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| 2009-05-19 |
| First, the lead paragraphs from the original story,http://www.denverpost.com/ci_12373595 WASHINGTON -- Rick Strandlof, executive director of the Colorado Veterans Alliance and the man most colleagues knew as Rick Duncan, was front and center during the 2008 political campaigns in Colorado. He spoke at a Barack Obama veterans rally in front of the Capitol in July, co-hosted several events with then- congressional candidate Jared Polis and attacked Republican Senate candidate Bob Schaffer in a TV ad paid for by the national group Votevets.org. And the mostly Democratic candidates he supported -- looking for credibility on veterans issues and the war -- lapped it up appreciatively.... Now, the Chicago Boyz commentary: From a story about a fake vet who campaigned heavily for Democratic candidates, including Obama, in Colorado. [h/t Instapundit] The candidates, who claim that they were defrauded along with Colorado voters, say: The Polis and Udall campaigns emphasize that Strandlof was a bizarre exception to the outpouring of help they received from veterans disillusioned with Bush-era policies. "His actions in no way reflect on the credibility of real veterans who supported Mark's campaign or on the importance of their issues," said Trujillo, Udall's spokeswoman. If there were a lot of veterans disillusioned with Bush-era policies (now Obama-era policies) why did they find it necessary to rely on a fake vet? If they had dozens or hundreds of real vets ready to sign on to their campaigns what are the odds the most prominent one would be a mentally-ill fraud? You con someone by playing to their prejudices. Strandlof conned the Democrats by presenting them a fabricated persona and history custom-designed to fit the Democratic narrative. An actor playing a vet scripted to their narrative served their purposes better than a real vet However, the real reason they didn't check Strandolf's creditials is that they didn't care if he was real or not. Democrats have a long history of using fake vets to win elections. John Kerry launched his political career using the fabricated testimony of fake veterans in his infamous "Winter Soldier" stunt. When he testified in front of Congress that American soldiers were committing war crimes on a daily basis "in a fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan" he offered as supporting evidence the fraudulent testimony of dozens of people who were either never in the military or had never served on the front lines in Vietnam. Kerry never paid any political price for his lying because the Democrats simply didn't care that he had lied. Democrats feel justified in using fake vets because of their utter contempt for the intelligence and wisdom of the electorate. Fake vets are just another version of the "What's The Matter with Kansas" mindset which holds that most American adults are simply too stupid to understand what is good for them. In this mindset, using fake vets to lie about the American conduct of a war is no more immoral than telling a child that Santa Claus exists. Fortunately for the health of the Republic, a lot of political diversity exists in the political beliefs of America's vets and active military personnel. Should we ever see a time when the vast majority of military personnel cluster in one part of the political spectrum we will face political instability. The Democrats could easily find veterans who would doubt the wisdom of any particular war or the specific means of conducting a particular war. Why then do they time and time again use fake veterans to front their arguments? Easy, real veterans won't lie. In 1971, John Kerry could have found thousands of real Vietnam veterans who believed the war ill conceived and ill fought but he couldn't find any real Vietnam veterans who would lie about witnessing large numbers of true war crimes. Without fake vets, John Kerry couldn't make his central argument that the American military in Vietnam had crossed over the line into Nazi-like evil. John Kerry's lies eventually got him to within a gnat's whisker of the Presidency. Younger Democrats have watched the rise of Kerry and others of his generation who lied and they know that deceit not only works but that using it has no negative consequences. For this reason, we will always see fake vets dragged out by Democratic candidates, activists and left-leaning media. They have no reasons, either moral or practical, not to do so. They think winning an election well worth a few days of "red faced" embarrassment. |
| Posted by:mom |
| #2 He's typical of the "phony" soldiers that Harry Reid trumpeted as heros maligned by Rush. Then Rush turned the table and made a few million bucks for the Marine and Law Enforcement fund. Maybe Harry or Nancy can stick by Duncan in public and give Rush another fund raising success. |
| Posted by: Jack is Back! 2009-05-19 10:21 |
| #1 Sorry, Mods: I accidentally hit the wrong key twice and you have unfinished titles. The third or fourth time should be the charm! |
| Posted by: mom 2009-05-19 09:51 |