This diary is not so much about Kosovo and Iraq as it is about two up-and-coming politicians from almost opposite backgrounds. Retired General Wesley Clark was Supreme Allied Commander of NATO forces during the Kosovo Crisis, where an estimated 1.5 million Albanians were saved.
Dr. Selden Spencer, a neurologist and humanitarian from Huxley, Iowa, is running in Iowa's 4th Congressional District because of the 650,000 estimated Iraqis that have died because of our invasion and occupation.
http://www.spencerforcongress.com/...
So what do the hard-nosed general and mild-mannered physician have in common? They both are intelligent men who love their country and love peace. Both General Clark and Dr. Spencer have learned that we need more diplomacy and economic development to address our problems in the Middle East.
I admire them both, and I was very happy that I could do something that could help Dr. Spencer's candidacy and give General Clark the added exposure he needs in Iowa. General Wesley Clark has made a great radio ad for Dr. Spencer. General Clark's 60 sec spot addresses the need for a new direction for national security:
http://files.spencerforcongress.com/...
As we head into the final days of the campaign, we need to gather sufficient funds to run the ad on local radio stations, particularly in the rural areas of the 4th District (most of it), where many people get their local news from their local radio stations. Compared to broadcast TV, radio ads are a bargain and an effective tool to reach voters in rural areas. We have the ad up and running in 5 towns, but we need more.
Contribute to airing the ad on more local radio stations by going to the special ActBlue page set up by WesPAC:
http://www.actblue.com/...
All funds contributed to the ActBlue pages that WesPAC created will go toward airing the ads. It will be money well spent. Please consider making even a modest contribution.
Dr. Selden Spencer is a very unique candidate. Have you ever heard of a candidate taking 2 1/2 weeks off two months before election day to do volunteer medical work and learn more about the Middle East situation? He spent two weeks in Kabul, Afghanistan in late August on a medical mission. Check out Dr. Spencer's blog from Afghanistan:
http://www.spencerforcongress.com/...
His homepage has his closing TV commercial, which is also unique in that he simply states why he is hanging up his stethoscope and heading to Washington - no attacks, just compassion.
http://www.SpencerforCongress.com
The Republican opponent, Tom Latham, is strictly a Bush follower. He was quoted as saying that he follows Bush's policies in Iraq because he has no choice! In the only publicly released poll, Latham has a 40% approval/42% disapproval and only a 35% re-elect. The PVI for the district is +0.4 D. Latham is very vulnerable. We just need to get Spencer's name ID up and beef up his national security credentials.
Thanks for any small contribution you can make towards this important project.