The Democratic Party

The Democratic Party

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Support Fighting Democrats Get Info on Fighting Dems Petition: Honor Our Veterans New Poll Shows GOP Broken Promises Hurting Our Troops At a time when our nation is asking great sacrifices of our brave men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, a new poll indicates that too many have not received the resources they need and were promised. According to a poll release this week by VoteVets.org Action Fund, 42 percent of the veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan reported receiving sub-standard equipment while on duty. Close to two-thirds believe the wars have left the Army and the Marine Corps overextended at this time. This follows the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, which found that the President's approval rating has fallen three points to 40 percent and "46 percent of registered voters believe the war in Iraq has hurt the United States in its ability to win the war on terrorism." Read More · Link to this article · Send to a Friend

Tammy Duckworth Delivers Democratic Radio Address If the President Says It, It Must Be True Sobering Conclusions Democrats & Iraq Additional Articles

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The Democratic Party

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IL-06: Real Patriotism Tammy Duckworth is the real thing: During an election debate at the weekend in the outskirts of Chicago, Peter Roskam, the Republican candidate for Illinois's sixth district, trotted out the familiar line that his Democratic opponent wanted America to "cut... Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (8) Today in Iraq More news of escalating violence in Iraq: Suicide bombers killed at least 34 people in attacks in western and northern Iraq on Monday, underscoring the continuing violence throughout the country as U.S. and Iraqi forces focus on tamping down attacks... Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (5) Moral Authority & The Geneva Convention Yesterday: The Senate Armed Services Committee defied President Bush on Thursday, with four Republicans joining Democrats in approving a plan for the trial and interrogation of terrorism suspects that the White House has rejected as unacceptable. The Republican rebellion was... Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (23) Rep. Murtha Calls for Rumsfeld Resignation John Murtha blogs over at HuffPo: Today I introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives calling for the immediate resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. The President must show the American people and the world that there is... Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (11) Fighting Dems Blast GOP's Broken Promises to America's Veterans Today, two Democratic Congressional candidates who are veterans of our armed forces and former Democratic National Committee Chairman Don Fowler blasted the Bush Administration and the Bush Republicans in Congress for breaking their promise to America’s veterans and military families. Read More · Link to this Article DNC Veterans and Military Families Council Supports Military Families The DNC's Veterans Council passed a resolution seeking to protect the families who have lost loved ones on the battlefield by deploring "cruel and inappropriate protests at military funerals" and calling for laws that support those families’ right to privacy and dignity by insuring "a respectful distance" between those funerals and protesters. Read More · Link to this Article The Bush Administration Has Let Down Our Veterans This week, Vice President Cheney and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld will appear at the 107th annual

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The Democratic Party

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convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Las Vegas, with Cheney gave the keynote address today. Read More · Link to this Article Pointless After opining for the need to "stay the course" Tom Friedman admits it's time for a new strategy in an piece in The New York Times: When our top commander in Iraq, Gen. John Abizaid, tells a Senate Committee, as... Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (13) We didn't have a "dickens of a time". Yesterday Secretary Rumsfeld claimed that he had “never painted a rosy picture” of the sitution in Iraq. He claimed one would have a "dickens of a time trying to find instances where I have been overly optimistic.” Well we looked... Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (5) Fighting Dems Stand Up Against "Vicious Right Wing Smears" The newest target of a swift boat attack? Rep. John Murtha, who is being sued for speaking out against some of the worst atrocities in Iraq. As Glen Greenwald writes: The lawsuit filed yesterday against Murtha based on his comments... Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (9) No End in Sight... A bloody day yesterday in Iraq, as more died: From Reuter's: A boy, about 12 years old, stood in the street sobbing and tearing his shirt after seeing his dead mother. "My mother, my mother, my mother," he screamed, as... Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (10) Montana Veterans Feel Let Down By Sen. Burns United States Senate candidate Jon Tester may not have served in the military, but that has not stopped veterans from throwing their support his way. Jed C. Fitch, 32, of Butte, is a Marine Corps captain who served in Iraq.... Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (0) Jim Webb Delivers Democratic Radio Address This week, Jim Webb, candidate for United States Senate in Virginia, delivered the Democratic Radio Address, where he discussed military service and the July 4th holiday. Read More · Link to this Article Sad Milestone in Iraq Underscores Urgent Need for a Real Policy

