Seattle voters, there’s only one candidate deserving of your vote. His name is Steve Beren. Read Steve’s official statement and tell me he isn’t the only adult in the WA-7 race:

Senator John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts, has once again insulted our troops. This morning he said: “You know education … if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don’t you get stuck in Iraq.”
His remarks are available in an online video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLuMWiQ6r2o
In these challenging times, we need to remain strong on national security. Our troops have overthrown dictatorships in Afghanistan and Iraq, and as a side effect, Libya dropped their nuclear program and was neutralized. Due to the heroism, nobility, and sacrifice of our troops, we are safer today.
Of course, we are not safe enough, we still face the dangers posed by North Korea, Syria, and Iran. But can you imagine how much worse it would be if Saddam Hussein and the Taliban were still in power, and if Qaddafi was still pursuing his nuclear program.
We can’t let Kerry, Pelosi, Kennedy, Cantwell, Howard Dean, and Jim McDermott set the national agenda. Kerry’s comments come as no surprise, but they do reflect an antagonism, arrogance, and elitism to those who protect our freedoms.
Of course, in the campaign of my opponent, Jim McDermott, the same negative attitude to our troops has been evident. Jim McDermott is a strong opponent of the liberation of Iraq and Afghanistan, and at every turn he opposes the efforts of the United States and its allies in the war against terrorism. Late last year, antiwar blogger Joshua Holland quotes Congressman McDermott as saying:
“As long as our troops are there they’re going to be a continued irritant in the situation, partly because, and this is a very important point, the troops are just kids put into a foreign land where they don’t know who the enemy is and they don’t know the language. So they protect themselves and innocent Iraqis get killed, and that fans the fires of the insurgency.”
Source: http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/26777/
I have quite a different view. My campaign platform states:
“Support our troops and their mission. Remain firm in the war against international terrorism. Combat terrorism at its roots by spreading democracy through the Middle East. We must not allow the Iranian dictatorship to acquire nuclear weapons. Maintain the terrorist wiretapping program, the Patriot Act, and other tools in the war against the terrorists.”
And in my May 27 speech to the Washington State Republican convention, I told the delegates:
“I support our troops in Iraq. They are today’s ‘band of brothers.’ I support them and I support their mission. Their mission is our mission. But Jim McDermott has called our troops in Iraq ‘a continued irritant.’ Actually it is McDermott who is an irritant to the state of Washington. If ever a congressman should pursue an ‘exit strategy,’ it’s Jim McDermott.”

Mr. McDermott’s Vietnam bias shines through when he says “the troops are just kids put into a foreign land…” Perhaps that was true in Vietnam but I’d seriously doubt that our troops are as youthful as Mr. McDermott suggests. I’d further suggest that our troops are battle-tested warriors who know what’s at stake in Iraq. I wouldn’t say that Mr. McDermott has a clue about what’s at stake with Iraq.

Technorati Tags: Election 2006, Steve Beren, Jim McDermott

Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog

1. [...] Cross-posted at California Conservative Categories: Military, Midterm Elections, Iraq, Terrorism, Foreign Policy, Anti-War Activists | [...]

   Pingback by Let Freedom Ring » Blog Archive » Steve Beren Speaks Out Against Kerry — November 1, 2006 @ 9:55 am

1. This should also polarize the voters in California, as Kerry was stumping for Phil Angeleides here in Cali when he said it.

   I’d like to see an additional 10 percentage points added to ole Arnie’s lead.

   Comment by Jenn — November 1, 2006 @ 10:08 am