The Capitol Brigade
News: Iraq Veterans Running for Congress in 2006
October 21, 2005
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Service in Congress used to go hand-in-hand with service in the armed forces. For decades after World War II, a majority of Senators and Congressmen were veterans, and the proportion of vets in Congress was 10-15 percent higher than in the American population at large. The trend, which peaked during the Vietnam Era, when over 75 percent of congressional reps were veterans, continued as recently as the first Gulf War, when more than half had served. But today the numbers tell a different tale. Although some of the most prominent members of Congress are Vietnam vets—John Kerry, Chuck Hagel, and John McCain among them—the 2002 and 2004 cycles produced the smallest number of vets in decades. In today’s Congress, only 26 percent of members have military experience.
That number will jump up if Iraq veterans have anything to do about it. Driven by the unique relevance their experience has to current events and inspired by Paul Hackett’s near victory in an against-all-odds race in Ohio, soldiers back from the Middle East are scrambling to get their names on congressional ballots for 2006. Hackett, though, was not the first to run, or to lose. Marine Steve Brozak completed active duty in Haiti, Bosnia and Iraq before mounting, and losing, a high profile 2004 election fight in New Jersey. Fellow Marine David Ashe was outspent 3-to-1 in Virginia and lost by 10 points that same cycle. A Republican veteran in Wisconsin also lost, and Jean Schmidt, the woman who beat Hackett in the August 2nd special election, beat a different Iraq veteran in her Republican primary. All of this losing means that no Iraq War veteran sits in Congress today.
That isn't stopping Iraq veterans from running in 2006. Ashe is running again for the House in Virginia, and Hackett is taking a shot at the Senate. Andrew Duck is running for Congress in Maryland, Tim Dunn in North Carolina, and Patrick Murphy and Brian Lentz in Pennsylvania: Iraq vets all. Tim Walz, a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, is running in Minnesota, and two veterans who played crucial roles in the Iraq War stateside are running in Pennsylvania and New York.
Not surprisingly, these men and their nascent campaigns have significant similarities. They all claim to have ideas and political assets beyond their military experience, but all play up their service continually. Murphy, for example, introduces himself by saying, "Hi, I’m Patrick Murphy. I’m an Iraq war veteran – I served in Baghdad and I’m home and I’m running for Congress." Most take a page out of Hackett’s play book, running on a pro-troops, anti-Bush platform but hedging on the war itself. ("I’m not anti-war, I’m anti-failure," is how one candidate put it.) They hope that voters dissatisfied with the lack of progress in Iraq will elect candidates who see the value in America’s overseas adventures, but would plan them better. "We’re a nation at war," says Murphy. "Who better than veterans to step up and have an honest discussion about the challenges we’re facing?"
Another similarity is this: Ashe, Duck, Dunn, Murphy, Lentz, and the others are, like Hackett, Democrats. In total, 10 Democratic vets are running, or considering a run, for Congress. (A few more may declare in the coming weeks.) The Republicans, by contrast, can only commit to two. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the organ of the Party establishment responsible for recruiting and running candidates, explains the phenomenon by citing the failures of Republicans in Washington. "We have a Republican-controlled Congress that has failed to provide for troops returning from Iraq, and failed to provide on promises on health care and services for families," says spokeswoman Sarah Feinberg. "[The vets] are naturally running in an opposite way."
The Republicans do have two veterans. Hiram Lewis, an officer in the West Virginia Army National Guard, is running for Senate against Robert Byrd in West Virginia. Van Taylor, a Marine Corps major and Harvard Business School grad, is running for the House in Texas. Clearly at a recruiting disadvantage on the issue, the GOP is at pains to play down the significance of the trend. "The difference between us and the Democrats is that Democrats seem to be operating under the assumption that Paul Hackett ran well in Ohio solely because of his military experience," says Ed Patru, spokesman for the National Republican Campaign Committee, the Republican counterpart to the DCCC. "Military experience is great to have, but it doesn't help if you're wrong on the issues."
