Chief Warrant Officer Matthew Lourey, son of State Senator Becky Lourey, was killed yesterday when his helicopter was shot down in central Iraq. It was his 2nd tour of duty in Iraq, where he flew helicopters with the 82nd Airborne Division.
Senator Lourey is one of the most liberal voices in Minnesota, in this
DOD transcipt she takes on Rumsfeld in Dec 2003:
Q: I want you to know that my second son is flying helicopters in Baghdad, so every time a report comes out, I hold my breath until I find out whether or not it is his plane that has gone down.
Rumsfeld: Tell him thank you. We appreciate the service.
Q: ..I must admit that I wrote a resolution in the Minnesota Senate against going to war unilaterally. ..
Rumsfeld: That's why we went in with 32 other countries.
Q: ... I'm very upset about the services to our servicemen that Halliburton is providing...it is a great concern when our servicemen and women are over there, and an entity, non-bid, such as Halliburton, is not doing the job..
July 3, 2004
Here she steps up for Kerry during his run
One of the speakers introducing Kerry, state Sen. Becky Lourey, DFL-Kerrick, said her own son is home from nine months in Iraq and is headed back. A son-in-law is also serving. "They know their oath. They know their duty,'' she said. "I don't want any more chicken hawks making these decisions, lying to us about the reasons.''
April 2003
Here she fights to strike the President's name from a resolution to support the troops.
A resolution supporting the American armed forces in Iraq and their families back home touched off more than an hour's debate in the Senate March 24.
Co-authored by Sen. Betsy Wergin, R-Princeton, the resolution stated the "Senate pledges its support to and confidence in the United States of America and its President," among other things.
But some lawmakers took exception to the inclusion of the president into the resolution....
Sen. Becky Lourey, DFL-Kerrick, offered an amendment to strike three words -- including the word "president" -- from the resolution.