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The Democratic Party

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Democratic National Committee Press Secretary Stacie Paxton issued the following release on the House Republicans' playing political games with the Iraq War. Read More · Link to this Article Senator Daniel Akaka Delivers Democratic Radio Address This week, Senator Daniel Akaka of Hawaii delivered the Democratic Radio Address. To listen to the audio, click here. Good morning. This is Senator Daniel Akaka, United States Senator from Hawaii. On Monday, our nation observes a sacred holiday-Memorial Day.... Read More · Link to this Article MUST READ: A Fourth General Calls For Rumsfeld's Resignation Today, the New York Daily News reports that a fourth former General, this time Maj. Gen. John Batiste, who led an Army Division in Iraq until last November, has publicly called for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's resignation. Read More · Link to this Article Dean Conference Call with General Wesley Clark, Don Fowler, and Lt. Colonel Andrew Horne As part of the Democratic National Committee's commitment to reaching out to and supporting America's veterans and military families, DNC Chairman Howard Dean yesterday announced the appointment of regional members of the Democratic National Veterans and Military Families Council and unveiled the Council's new website highlighting the campaigns of more than two dozen Democratic veterans running for Congress. Read More · Link to this Article DNC Announces Veterans Council Membership, Unveils "Fighting Dems" Website As part of the Democratic National Committee’s commitment to reaching out to and supporting America's veterans and military families, DNC Chairman Howard Dean today announced the appointment of regional members of the Democratic National Veterans and Military Families Council and unveiled the Council’s new website highlighting the campaigns of more than two dozen Democratic veterans running for Congress. Read More · Link to this Article Democrats Offer Bold Security Agenda Democratic leaders across the country joined House and Senate Democrats in unveiling a comprehensive plan for providing the American people with real security. The agenda stands in stark contrast to the dangerous incompetence of the Republican leadership. Read More · Link to this Article MUST READ: Bush Budget Turns Back On Veterans An op-ed by former U.S. Representative and Fox News contributor Martin Frost highlights the disastrous impact President Bush's severe cuts in key veterans' health programs will have on the economic security of the brave men and women who have served in our country's armed forces.

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The Democratic Party

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Read More · Link to this Article Dean: Bush Losing His Security Blanket Three years after Vice President Cheney said that American troops would be greeted as liberators, the American military today is engaging in the largest air strikes since the war began. Read More · Link to this Article General Wesley Clark and Kentucky Iraq War Vet Discuss Bush Speech in Louisville Army General Wesley Clark and Lt. Colonel Andrew Horne, a Marine who served two tours in Iraq, today held a conference call with reporters to discuss the President’s speech in Louisville Read More · Link to this Article President Bush Should Follow His Own Advice on Veterans Benefits Speaking on veterans' issues at the American Legion convention today, President Bush said that members of Congress have learned a powerful message over the years: "Don't mess with America's veterans." Read More · Link to this Article Republicans Continue to Undermine the Security of America's Veterans Republicans in Washington once again rejected a Democratic effort to provide a crucial boost to veterans' health care. Read More · Link to this Article Dean: Bush Balancing Budget on Backs of Wounded Veterans For the second time in a week, the Bush Administration will deliver a major address to the nation’s largest veterans’ group the day after the Associated Press revealed drastic cuts to veterans’ benefits in the President’s budget. Read More · Link to this Article Support the Troops ... Price Them Out of Health Care Associated Press: The Bush administration wants many military retirees to pay more for health care, a proposal that could force the Republican-run Congress to choose between savvy politics and budget discipline. Only in a Republican controlled congress would funding the... Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (8) Fighting Dems Take the Hill Forty Democratic candidates for U.S. Congress - all veterans - gathered between the U.S. Capitol and the Washington Monument to tell the American people that this "Band of Brothers" was coming together to take "The Hill" ... again. Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (87)