But the real worry for Republicans is that the Democratic Party has finally found a fool-proof way of bolstering its military credentials. The party insists it isn’t seeking out candidates with military service on their resumes, but Feinberg will admit that "recruiting an Iraq War vet is a perfect example of recruiting a candidate who understands the Iraq War and what the veterans of that war need." The Bronze Star Patrick Murphy won in Iraq is the perfect antidote to the Democratic Party’s weak-on-defense woes. Not only does it give them instant credibility on the war, it finally makes their opponents the ones in danger of criticizing the troops.
If Iraq and Afghanistan vets do head for Capitol Hill on the strength of their military credentials, it will represent the reversal of a trend. It remains to be seen, though, whether their experience in Iraq and Afghanistan gets us out of the wars of the present, and keeps us out of the wars of the future. Below are the men who make up the Capitol Brigade of 2006.
Iraq War Veterans Running for the House
Name: David Ashe
Age: 36
Rank: Major, United States Marines Corps
Service: In 2002, Ashe was deployed to Kuwait as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, serving as legal counsel to the commanding general of a coalition task force. Beginning in March 2003, Ashe was attached to an infantry battalion in Iraq and served as the sole coalition legal representative in the Al-Muthanna region. There, he helped restore the judicial system, firing Baathist judges, hiring new judges. He also helped draft a local government charter. In October 2003, Ashe left active duty after 7 years of service.
Party: Democrat
District: Virginia 2nd
Opponent(s): Republican incumbent Thelma Drake (one term); Democratic challengers Troy Farlow and Phil Kellem
District leanings: Drake beat Ashe in the 2004 Congressional election, 55-45; District went 58-42 for Bush in 2004.
Previous political experience: Failed election bid in 2004
Education and previous jobs: BA, Virginia Tech; JD, University of District of Columbia School of Law; Policy analyst, U.S. Chamber of Commerce; Attorney.
Website: www.davidasheforcongress.com
Notes: Ashe drove to Manhattan after Sept. 11 and spent several days with police officers in the "bucket brigades." He has completed the last four Marine Corps Marathons, and several dozen triathlons including two Ironman Triathlons. In statements on Iraq he has said he supports the "strongest position on the ground in Iraq that is possible so that we will follow through with the mission and have success." Ashe's website calls the candidate "a proud Jew" and has 1,400 words explaining Ashe's position on Israel. A sample: "America has too powerful a position in the world to ever be viewed as anything less than staunchly pro-Israel. If we waiver even a fraction, the world will see and the enemies will act." Home to Langley Air Force Base, Virginia's 2nd district has one of the highest concentrations of retired and active duty military personnel in the country.
Name: Andrew Duck
Age: 42
Rank: Captain, United States Army
Service: Duck entered the Army as a private and eventually became a platoon leader in Bosnia, a Korean translator, and an Intelligence Liaison Officer to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force in Iraq.
Party: Democrat
District: Maryland 6th
Opponent(s): Incumbent Republican Roscoe Bartlett (seven terms); Democratic challenger Barry Kissin
District leanings: Bartlett took 67% in his last election; District went 65-34 for Bush.
Previous political experience: None
Education and previous jobs: BA, Public Administration; worked for Merrill Lynch as a stockbroker and for Northrop Grumman as an advisor to the Pentagon.
Website: www.duckforcongress.com
Notes: Duck does not support a timetable for withdrawal of troops from Iraq. On his website, though, he puts forward a plan for success that includes transitioning to an international force, closing Guantanamo, energy independence within 10 years, and increasing literacy in the Muslim world. His opponent, who has represented the most conservative district in Maryland for almost 15 years, supports a Constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.
Name: Tim Dunn
Age: 45
Rank: Lieutenant colonel, United States Marine Corps Reserve
Service: Dunn has served in the Marine Corps Reserve since 1994. While serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom, he was stationed in Baghdad and helped the Iraqi Special Tribunal investigate and prosecute Saddam Hussein and other former Iraqi leaders. He also served in Kosovo.
