Veterans Of Iraq And Afghanistan Running For Congress
Whats wrong with this statement????
“I was in Central and South America on counternarcotics operations when my opponent was in grade school,” he says. “I have a master’s degree in national security. I’m more than just a guy who stood behind a rifle.” - Mike Lumpkin (D)
Sounds to me as if Duncan D Hunter is running against John Kerry, although Mike Lumpkin is a Democrat..
SUPPORT VETS FOR FREEDOM
US News & World Report
September 9, 2008
With elections two months away, there’s a quiet surge sweeping the nation from Maine to California, as veterans steeled from tours in Iraq and Afghanistan test their mettle in a new and bare-knuckled arena. They’re running for Congress.
Two years ago, much was made of the “Fighting Dems” seeking seats in the House and Senate. Only a few prevailed. This time, the Republican Party is not lacking for candidates, since it counts 11 men in its camp who have had recent combat tours, equal to the number of battle-tested Democrats trying for congressional seats.
Having served in the armed forces by no means guarantees success on Election Day. Still, the potential influx of veterans, particularly with no end in sight to today’s wars, will most likely, in the years ahead, change the face of Congress, which has been relatively light on vets since the Vietnam era.
One of the Democrats’ best prospects is in the Midwest, where ex-marine Ashwin Madia, 30, is holding his own in an against-the-odds battle for an open seat in a suburban Minneapolis district that has sent Republicans to the House for the past 48 years.
The race pits an Iraq war veteran against a veteran of political wars in the state capital. “I don’t have experience in St. Paul, but I have experience in Baghdad,” boasts Madia, a lawyer and former captain. His only previous election win came when he was chosen the student body president at the University of Minnesota, but he turned heads when he won the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party’s endorsement last spring over a rival favored by the state’s political establishment up to and including former Vice President Walter Mondale.
Three tours. On the West Coast, the GOP is betting on Duncan D. Hunter to capture his father’s (and namesake’s) seat in the San Diego area. Hunter, 31, who was working for a high-tech firm on 9/11, met with Marine recruiters soon after and enrolled in the first Marine Officer Candidate School convened in the wake of the attacks. Since then, Hunter has served two tours in Iraq—he saw fierce fighting in Fallujah during his second deployment—and one more recently in Afghanistan.
So far, he’s outgunning his rival in this largely Republican enclave on several counts. His war chest is fat, his name identification is huge, and helping to lead the charge is his father, the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, who is retiring after 28 years in Congress. A captain in the Marine Reserves, the younger Hunter, making his first bid for office, has a succinct slogan that speaks volumes: “Called to serve, ready to lead.”
He says he’s running “for the same reason I joined the Marine Corps after 9/11, to protect America and keep it safe.”
Even in the unlikely event that Hunter stumbles, this sun-soaked district crowded with sailors and marines will still end up electing a man who has left boot prints in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hunter’s rival is Democrat Mike Lumpkin, 43, once the deputy commander of all U.S. special operations forces in Iraq—roughly 2,000 Army Rangers, Green Berets, and Navy SEALs scattered in 40 locations. Lumpkin was in and out of hot spots before retiring from the Navy in 2007 after 21 years. “I was in Central and South America on counternarcotics operations when my opponent was in grade school,” he says. “I have a master’s degree in national security. I’m more than just a guy who stood behind a rifle.”
Analysts say other top prospects nationally include two Ohioans, Republican Steve Stivers, a state senator who served in Iraq as a lieutenant colonel in the Army National Guard, and Democrat John Boccieri, an Air Force major who flew C-130 Hercules cargo planes in Iraq and Afghanistan. Another leading contender is western New York state’s Jon Powers, an Army captain and artillery platoon leader in Iraq, who is running as a Democrat.
It’s difficult to generalize about the troops who have laid down their arms and shed their uniforms to run for office. Some are political newcomers; some are not. Some already hold office at the state or local level. A handful are decent bets for House seats, but a larger number are destined for defeat, according to political analysts following the races.
Read More at the link
Be respectful of others and their opinions. Inflammatory remarks and inane leftist drivel will be deleted. It ain’t about free speech, remember you’re in a private domain. My website, my prerogative.
If you can't handle using your real email address, don't bother posting a comment.
Support Vets For Freedom!!!
