VoteVets and Wesley Clark discover the internet
So, Wesley Clark has weighed in to VoteVets on the comment that Congressman Joe Walsh made about Tammy Duckworth which the Democrats has construed as meaning that she’s not a “true hero”. First, what Walsh said;
Walsh said. “Now I’m running against a woman who, I mean, my God, that’s all she talks about. Our true heroes, the men and women who served us, it’s the last thing in the world they talk about.”
The context was that real heroes don’t talk much about their service, but obviously, that’s all Tammy Duckworth has to run on. I’m not saying she shouldn’t, I’m just reporting the discussion. Walsh has gone on CNN since and correctly repeated that he’s said that Duckworth is a hero hundreds of times, but because her service is the centerpiece of her campaign, she has to make up attacks on her service in order to gain a leg up (no pun intended) on her opponent.
But anyway, Wesley Clark, this generation’s General George McClellan, felt a need to weigh in last week in a letter to VoteVets and their supporters;
Obviously, Clark would like us to forget that he criticized John McCain’s service when McCain was running for the presidency in 2008. Clark said, according to Jon Solz, VoteVets’ Executive Director in the Huffington Post;
So, in short, General Clark respects John McCain’s service, calls him a hero to millions, but notes that experience doesn’t make him qualified to be Commander in Chief.
Now, VoteVets.org isn’t getting into the presidential race, but I don’t see what is so wrong about what General Clark said. And yet, immediately and unsurprisingly, the McCain campaign let loose with a response that expressed shock and dismay.
It looks exactly like what Walsh said; that McCain is a hero, but that being shot down doesn’t qualify him for the presidency. Back then Soltz wrote “I don’t see what is so wrong about what General Clark said”. But now, because the shoe is on the other foot, it’s an entirely different tune. Oh, did I mention that Duckworth was on VoteVets’ Board of Directors, along with Wesley Clark until this campaign? That she staffed the Department of Veterans’ Affairs from the ranks of VoteVets – that’s where dicksmith works now, along with most of the VoteVets members who we’ve profiled here.
I know I wrote about this once before, but I figured that it needed to be said again. I was trapped in the waiting room at Walter Reed last week with Wolf Blitzer on the tube while he was interviewing Walsh and found Walsh totally believable in regards to his comments, despite the double teaming efforts of Blitzer and his staff to make him crack.
Guess I’m always amazed at the hypocritical lengths Soltz and the boys at VoteVets will employ, all the while calling themselves non-partisan because they once supported Chuck Hagel, the anti-war Republican Senator from Nebraska. And in regards to their support for Hagel that they like to wave around as proof of their “non-partisan” creds, Hagel never ran for office during the time that VV existed. He served two terms beginning in 1997 – his only reelection bid was in 2002 before VV existed, then he retired in 2009 when that term ended. So VV has never supported a Republican veteran for any office, despite what they tell us.
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Clark is the best General since McClellan…
McClellan was a failure.
Liberal thy name is hypocrisy.
JP,
That was the point. Clark was intellectual wunderkind who proved lacking at the strategic level who now is political hack. Much like McClellan.
They call hm Weaselly for a reason.
Of course in the 2008 election McCain was attacking Obama for not having executive experience. Clark was pointing out that McCain didn’t have any either.
Duckworth has spent her professional life in the military and VA systems. Thus, that’s what she talks about. I don’t see a comparrison here.
That said the way clark went about his comments about McCain was over the line in my opinion. Just as Walsh’s comments were over the line.
Here we go again with the term ‘hero,’ the most overused word in the English language as we know it today.
Not every person that puts on the uniform is a ‘hero’ by default.
A true hero is one that goes above and beyond the call of duty. Duckworth, with all due respect, was just doing what her job entails, and paid a price for it. While I respect that, it is no more heroic than if a police officer or fire fighter suffered severe injuries doing their job.
We really need to stop with this gushing ‘hero’ nonsense as it applies to all military personnel.
If not for a wise British Para; Gen Clark would have instigated at the very least, a very dramatic standoff with Russian Troops, at worst it would have been a blood bath…
Nothing he has said or done since has any credibility. He is a loon.
Wesley Clark!!??
Does ANYBODY listen to that escapee from a petri dish … other than fellow escapees??
@#8, right on.
@8
Probably referring to his former deputy Lt. Gen Michael Jackson
Vote Vets is about as non-partisan as MSNBC or Fox…and Clark is just like so many others who like to use their freedom of speech while suppressing others…if the statement that getting shot down and being a prisoner doesn’t provide the qualities needed to be president is not offensive, then the statement getting shot down and losing your legs doesn’t qualify you to be a Congresswoman can’t be offensive either.
That’s the part about speech we all forget (me included from time to time) that the speech we hate must be as protected as that we love…while I detest Limbaugh I am against the petition on Vote Vets to silence him….he has a right to speak his mind as does General Clark…
Nothing new about spin doctors playing to the choir though…
Uhh, I think the point is that Wesley Clark can be fairly accused of deliberately misconstruing the point of Congressman Joe Walsh’s remarks. At minimum, he is misrepresenting those remarks in this letter.
