IAVA/OpTruth Endorsements for our Fighting Dems!!

Today Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (formerly Operation Truth) announced their first round of endorsements.  IAVA decided to endorse seven congressional fighting democrats (apologies to those who are offended by this term, but for the moment, please get over it because this is great news for these candidates).  They are as follows...

note: i've cribbed most of these brief bios from both my original fighting dems diary. however, some of these candidates weren't declared at the time, so for them i've cribbed the brief bios from the IAVA press release

Andrew Duck, MD-06: Duck's distinguished military career has found him as a Platoon Leader of the Joint STARS Platoon in Bosnia, Chief of a Counter-Intelligence Operations Cell, a Commander, and later an Intelligence Liaison Officer and Intelligence Staff Officer in Iraq. Duck is a native of Maryland, one of seventeen children, and has ample business and community experience supplementing his military background.  bio :: issues :: donate

Tammy Duckworth, IL-06  Before Duckworth's service in Iraq as a Blackhawk pilot (where she lost and arm and both of her legs), she studied International Relations and worked for Rotary International.  She was pursuing a PhD in Political Science before her deployment to Iraq.  She is charismatic and has the policy credibility to match her service record and make her a truly viable candidate in a race that Stuart Rothenberg named as one of his "Dangerous Dozen" Open House Seats.   Rep. Henry Hyde, who is retiring, won just 56% of the vote in 2004 but had to outspend his opponent 3-to-1.  In the 2004 Presidential, President Bush held the district with only 53% of the vote.  bio :: issues :: donate

Tim Dunn, NC-08:  Colonel Tim Dunn has served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves since 1994. He recently returned from Iraq and his posting with the Regime Crimes Liaison Office, where he helped build the case against Saddam Hussein.  In 1995, Dunn established his own law firm, which concentrates in criminal and military law. The mission in Iraq will need expertise and experience to see it through to the best possible conclusion, and Tim Dunn can bring a strong dose of both to the "People's House."  bio :: issues :: donate

David Harris, TX-06: Harris enlisted in the Army in 1992 and served in the infantry, receiving his commission as an Infantry Officer after attending Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, GA in 1994. He was mobilized for Operation Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom and was deployed to Iraq in February, 2003, spending the next 14 months there as a Logistics Officer where he received a Bronze Star. He is now an Assistant Professor of Military Science and Training Officer for the Department of Military Science at the University of Texas at Arlington, and is taking on powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair "Smoky" Joe Barton.  bio :: issues :: donate

Andrew Horne, KY-03:  Andrew Horne served in both Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom, rising from the rank of private to Lt. Colonel during his 27 yr. career in the Marines.  He is in the Reserves and has a private law practice.  Horne will challenge the Republican incumbent Congresswoman in the general election.  In the 2004 Presidential, Senator John Kerry won the district with 51% of the vote, as Vice President Gore had in 2000 with 50%.  bio :: donate

Patrick Murphy, PA-08: Murphy is a young attorney who served in Iraq and was awarded the Bronze Star in February 2004. In Iraq, Captain Murphy advised on offensive operations, initiated reconstruction efforts within the justice system, trained the new Iraqi Civil Defense Corps on the rules of engagement and was instrumental in the prosecution of Sheik Moyad, a radical lieutenant of Muqtada Sadr. At a time when even journalists are having trouble getting the real facts about the war in Iraq, Murphy's knowledge is invaluable.  bio :: issues :: donate

Joe Sestak, PA-7:  Joe Sestak has a resume that offers the perfect challenge to the incumbent. Sestak holds a PhD in Political Economy from Harvard and rose to the grade of Vice Admiral and served as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Warfare Requirements and Programs (N6/N7) and represented the Navy to the White House, Congress and the Office of the Secretary of Defense.  He also served as Battle Group Commander for a fleet of 30 allied ships and 15,000 troops engaged in combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.  The 7th District went for Senator John Kerry by 53% in 2004 and for Vice President Gore with 51% in 2000.  The incumbent has seen his percentage slip from 66% in 2002 to 59% in 2004.  In 2004 he outspent his opponent $678k to $23k.  the incumbent is weak on fundraising, having only $266k on hand, the least of any incumbent IAVA PAC's endorsed candidates are facing.  bio :: issues (visit his website - no permalink URL available for copying) :: donate