Party: Democrat
District: North Carolina 8th
Opponent(s): Republican incumbent Robin Hayes (four terms); Democratic challengers Rick Glazier and Chris Kouri
District leanings: Hayes won 56% of the vote in his last election; District went 54-45 for Bush.
Previous political experience: Dunn ran for Congress in 1996 but lost the Democratic nomination to Mike McIntyre.
Education and previous jobs: Dunn established his own law practice in 1995. He is also a Sunday school teacher.
Website: www.dunnforcongress.com
Notes: Dunn cites Hayes' vote switch on CAFTA as his prime motivation for running. Hayes told his constituents repeatedly that he opposed CAFTA, but changed his vote under eleventh-hour pressure from the White House. Hayes was later named as the deciding vote in the press.
Name: Patrick Murphy
Age: 31
Rank: Captain, United States Army; JAG Corps attorney
Service: As an Army lawyer in Iraq, Murphy weighed reparations claims brought against the United States by civilian Iraqis who had lost family and property at the hands of coalition forces. Murphy heard more than 1,600 cases and paid out about $200,000. He initiated reconstruction efforts within the justice system, trained the new Iraqi Civil Defense Corps on the rules of engagement, and was instrumental in the prosecution of a lieutenant of Muqtada Sadr. He also served in Bosnia in 2002. For his service, Murphy earned the Bronze Star
Party: Democrat
District: Pennsylvania 8th
Opponent(s): Republican incumbent Mike Fitzpatrick (one term); Democratic challengers Paul Lang and Andrew Warren
District leanings: Fitzpatrick took 55% in his last election; District went 51-48 for Kerry in 2004.
Previous political experience: None
Education and previous jobs: BA, King’s College; JD, Widener University School of Law. Assistant professor of constitutional law, West Point Academy; Adjunct professor of American government, Mount Saint Mary College; Lecturer, Widener University School of Law. Murphy currently practices law in a Pennsylvania firm.
Website: www.murphy06.com
Notes: Murphy's father, two uncles and brother were/are in the armed forces. Fitzpatrick’s campaign estimates that there are 60,000 veterans in the district. Murphy's website boasts of a history delivering newspapers, waiting tables, and working in a factory. While in Iraq, Murphy wrote articles and columns in Arabic. He served as a paratrooper in the elite 82nd Airborne.
Name: Bryan Lentz
Age: 41
Rank: Major, United States Army Reserve
Service: Lentz commanded a civil affairs unit responsible for rebuilding infrastructure in Mosul, Iraq. He also worked with MFO and NATO peacekeeping missions in the Sinai Peninsula and Bosnia, where he oversaw millions of dollars of infrastructure development. Lentz has been awarded the Bronze Star.
Party: Democrat
District: Pennsylvania 7th
Opponent(s): Republican Incumbent Curt Weldon (10 terms); Democratic challenger Paul Scoles
District leanings: Weldon took 59% in his last election; District went 53-47 for Kerry.
Previous political experience: None
Education and previous jobs: BA, Georgetown University; JD, Temple University. Prosecutor, Philadelphia District Attorney's office; lawyer in private practice since 1999.
Website: www.lentzforcongress.com
Notes: The district has been won by Clinton (twice), Gore and Kerry. On his campaign website, Lentz calls Weldon a "rubber stamp" for Bush policies and attempts to associate Weldon with Tom DeLay. Lentz cites the frustrations he encountered on the ground in Iraq and the lack of a plan in the region as one of his primary reasons for running. He favors a timetable for withdrawal.
Name: Van Taylor
Age: 33
Rank: Major, United States Marine Corps Reserve
Service: Taylor served four years of active duty after graduating college and then joined the Marine Corps reserves. In Iraq, he led missions behind enemy lines for the 4500 Marine Task Force Tarawa, participated in the operation to rescue American P.O.W. Jessica Lynch, and rescued 31 wounded men under fire during a counter attack by several thousand Iraqi solders. Taylor has been decorated with the Navy Commendation Medal with "V" for Valor, the Combat Action Ribbon, and the Presidential Unit Citation.