September 9th, 2008 at 12:52 pmhttp://www.vetsforfreedom.org/pac/
Mike Lumpkin is so arrogant!!!!!! Does this lib think he only needs the votes of elitists to beat Duncan D? If that’s the only people who votes count to him no wonder he is so far behind Duncan D in the polls. Have fun eating Duncan’s rifle shells Lumpkin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
September 9th, 2008 at 12:55 pm“…I’m more than just a guy who stood behind a rifle.”
WTF????!!!!
First of all Lumpkin is behind in polling in SD and that is why he is taking shots at Capt. Duncan Hunter. But I think Lumpkin and his Masters Degree are too smart for their own good!! Did he or did he not just do the exact same thing that Kerry did a little while back?
This Great Nation of ours would not be safe if it were not for those guys that are sitting behind those rifles. I was an LAV Crewman for four years and even when I was a driver I could step up and take the place of either my Gunner or Vehicle Commander. If I really had to I could do the job of my Section Leader etc.
Lumpkin has done a great service to our Nation while he served in the Military, but I think that he has just shown that all he is worried about is getting into that seat in DC!!
He may have even earned himself a spot as this weeks Blue Falcon!!!
Semper Fi!!!
September 9th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Sounds to me like Mike Lumpkin just lost the election hehe 
September 9th, 2008 at 1:03 pmLumpkin = Dumb Ass
September 9th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Lumpkin needs to go back to school and lrearn how to campaign for Congress! 
September 9th, 2008 at 1:08 pm“…I’m more than just a guy who stood behind a rifle.”
WTF????!!!!
First of all Lumpkin is behind in polling in SD and that is why he is taking shots at Capt. Duncan Hunter. But I think Lumpkin and his Masters Degree are too smart for their own good!! Did he or did he not just do the exact same thing that Kerry did a little while back?
This Great Nation of ours would not be safe if it were not for those guys that are sitting behind those rifles. I was an LAV Crewman for four years and even when I was a driver I could step up and take the place of either my Gunner or Vehicle Commander. If I really had to I could do the job of my Section Leader etc.
Lumpkin has done a great service to our Nation while he served in the Military, but I think that he has just shown that all he is worried about is getting into that seat in DC!!
He may have even earned himself a spot as this weeks Blue Falcon!!!
Semper Fi!!!
—————————————-
OOHRAH!
September 9th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
Wow, I guess I am not even qualified to run my own life cause all I did was stand behind a rifle in WWII. 
Not that Lumpkin would have had my vote anyway but here is one hanging chad for Duncan Hunter from one mad as hell San Diego Vet. 
September 9th, 2008 at 1:12 pmGood to see a WWII vet here Bob! I salute and thank you!
Well, so we are supporting Vets, either dem or repub or other? I’m good with that. Wish we could talk Lumkin into changing that D to an R though
September 9th, 2008 at 2:04 pmChandler’s Watch radio show has worked with both R’s and D’s when it comes to veterans issues and causes. This guy talks the talk but does next to nothing to back it up. He is also weak on Border Security which is an issue that needs to be addressed. If you cannot define the borders of what you think is yours, it isn’t yours!!
Semper Fi!!
September 9th, 2008 at 2:15 pmHow is that race in Penn. going, the one between the marine and murfa?
September 9th, 2008 at 2:18 pmi didnt know that the guy holding the rifle is doing any less his part. that sounds like the mentality of someone who became high-up in ranks and stopped caring about the People below him. to refer to them as just “someone who stood behind a rifle”. so, to the both of them, thanks for serving. But, Lumpkin, you sir, are a buddy fucker.
September 9th, 2008 at 3:04 pmI’m glad we have VFF to counter those douchbags from Vote Vets.
September 9th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
September 9th, 2008 at 6:11 pmEyes open. Mouth closed.
September 9th, 2008 at 7:49 pmThey sound pretty good, any of them running for something next year?(when i get to vote)
September 9th, 2008 at 9:02 pmGet some!
September 9th, 2008 at 11:25 pmI love the sign
September 10th, 2008 at 2:11 amGuess this tells you how this guy really feels…typical lib…given the advantages and rewards of our country as a servicemember and then bitches about the “quality” of the very folks he served with and is among!
September 10th, 2008 at 6:36 amIf you guys don’t know that the Deputy Commander of all Special Operations Forces in Iraq means that he did more than stand behind a rifle and you somehow throw a life-long combat tested SEAL under the bus, politics is coming before patriotism. The age statement of service in Colombia when Junior was in grade school is nothing more than an absolute fact. There is NO WAY you all are in the service. You would treat fellow war dogs with more respect. What a shame.
September 11th, 2008 at 11:30 pm