The General is an adult, and he ought to know better than to rely on fourth-hand, politicized information. But then, that’s part of how John F’n Kerry lost his election.
Wes Clark = assclown
Enough said….
Former 4 star SACEUR COCOM was his own worst enemy. He circumvented his immediate superior former SECDEF William Cohen and CJCS ret. GEN Hugh Shelton – going directly to President Clinton on recommendations. This was a serious breach of protocol. Wes found out soon enough that he may be best buds with Bill, but the SECDEF and CJCS are the ones that really matter in chain of command – not the POTUS. Bill couldn’t protect his buddy – Wes resigned with a year left on his term as SACEUR.
OldCavLt: I once worked with a guy who went to West Point with Clark. The individual told me that even then Clark was an obvious schmooser and a politician. The impression I got was that he also wasn’t terribly well thought of by most of of his peers.
How many times has Duckworth lost in her bid for congress? Hell she even lost when she ran when Obama was on the ticket I do believe. I think a lot of people realize that she really milks her disabled vet status. There are a few amputees out there who have done more than make political allies out there and earned more than political appointments without pointing to their injuries at every chance. The more she has people like vote vets clowns come to her defense it just sounds like she has someone coming to the “leave tammy alone” chorus. She isn’t campaigning on anything else.
In my own (very biased) opinion, I think this article hit the nail on the head: http://rhinoden.rangerup.com/douche-of-the-week-rep-joe-walsh/
Using service as a crutch (tasteless and horrible pun intended) may, or may not be what LTC Duckworth is doing during her campaign, but what Rep. Walsh said was just douche filled ass.
However, Clark’s attempt to try and cherry pick and generalize comes from the exact same douche filled ass, it’s just a slightly different flavor.
@#16 currently working at Benning with a guy who was Wesley’s G2. Pretty much echoed those sentiment. We were discussing what the tank after the Abrams would be called. Several names were mentioned when this gentleman mentioned “The could call it the ‘Clark’ but it would make random hard left turns and have a tendency to shoot other tanks in the back.”
My functional area allows me to associate with a lot of folks who served directly with or under several of the Army’s former senior officers. None who worked for or with Clark have a kind word.
@#19, post beverage alerts, Stacy. Now, that was funny.
Now waiting on insipid to show up and defend the Weasel, like he does Jawn F’ing Kerry.
No. 21:
No — do not bring up HAW-VAWD College .
Nos. 1 + 2 = That’s teamwork objective and voluntary .
@19 That made me laugh out loud, thank you….sadly it does reflect on the General…but we are what we are…
Talking about the very same LT GEN Wesley Clark that loaded up five tanks out of North FT Hood and hauled to Waco, to support Big Sis(Janet Reno) in her oh so brilliant moment of siege with the Branch Davidians….Right?
@19
Also tips of the tank guns painted deep shade of brown.
@21
How often was Bob Kerrey confused with John Kerry? Both were Naval officers,served together as Democrats in U.S. Senate and pretty liberish. Well it doesn’t look good for Bob, who is basically a New York Lib now, getting his old Nebraska U.S. Senate seat back (his NY bred wife hates idea anyway and where’s Nebraska?)…anyhew cuts down on confusion.
One and the same….one of the few times in our history that serving a warrant ended up with the deaths of a bunch of folks who were not wanted for anything…hot dog cowboys rode that train right to the end…
They could have taken that j3rkoff anytime he went to town which was very often…instead they get a fed and a pile of civilians killed…and in typical Democrat fashion the person taking responsibility keeps their job….how is that that taking responsibility to a Democrat just means drafting a memo stating that they are
taking responsibility but they don’t lose their position?
Actually Devtun, Bob Kerrey never put himself forward as the man to be POTUS in 2004 as I recall. But, I do recall John F’ng sKerry standing on stage during the DNC convention offering his wimpy ass excuse of a hand salute, declaring he was “reporting for duty”. So no, I’ve never cornfused the two men…But, I do like that I got involved in running sKerry’s little dick into the dirt. I know of a few others that would be real proud to say the same thing or at least a variant there-of. In fact, I am really proud of that.
Streetsweeper,
I could imagine having John “hey I was in vietnam” Kerry reporting for duty, and leading a platoon… He would say charge that hill I am right behind you… then halfway up you turn around and he is gone. Oh wait this isn’t about how much kerry sucks.
Wesley Clark and Bill Clinton are war criminals. They murdered, I repeat, they [murdered] thousands of Serbian Catholics from 25,000 feet; Serbians who effectively deterred an assault on southeastern Europe by Muslem hordes staging in Kosovo and Macedonia. Democrats have a history of being on the wrong side. They can’t be trusted to protect America.
Wesley Clark is a useless, opportunistic tool.