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The Democratic Party

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Beyond Belief This will probably make your blood boil ... absolutely shameful. The Charleston, West Virginia Gazette: The last time 1st Lt. William "Eddie" Rebrook IV saw his body armor, he was lying on a stretcher in Iraq, his arm shattered and... Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (50) Democrats Support Investing in Stronger Military Today, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, former Secretary of Defense William Perry, and Senator Jack Reed unveiled a report entitled, "The US Military: Under Strain and at Risk." Read More · Link to this Article They're Serving Their Country Again While in Denver last week, the Governor met with a group of veterans who are working closely with the Colorado state party to get out the vote and get some more democrats elected across the state. What they had to say was pretty interesting and some of the work that they are doing is quite extraordinary. Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (13) 'Mmmm Bubp' By now, most everyone has either read the transcript or seen the video of Congresswoman Jean Schmidt calling Congressman John Murtha's courage into question through a surrogate -- Colonel Danny Bubp. Schmidt's attacks on the integrity of one Marine after another for political gain is a pattern that raises serious questions about the priorities and values of Republican leaders. Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (12) Talking Points Are Not a Strategy in Iraq "Stay the course" is not a plan, it's a slogan. And in the absence of any plan to secure Iraq other than "stay the course," it shouldn't surprise anyone to see the public and Members of Congress begin to question that course. Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (27) Dean Honors America's Veterans and Servicemembers on Veterans Day Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean today issued the following statement honoring America's veterans and urging Republicans in Congress to join Democrats in fighting for the brave men and women who have served our country: "Today, our nation honors the... Read More · Link to this Article Iraq Veterans Want Change Associated Press: "Lawyer Patrick Murphy and five other veterans of the Iraq war are asking questions about President Bush's policies in Iraq as part of their broader Democratic campaigns to win congressional seats in next year's elections."

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The Democratic Party

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Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (99) Pentagon Not Reimbursing Troops Who Buy Body Armor It is a crime -- literally -- that the Pentagon has not reimbursed the troops for their body armor and other vital equipment. It is equally reprehensible that our troops and their families are still purchasing this equipment themselves. Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (441) Meeting with Cindy Sheehan I met with Cindy Sheehan and three activist supporters here in my office at the DNC (two of whom were involved in the Presidential race) on Saturday after the rally. Some of you have met her, but for those who... Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (58) President Bush Fails Mississippi Guard -- Again Just one day after the Washington Post reported that 600 Mississippi Guardsmen would not be granted leave to inspect damage to their homes from Hurricane Katrina and despite substantial evidence of an inadequate federal response to the worst natural disaster in American history, President Bush claimed "we've got plenty of troops" - on the ground in Iraq and the Gulf Coast/ Read More · Link to this Article From Texas, a First-Hand Account I was sent this message from Melissa Noriega, the wife of Texas State Representative Rick Noriega who is also a Leuteniant Colonel in the US Army. Last week, Houston Mayor Bill White appointed him to run operations at the George R. Brown Convention Center (GRB as it's in the letter), which houses 4000 evacuees. Lt. Colonel Noriega just returned from a tour in Afghanistan, and while there his wife Melissa held his seat in the Texas legislature. Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (17) Dean: Roosevelt and Truman Had a Plan to Win WWII; Bush Needs Plan for Iraq Democratic Presidents Roosevelt and Truman led America to victory in World War II because they laid out a clear plan for success to the American people, America's allies and America's troops. President Bush has failed to put together a plan, so despite the bravery and sacrifice of our troops, we are not making the progress that we should be in Iraq. Read More · Link to this Article Too Little Too Late: White House Will Finally Replace Humvees… by 2008 According to the USA Today, the Pentagon "is accelerating its search to replace the Humvee after two years of roadside bomb blasts and suicide attacks in Iraq that have killed hundreds of soldiers in a vehicle not designed for urban combat." Read More · Link to this Article

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The Democratic Party

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Bush Has Abandoned National Guard and Reserve Today, President Bush is addressing National Guard troops in Idaho to buoy support for his failed policies in Iraq. At the same time, a new Harris Poll shows President Bush's job approval ratings are at their lowest ever, with only 40% of Americans holding a favorable opinion of the President's and his policies, while 58% have a negative opinion. Read More · Link to this Article A Veteran of Empty Rhetoric Takes Broken Promises to VFW Gathering Amid dropping poll numbers and dissent within his own party over the direction of the War in Iraq, today in Utah, President Bush kicks off a weeklong effort to defend his failed policies. Read More · Link to this Article Bush Administration Failing Our Veterans Despite underfunding veterans' benefits and opposing health care for our troops, the Bush White House has dispatched Vice President Cheney to Springfield, Missouri today to speak to the 73rd national convention of the Military Order of the Purple Heart. Read More · Link to this Article Bush Administration Failing Our Veterans Despite underfunding veterans’ benefits and opposing health care for our troops, the Bush White House has dispatched Vice President Cheney to Springfield, Missouri today to speak to the 73rd national convention of the Military Order of the Purple Heart. Read More · Link to this Article Dean: Cheney’s Empty Rhetoric Won’t Provide Missouri Veterans Benefits Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean today urged Vice President Cheney to use his visit to Missouri to explain why the Bush Administration has failed to fully fund veterans benefits for the brave Missourans fighting on the front lines of the war on terror. Read More · Link to this Article Failed Bush-Cheney Leadership Leaves Idaho Workers And Veterans Behind Less than two weeks after President Bush signed the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR), Vice President Dick Cheney sweeps into Boise tonight for a fundraiser benefiting Idaho Republican Senator Larry Craig. Read More · Link to this Article Bush Retreats on Iraq Promises Unrealistic goals, bad policies, and incompetent political leadership have forced the Bush administration to lower expectations about accomplishments in Iraq. Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (107)