I urge everyone to go read the IAVA press release and check out each of these dynamic candidates.  Some are quite well known around this site, while others might be new to you.  Each fit the criteria established by IAVA for endorsement.  I'm particularly excited because the Fighting Dem from my district, David Harris, made the cut.  I can personally vouch for Dave and let the Dkos community know that he supports a redeployment of our troops, equal rights, and universal health care.  He's running a very strong campaign locally.  We've got the grassroots on our side and a starting base of 40% in a district that is trending democratic.  With your help, we can win.  Thanks for reading!

(x-posted at annatopia)
woops! corrected the picture for sestak - sorry! and thanks SB for pointing that out

•  points of contention

  i know some folks aren't going to be happy with the duckworth endorsement.  i know some folks think the fighting dems term should apply to people other than vets.  i know people think that the fighting dems term is sexist.

  i ask all of you to take a deep breath and recognise something.  IAVA is the best organisation that our returning veterans have right now.  they do amazing advocacy work on behalf of these vets, who are being left behind daily.  the IAVA endorsement can go a long way towards helping DEMOCRATS take back these districts.  please don't hijack this thread with your various grips and bitchfests.  just take these endorsments for what they are: a strong vote of confidence for these great candidates.

  thanks.

  by anna on Thu Mar 16, 2006 at 01:05:51 PM PDT

•  Why would anyone be offended by...

  ..."fighting Dems." It's a damn good name!

  by daulton on Thu Mar 16, 2006 at 01:08:06 PM PDT

  •  you didn't see the pie fights earlier, did ya?

    oh man, people went around and around over that term.  it was insane.

    i mean, i understnad where they are coming from, but sheesh, people can't veen put it aside for five minutes to congratulate these dems.

    by anna on Thu Mar 16, 2006 at 01:09:13 PM PDT

    •  I thought it was 'Band of Brothers'

      that caused offense.

      by bumblebums on Thu Mar 16, 2006 at 01:14:24 PM PDT

      •  i remember that as well

        but people also objected to using "fighting dems" solely to describe our veteran candidates.

        i sympathise with this view, but think that the FD label is fantastic marketing.

        by anna on Thu Mar 16, 2006 at 01:15:55 PM PDT

        •  Plus, its a matter of who got there first

          The name has already been taken by the veteran candidates.

          by daulton on Thu Mar 16, 2006 at 01:24:37 PM PDT

•  Fighting Dems

  Go IAVA.

  Fightin' Dems, Ass-Kickin' Dems, Winnin' Dems.  I'll take whatever name works.

  I'm impressed that two of them even look alike! :-P

  by socialist butterfly on Thu Mar 16, 2006 at 01:19:11 PM PDT

  •  LOL

    that's a good lookin' bunch of candidates isn't it?  =)

    by anna on Thu Mar 16, 2006 at 01:32:00 PM PDT

•  Big IAVA PAC fundraiser tonight in DC

  With Wesley Clark, Paul Hackett, Eric Stolz, and Paul Reilkolf.  All Fighting Dems themselves in EVERY sense of the word.

  Hackett was on the Ed Schultz show today talking about the endorsements.

  Hopefully one of these veterans gets into office.

  by Drdemocrat on Thu Mar 16, 2006 at 01:34:15 PM PDT

  •  i think

    that there is a good chance of winning several of these districts.  perhaps some locals can pop by and give us an idea of what's happening on the ground.

    i really like patrick murphy's chances.  

    and of course dave, too.  we've been having some interesting things happening in tx-6.  for example, we just had an 18 year incumbent GOP ousted from the texas HD94 (which is in tx6).  we have a dem challenger in HD93 (also in tx-6) who is pretty much guaranteed to take out the 12 year GOP incumbent.  that's more than half the population of tx-6 trending anti-incumbent and anti-GOP.  it's a beautiful thing to watch.  i'm thrilled and feeling better about dave's chances every day.

