We will have the distinct pleasure of hosting a conversation tonight (8-9 PM Eastern time) with congressional candidate Jim Marcinkowski of Lake Orion, Michigan. Mr. Marcinkowski has a distinguished history of serving our country.
He started out working in a clerical position with the FBI before enlisting in the Navy. Jim served in a variety of capacities in the Navy, including: as an air controller, and as an expert in anti-submarine warfare and surveillance of the Soviet Navy.
After his service in the Navy, he obtained a degree in political science from Michigan State University and a Law Degree from the University of Detroit. After completing his law degree, Jim joined the CIA and went through their Career Trainee Program and Operations Course with Larry Johnson and Valerie Plame.
He was assigned to operations in Latin America and
Washington D.C. When he left the agency to join the Prosecutor’s Office in Oakland County, Michigan, he received an Exceptional Performance Award.
His most famous accomplishment as an Oakland County prosecutor was in successfully prosecuting Jack Kervokian, the controversial doctor that assisted some chronically ill people in their suicides.
Jim is also a member of Teamsters Local 214.
His district is the 8th Congressional District and it is currently held by Mike Rogers. Rogers serves as “Majority Deputy Whip and as coalitions leader for the whip team; and on two major committees, the powerful Energy and Commerce panel and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.” Rogers also is a veteran of the FBI where he investigated public corruption. For this reason his name was recently tossed out as a potential replacement for Tom DeLay.
We will post a thread at 8 O’clock for those of you that are interested in talking to Jim about his candidacy and the important issues facing the country.
In the meantime, I find it to be an interesting phenomenon that there are an increasing number of veterans of our armed forces and intelligence agencies that are identifying themselves as Democrats and running for office. Some people are uncomfortable with aspects of this. And there are, indeed, many interesting things to discuss about the so-called ‘Fighting Dems’.
We can discuss them in this thread.
From my perspective, the Bush administration represents a radical departure from the traditional Republican Party. The influx of tough guys into the party represents a pushback against the Bush administration’s misuse and abuse of both the armed services and the intelligence community.
The left-wing of the Democratic Party has been critical of the way our intelligence services have been used since, at least, the Vietnam Era. Our biggest concern right now is with how the National Security Agency is being used. So, when we get together with intelligence officers it can make for strange bedfellows. We’ve all experienced this with the posts of Larry Johnson and Pat Lang.
One thing that unites us is a belief in the necessity for good dispassionate and non-partisan intelligence. Another thing that unites us is our belief in taking care of our veteran’s with the very best health care and benefits. Lastly, we are united in seeing the Iraq War as a strategic blunder.
To me, “The Fighting Dems” are not just some stunt to change the perception of the Democrats as soft on national security. They are indicative of a shifting center. Many people that have experience in national security are convinced that the Bush administration is endangering the nation and violating our civil liberties. In the past, they might have considered themselves moderate Republicans or libertarians. Today, they are Democrats. And while we might not share the same priorities, or the same views on both domestic and foreign policy, we do share a commitment to a new course that is significantly different from the one George W. Bush and Dick Cheney have charted.