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The Democratic Party

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Patriotism In Action Cindy Sheehan's personal pain is unimaginable. The courage it takes to camp out on the side of a dusty Texas road in honor of her son is only matched by that of those who serve in Iraq. Those questioning her should be ashamed of themselves and should stop putting grossly partisan politics ahead of common decency. Instead of supporting a grieving mother, they want to publicly trash her because the loss of her son and her personal pain reflect poorly on the President. Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (49) They Could Have Gotten Him The administration has long denied that we knew for sure that Osama bin Laden was holed up at Tora Bora during our military operation there in December 2001. Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (36) Dean: Hackett Race Highlights Success of Fifty-State Strategy Iraq War veteran Paul Hackett showed that Democrats can be competitive all over the country by running a remarkable campaign to replace former Rep. Rob Portman in a district that voted overwhelmingly for President Bush in 2004. Read More · Link to this Article Republicans Break Their Promises to Our Military Republicans have quietly tried to cut corners when it comes to the needs of America's veterans and the courageous men and women in the military. Read More · Link to this Article Chairman Howard Dean's Statement on Independence Day On this Fourth of July, Americans are united in celebration of our nation's unwavering commitment to freedom, justice, and individual liberty. Read More · Link to this Article This July 4th, Celebrate With Our Troops America is the greatest nation on earth because it was founded as response to tyranny by men who craved their freedom. Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (17) The Hardball Transcript Governor Dean was on Hardball last night, and the transcript is fantastic. Just a few of the many good quotes from last night are below... Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (42) Dean: Troops Deserve More Than Bush's "Discredited" Rhetoric

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The Democratic Party

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Disappointingly, the President followed Karl Rove's advice last night and linked Iraq to 9/11 no fewer than five times in just over 35 minutes. He ignored the concerns that Americans have expressed about the war, and still refused to provide real answers or a clear path to success in Iraq. Even former Reagan aide David Gergen expressed that he was "offended" by the number of times President Bush mentioned 9/11. Read More · Link to this Article Exploiting September 11th John Aravosis points to NBC's First Read, which points out that the muddying of the waters between Iraq and September 11th is pure political strategy. Now raise your hand if you still think Karl Rove’s 9/11 remarks last week were... Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (36) Bush Offers Defensive Rhetoric, Not Solutions With the violence in Iraq increasing daily, the American people are raising questions about Bush's strategy. Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (62) Radio Actuality: Dean Calls For 'Clear Plan' From Bush DNC Chairman Howard Dean released the following radio actuality on President Bush's nationally televised speech tonight in Fort Bragg: "Every day as Americans turn on their televisions and open their newspapers, they can see for themselves that the Bush Administration's... Read More · Link to this Article Bush Still Doesn't Get It: It's Time to Get Bin Laden Bush doesn't get it. There's an easy way to make sure we don't "yield the future of the Middle East" to bin Laden: catch him. Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (44) Poll: Bush More Unpopular Than Ever Tonight, Bush will try to bump those numbers back up by giving a speech in front of a backdrop of troops whose pay and benefits he has consistently tried to cut. Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (14) Democrats Working to Expand Veterans Mental Health Care From Stars and Stripes: More mental health resources are needed to deal with stress from Iraq and Afghanistan now, before those veterans develop even more serious mental problems, according to Democrats and veteran support agencies. On Thursday both groups lobbied... Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (2) Democrats look to Restore $1 Bil for VA Health Care

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The Democratic Party

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From the Chicago Sun-Times The shortage came to light during a routine budget review. Lawmakers said they are still gathering details, but it appears health care for veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and poor budget forecasting contributed to the... Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (2) Dr. Brzezinski Delivers Democratic Radio Address This week, former National Security Advisor Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski gave the Democratic Radio Address. Read More · Link to this Article Bush: The Buck Stops Somewhere Else will President Bush come clean about the case he made for war? Read More · Link to this Article

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