A SALUTE TO VETERANS FOR A SECURE AMERICA
A Landmark Event in support of Democrats who have valiantly served our country and are now running for public office. Cosponsored by VetPAC and BandofBrothers2006.
Wednesday, February 8, 2006 (
VetPAC,
BandofBrothers)
The election of 2006 will be known as the year vet candidates retook Congress. And we begin on February 8th when over 50 vets running for the U.S. House of Representatives and Congress will receive a salute in Washington, D.C.
These are the Fighting Dem vets who will save us from the grips of those who would chart a course for America that distorts the values that have made America strong, disrupts the largest economy in the world, leaving our children and grandchildren to paying off our debt, destroys the working families that have been the bulwark of our nation, degrades our international image as a beacon of freedom and democracy, deprives our youth of education for their futures, and denies the elderly, the disadvantaged and our vets the health care they need. These Fighting Dem Vets will join their vet colleagues already in Congress to make America stronger and better than it has ever been.
You will notice that I have used the term "Fighting Dem Vets" because there are worthy candidates who are Fighting Dems who are not vets. Today I wish to address the question of why vet brothers and sisters should band together to receive your support. Right away, I would like to make two points clear. First, we do not believe we are worthy candidates simply because we have served in the armed forces. This is not a single issue movement. In fact, the Fighting Dem Vets are motivated as much by the social and economic issues that face us at home as they are about the threats that face us worldwide. Iraq, for example, should not be seen as an overriding issue with disregard for other vital concerns. Iraq is but one symptom of an agenda that strikes at the heart of our nation. And it is all the symptoms, domestic and international, that must be addressed if we are to save our nation from those who would destroy its values.
America stands on the brink. America must now, this year, in this election, make the decisions that will determine our future. Are we to continue the course that this administration and this Congress have begun? Or must we instead change the direction to put America back on the course that made us great? I believe that most Americans see this danger and want to not just change the course, but to put America back on course. And so the gathering on February 8th in Washington, D.C., of an army of veteran candidates is an answer to the call of duty to serve on the home front as we have served on the front lines.
Little did I think that this historic event would take place when in response to a suggestion by a campaign volunteer, I began to call other vets to discuss our common challenges. At our first meeting in mid-December, there were just shy of a dozen candidates. We met in DC, with another half dozen on conference call. It was a seminal meeting. General Wes Clark spoke to us in person, and John Kerry and Max Cleland sent representatives to discuss our common cause. There had been another earlier meeting sponsored by Alex of draftzinni.com and I had asked my friend and supporter in D.C., Howard Park, to attend that meeting on my behalf; Chris Carney of Pennsylvania also sent a representative. This was the small beginning of our movement which was to grow to the point where we now find ourselves.
In January a larger group of vets met again in D.C. to organize our movement in earnest. This time nearly three dozen vets met and we decided on a name: Veterans for a Secure America (VSA) as our official name. By the time this meeting had taken place I had begun to feel the pressure. I had my own campaign to run and the number of vets was growing day by day. At meetings in New York and Washington, D.C., I sought help -- and found it. First of all, the Band of Brothers 2006 was formed as an official PAC to support us, to be directed by Mike Lyons with prominent figures - such as DavidNYC who you know from Swing State Project - on the board of directors. And VetPAC agreed to stand beside us with Colonel Klass to assist in coordination, backed by notables such as General Hoar and General Clark. Even more recently, IAVA PAC has been formed to support Iraq and Afghanistan vets who run for public office.
So from small beginnings great things grow. Yet some have disparaged this movement. They point to the fact that simply being a vet is not enough to be a good candidate. I agree. Our Fighting Dem vets must face off against other Democrats and win on all their merits, not simply on their military credentials. It is only by having the strongest candidates that we can defeat the entrenched strongholds of the Republican autocracy. Some have also pointed out that the DCCC should not back candidates simply because they are vets - and I agree with that as well. Our Fighting Dem Vets will have to earn the respect of their constituents as must all Fighting Dems.
In fact, however, the number of contentious races is very small. For the most part, Fighting Dem Vets are running as the only Democrat candidates against Republican incumbents in districts the -- so-called "Red" districts -- where the middle class are struggling for their existence, struggling because of policies by this administration and its GOP lackeys in Congress. And this is the heart of our dilemma. In these districts the grassroots are not sufficiently endowed to aid us against the huge treasure chests amassed by DeLay cronies. How does a single candidate reach out across America for help? How can a lone candidate in Kentucky or Tennessee or Georgia, Florida, Texas or Colorado reach out to America to say, "Aid me in my cause because my cause is just?"
The answer is to band together as a movement. It is only by banding together that we can get the attention of the media to gain name recognition and to get our views before the public, both in our home districts and across the nation. It is only by banding together that we can call on all Americans to open their pocketbooks to help America as it stands on the cusp. It is only by banding together that our message can resound across this great land, inspiring constituents to volunteer their time to aid these worthy candidates against entrenched interests, building the Democrat Party from the ground up in districts long ago surrendered to the opposition. It is only by banding together that we can get out the vote to unseat candidates who have lost touch with their base, candidates who vote consistently with the Bush administration against the interests of their own constituents.
If by banding together we can get the attention of the media, the volunteers, the contributors and the voters, then it is a worthy cause and a vital movement. These men and women are not merely vets. Many have served their country well and then gone into private practice as teachers, professors, lawyers, businessmen, pilots and consultants. They have skills that were not only honed on the battlefield, but in their capacity as private citizens fighting for what is right in their own communities
The Fighting Dem Vets cannot be painted with a single brush because they live in different parts of the country with different needs, different standards, and different voter viewpoints. Yet they stand for changing the course set by the Bush administration, for social and economic values that will enhance our working families and single workers, that will uplift the underprivileged, the aged, our youth, and our vets in programs that have been eliminated or under funded. They support an end to foreign adventures that put our parents, our brothers and sisters and our children in jeopardy, that recklessly borrow money that our children and grandchildren must repay, and that blacken our stature as supporters of freedom and justice throughout the world. In short, they are Democrats. They think like Democrats, they sound like Democrats and they act like Democrats. They are Democrats.
It is curious to me that the first swift-boating our movement has come not from Republicans, but from Democrats. Democrats who say it is a bad idea to base a candidacy on a single criterion. And I answer that it is not a single issue movement. Nevertheless, with opponents who seek to paint Democrats as weak on national defense, it is not without virtue to field candidates who have served. Again, we band together to fight against the Republican smear campaigns to come. They can smear a single candidate by isolating, outflanking, or destroying him or her. But they cannot swift boat over four dozen candidates banded together to fight for the future of this great country.
I ask you stand beside us. If you live in a district that's fortunate enough to field two Fighting Dem candidate, one a vet and one not, vote in the primary as you always would--for the better candidate. That, as always, is your privilege, your right, and, in fact, your duty. But I ask that you do not disparage the movement as a whole. We're in this fight for our country together--together as Democrats. Let's stand together to field and fund the best candidate in every district.
The event in Washington will be historic. It is unique in history. Air America will cover it live and it will have an impact on the election beyond anyone's expectation - including my own. I am humbled, yet proud, to be a part of it and welcome any questions that you may have. Thank you.
