In Praise of Fighting Dems

By Neil the Ethical Werewolf

People at Daily Kos and elsewhere are getting all excitedabout congressional candidates with military records. Dadahead isn’t. He says, “Why anyone would think that being a veteran is anadvantage for a Democrat, after the the flame-out of Wesley Clark and theswift-boating of John Kerry, is beyond me.” I happen to think that running a bunch of congressional candidates withIraq War records is an excellent idea, and I'll respond to Dadahead’s arguments.

There’s a world of difference between a presidentialcandidate who has the mannerisms of a Senator invoking his Vietnam service, and a congressional candidate whoactually sounds like a soldier invoking his Iraq service. Kerry had a long public record, and therewere more things that could interfere with his attempt to cultivate a militaryimage. One of these things was his ownspeaking style, which sounded nothing like the stereotype of a militaryman. The war he fought over30 years ago was against a different enemy. By contrast, congressional candidateswho served in Iraq – especially if their bearing, like that of Paul Hackett, fits some militarystereotype – will get instant credibility on a huge issue in contemporaryAmerican politics.