitution that I swore allegiance to and wore a uniform for 24 years to defend.
Ann Coulter is not worthy to wash the uniforms of our military personnel because she fails to understand the core reason of what makes this great nation different from all the rest. Our military swears to defend not the President, not the Congress, but the concepts and fundamental rights guarenteed to us in the Constitution of this great Nation.
Ann Coulter has stepped over the line and must be held accountable.
Perhaps Ann Coulter, since she calls all who disagree with the Bush administration traitors, should be stripped of her American citizenship and sent to the least desirable hellhole on earth where dictators who refuse to allow, let alone listen to, dissent can welcome her to live in her idea of utopian society - where everyone must agree with the ruling power or be labeled traitors.
I, today, ask every Veteran candidate at every level of government - Gubernatorial, Senatorial, Congressional and state office seekers - to condemn Ann Coulter. I call on every Veteran to reject not only Ann Coulter but also her form of anti-American hate, to refuse to purchase any product from any company that buys air time on her program and to denounce her as the destructive, despicable cancer that she is.
I am a candidate to the United States Congress and I call on all Members of Congress, all candidates to publicly condemn Ann Coulter's statement and to reject her vindictive, hate filled form of pollution. I, for one, am willing to lead the charge to rid our Country of the likes of Ann Coulter because I'm fighting for a more optimistic, positive and inclusive society where political debate is welcome and where public figures do not justify the assassination of our leaders because they disagree with the positions that they take.