(cross-posted at Deny My Freedom and Never In Our Names)
I just got off a conference call with PA-08 Democratic candidate Patrick Murphy. As I wrote about earlier today, his opponent, freshman GOP Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick, decided to open a series of Swiftboat-style attacks on him on Friday. It appears that the Democratic Party has learned its lesson with rapid response, and tonight, the campaign sent out a notice to speak with many prominent liberal bloggers about the upcoming response. The bloggers on tonight’s call included Chris Bowers of MyDD, Huffington Post contributor Taylor Marsh, mcjoan and Armando of Daily Kos (yes, that Armando), and Susan Kreuger of Democracy Cell Project. On the other side of the phone with Patrick were Captain Koby Langley and General Wesley Clark. Under the fold, I’ll recount to the best of my knowledge the content of the call, which was all on the record.
First, it’s a pretty heady experience to say ‘hello’ and have the first voice come back being General Clark. It’s difficult to introduce oneself after that; I stated my name and introduced myself as a blogger and a current college student. “You’re not just a blogger,” Clark said. “The pen is mightier than the sword.” It’s apparent that Clark is a clear supporter of the netroots and is quite engaged in what we are doing.
Captain Langley started off by talking about what he and Patrick did while they were in Iraq. Langley had been a captain in the 82nd Airborne Division as well, and he noted that although Patrick was a JAG, due to the lack of manpower in Iraq, they were often pressed into situations totally unrelated to law. For over a month, Patrick commanded over 75 convoys with Langley, ensuring the safety of the transport and. This is not merely a job that is far from the field, as Patrick’s accusers have stated; this was a job that made them ‘soft targets’, to put it in Langley’s own words. Other soldiers, whose primary task had been more legal-oriented, had been killed in Iraq before – this was dangerous work that Patrick had been involved in. Captain Langley repeatedly noted that Fitzpatrick has never been a member of the armed forces, and that it was disgraceful for him to be saying such things about Patrick, who earned a Bronze Star for his commendable service in Iraq.
General Clark was the next to speak, and you could hear the anger in his voice. He praised Patrick’s service, and although he noted that while there can be different feelings that run between different units in the army, Fitzpatrick has ‘no place in saying who’s qualified’. He said that the Swiftboating was ‘baloney’, and that we have got to stand up to it. Additionally, Clark railed against the ‘cowardice of the Bush administration and the complete corruption of the Republican Party’. He called Fitzpatrick a ‘phony patriot’, noting that he had no right to wear the American flag on his lapel after condoning such remarks. The Republicans, the general noted, ‘will destroy anything to hang on to power, even the reputation’ of a soldier who served America honorably and with distinction. He thanked all of us for being on the call, and he told us not only to raise the outrage meter on the Internet, but to also raise money for Patrick to fight back against these claims and to write letters to the Philadelphia-area papers.
Captain Langley came back and quickly noted that Fitzpatrick was having other veterans do his ‘dirty work’ for him, so as to escape blame. Patrick spoke next and stated that these were ‘baseless accusations’. Fitzpatrick, he stated was ‘putting political ambition ahead of the truth’. He pointed out the clear hypocrisy of Fitzpatrick, who had another news conference after the disparaging remarks were made to distance himself – the trademark of any Swiftboat attack by the right wing. He has released all of his Army records, unlike Kerry, and it’s clear that he has nothing to hide. It’s ridiculous, Patrick noted, that Fitzpatrick makes such claims when he has a 37% voting record on veteran’s issues, according to the Disabled Veterans of America. He implored all of us on the call to help get the truth out about his record, and that he appreciated all the help that the netroots community has given his campaign to date. With that, he opened the floor for questions from those of us present.
Questions from the bloggers
Susan Kreuger from Democracy Cell Project had the first question. She asked General Clark if such criticism of fellow soldiers would weaken our armed forces, which must work together as a team to get their jobs done. Clark stated that any criticism of one’s service was inappropriate. Even if the opposing candidate was a Republican, he said, he would respect the time that they served in their country. Soldiers ‘should be proud of their service’, and it is a disservice to everyone when they are assailed for it. After answering this question, the general thanked us for our time and left, as he had to catch a flight to Iowa.
Next up, Armando (no, that’s not a typo) noted that one of the soldiers who criticized Patrick was an Air Force pilot who served from January 2006 to April 2006. The insurgents in Iraq have absolutely no air capabilities, so the job in and of itself is a lot less dangerous than guarding convey transports on the ground. Armando wanted to know if this was going to be pointed out by Patrick, who replied that it would not be. Patrick’s a nice guy, and he says that he respected the pilot’s service despite the remarks that were said of him. This is a double-edged sword – by pointing out that the pilot never saw any ground action, it could do a lot to nullify the effect his remarks may have had. However, it would also give the GOP an opening in saying that Patrick ‘attacked the troops’, or something to that effect. I’m not sure if there’s enough nuance to give enough leverage to that kind of shallow, incorrect attack, but it’s hard to say.
The next question (I don’t know who the questioner was) asked about the local coverage of the story. It was on the front page of every important local paper in Bucks County, so it is definitely going to get some play there. I did not see any editorials on the matter as I scanned them this morning, so it’s hard to say what the newspaper editorial boards will say in the next few days. However, as I had previously noted, editorials written earlier this year stated there would be no tolerance for attacks on Patrick’s service. Let’s see if that comes through.
Taylor Marsh was the next questioner; she asked if there were any plans to hit local radio. Patrick will be on NPR tomorrow, and he will continue to get his message out on the airwaves. That’s why it’s so important for us to continue to donate to his campaign – with these scurrilous attacks, it’s absolutely necessary for us to hit back as hard – and as often – as possible.
My question was about who might be coming to the district to help give Patrick support. I already had heard of potential names being raised, but I could not disclose some of them (and I believe I still can’t mention a couple of them). Bill Clinton is going to be in town for a huge rally Wednesday morning. In addition, Senator John Kerry (D-MA) will be holding a teleconference with the press on Tuesday to counter these charges, and Patrick will also be hosting another teleconference on Wednesday with Senator Barack Obama (D-IL). He has already held several debates with Fitzpatrick, and he is willing to talk about the issues anytime, anywhere – so long as personal integrity is kept intact. It’s clear that the next debate (scheduled for later this week) could be a much more bitter affair than before. Patrick has already resorted to personally appearing at Fitzpatrick’s press conferences to confront the candidate about lies, and he’s not going to take any bullshit lying down.
After that, Patrick thanked us all for being there, and Captain Langley gave us his phone number to do any follow-up that we may have about his time with Patrick in Iraq. Mike Fitzpatrick chose to mess with the wrong man, and we’re going to make him pay for it. It’s time to have representatives in Congress who respect our troops and their service, not someone who’s never worn the uniform but has the audacity to criticize someone who has put their life in danger. Let’s send this right-wing chickenhawk into early retirement.