    by anna on Thu Mar 16, 2006 at 01:38:16 PM PDT

  •  i think

    that there is a good chance of winning several of these districts.  perhaps some locals can pop by and give us an idea of what's happening on the ground.

    i really like patrick murphy's chances.  

    and of course dave, too.  we've been having some interesting things happening in tx-6.  for example, we just had an 18 year incumbent GOP ousted from the texas HD94 (which is in tx6).  we have a dem challenger in HD93 (also in tx-6) who is pretty much guaranteed to take out the 12 year GOP incumbent.  that's more than half the population of tx-6 trending anti-incumbent and anti-GOP.  it's a beautiful thing to watch.  i'm thrilled and feeling better about dave's chances every day.

    by anna on Thu Mar 16, 2006 at 01:40:52 PM PDT

    •  sorry for the double post! EOM

      by anna on Thu Mar 16, 2006 at 01:43:37 PM PDT

  •  I meant

    Wesley Clark, Paul Hackett, Jon Soltz, and Paul Rieckhoff (spelled a couple of veteran's names wrong).

    by Drdemocrat on Thu Mar 16, 2006 at 01:43:19 PM PDT

•  Let's back our candidates early

  I live in the CD next to Andrew Duck's.  I'm lucky to have a great, comfortably incumbent D Congressman so I have time and energy to help out a bit with Duck's campaign.  He is a terrific candidate, the best hope that CD has had for ages, in a year when even up in that conservative area people are probably down on Republicans.  So I hope we don't make the mistake we made last summer with Paul Hackett, recognizing too late that we had a real gem that needed a financial boost.  If that money and energy had been mobilized a few weeks earlier, I bet Hackett could have won.  I don't want the same thing to happen to Duck, or any other of these candidates.

  by norabb on Thu Mar 16, 2006 at 01:53:10 PM PDT

  •  thanks for the local info!

    much appreciated!  glad to hear good things about duck from a local standpoint.  i have already decided that i'm going to donate to murphy, dunn, harris, and based on your recommendation, duck.  i'm waiting for the outcome of the cegelis/duckworth race before i jump in there (although full disclosure: i have donated to christine) any further.

    is there any other info you could add which might give us an idea of how things are going on the ground in duck's district?

    by anna on Thu Mar 16, 2006 at 02:08:44 PM PDT

•  Thanks for the support from all

  I second Anna's post...there are some amazing things happening here in Texas and this is just another one for the tally. This race can be won, it is important for all to realize that Tom Delay is not the only evil Republican in Texas.

  I am grateful for the endorsement from IAVA. They are a great organization and I look forward to working with their leadership to develop policies for veterans when elected in November.

  I wish I could be in D.C. for the fundraiser tonight but I had a television interview with NHK (Japan) today and they are following me to other events tonight. Michelle almost had heart failure when the post said Eric Stolz was there with Wesley Clark - she wanted to go meet her movie star. Fortunately, it was corrected in a later post and I didn't have to worry about her flying away to D.C. tonight.

  Again, many thanks for all the support!

  by David T Harris for US Congress TX 06 on Thu Mar 16, 2006 at 02:10:35 PM PDT

  •  dave....

    are you going to the CEC meeting tonight?  where are you going to be afterwards?  i might come along and take some pics for the bog.

    by anna on Thu Mar 16, 2006 at 02:11:51 PM PDT

    •  We are going to the TBT kick off

      and NHK will be following us there.  Depending on time constraints, we may swing by the CEC but the meeting will already be in progress.  I will give you a call when we are on the way!

      by DFJtoo on Thu Mar 16, 2006 at 02:15:23 PM PDT

      •  cool

        let me know, and get lots of pictures if you get the chance.  i have to go to the CEC meeting tonight so i can get in touch with the gentleman who can add me to the senatorial caucus roster (since i missed my caucus due to working as an election judge).

        yall have fun!!  NHK is great.  they followed us deaniacs around for quite a while and were always nice folks.  the dem abroad... is it terri by chance?  if so, i'll die.  i haven't seen her since democracyfest.

        by anna on Thu Mar 16, 2006 at 02:18:31 PM PDT