By: Lt. Col. (ret.) Jim Hunt
In the same week that my opponent, Congressman Dennis Rehberg, voted against the GI Bill—legislation that cares for our heroes when they return from war—he attacked me with a petty, political distraction. It's a predictable political stunt from a career Washington politician.
Yesterday, the Montana Republican Party and Rehberg attacked me and my 23 years of service in the Montana Army National Guard – citing an obscure, new Pentagon regulation regarding photos of candidates in their old uniforms. They told us to pull down our ad—an ad that speaks about Montana's values and priorities (you can see the ad below).
It appears that Congressman Rehberg, who has never served in the military, has a problem with me using a picture from my years in the Guard.
Let me be clear – I won't let him pull my ad down. I won't let him erase the 23 years of service that I'm damn proud of.
Montana needs a leader who won't play political games. We need a leader who will protect our veterans and provide them with the benefits that heroes deserve.
I'm going to fight back against Rehberg's attack on my service. But, most importantly, I'm not going to let him play games with veterans, and I'm not going to let him get away with letting Montana's vets down when they need us most.
This is going to be a defining issue in the campaign. He's voted against mandatory dwell time for our troops which would provide them time to recover after long tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He's voted against higher pay for our sailors, soldiers, airmen and Marines. He's consistently voted against better health care for our veterans. And just last week he voted against a new GI Bill for the men and women returning from war.
With a record like that, it's no surprise he's already reaching into his bag of political tricks. As a retired Lieutenant Colonel, I'm not going to let him get away with it and I'm not going to let him ignore vets any longer.
I've told Congressman Rehberg that I'll debate him anytime. And, since Montana has more veterans-per-capita than almost other state, let's start by debating the GI Bill. It's a debate he's going to lose.
Montana deserves better. If you have not already, please join my campaign at www.huntforcongress.com. And help me keep this ad up on the air. (You can make a secure donation HERE.) I want every Montanan to watch it and decide for themselves who they want representing them in Congress.
(THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE DOES NOT ENDORSE THIS POST.)