Party: Republican
District: Texas 17th
Opponent(s): Democratic incumbent Chet Edwards (eight terms); Republican challenger Tucker Anderson
District leanings: Edwards took 51% in his last election; District went 69-30 for Bush
Previous political experience: None
Education and previous jobs: BA, Harvard College; MBA, Harvard Business School.
Website: www.vantaylor.com
Notes: Taylor was set to meet another Iraq vet in the Republican primary. Bentley Nettles, a lieutenant colonel with a Purple Heart and two Bronze Starts who had seen time in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq, dropped out on Monday, October 17. The district once had the highest number of veterans per capita of any in the country. That fact would seem to favor Taylor over Edwards (also a HBS grad), who has never served. But, says Sarah Feinberg, a spokesperson for the DCCC, "Chet has made keeping promises to veterans his number one priority for years now. He has such a strong record of support with veterans that we're not concerned." Indeed, in 2003, the Association of the US Army gave Edwards its "Legislator of the Year" Award. There are other factors that will come into play, anyway. Says Edwards, "I've won 11 consecutive elections in Central Texas based on my independent-minded, effective work for my constituents…Mr. Taylor just moved to our district this summer from 100 miles away in North Dallas and has no previous ties to our district." Chet Edwards was the only Democrat in Texas who survived the redrawing of his district.
Iraq War Veterans Running for the Senate
Name: Paul Hackett
Age: 43
Rank: Major, United States Marine Corps
Service: Hackett signed up for the Marines in late 1982 and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in 1985, on the same day he graduated from college. He was honorably discharged in 1999 but volunteered to go to Iraq. Hackett served as a civil affairs officer in Ramadi and ran a "liason team" in Fallujah, distributing humanitarian assistance, providing security for Iraqi officials, and coordinating basic operations in the city. He experienced hand-to-hand combat and was hit by an IED while part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Party: Democrat
State: Ohio
Opponent(s): Republican Mike DeWine (two terms); Democratic challenger Sherrod Brown
State leanings: DeWine’s job approval rating stands around 40%, depending on the poll consulted. He took 60% of the vote in 2000; State went for Bush 51-49 in 2004.
Previous political experience: Brief stint on Milford City Council, Ohio; Ran for Congress in Ohio's 2nd District, lost to Republican Jean Schmidt.
Education and previous jobs: BA, Case Western University; JD, Cleveland State University; Attorney with Ohio law firm and in private practice.
Website: www.hackettforcongress.com; www.hackettforohio.com
Notes: Hackett generated national media attention for almost winning a special election in Ohio's very conservative 2nd District. During the campaign, Hackett resisted the idea of a pull-out of troops from Iraq, but has since started calling for the quickest politically tactful pull-out possible. A darling of the blogs, Hackett has legions of fans online who were up in arms when Congressman Sherrod Brown, a liberal stalwart of the House, first suggested he wouldn't run and then reversed course.
Name: Hiram Lewis
Age: 34
Rank: Captain and JAG officer, West Virginia Army National Guard
Service: For an eleven month period starting March 2003, Lewis served as a magistrate in Baghdad as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Party: Republican
State: West Virginia
Opponent(s): Democratic incumbent Robert Byrd (eight terms), Republican challenger Zane Lawhorn
State leanings: Byrd's approval rating varies depending on the poll. It was recently put at 65% according to Survey USA, 75% according to Charleston-based RMS Strategies. Byrd took 78% in his last election; West Virginia went 56-43 for Bush in 2004.
Previous political experience: In November 2004, Lewis lost an election for West Virginia Attorney General, 50.4% to 49.6%.
Education and previous jobs: BA, West Virginia University; JD, West Virginia University, second BA West Virginia University. Currently a lawyer in private practice.
Website: www.hiramlewis.com
Notes: Lewis served as an Army Ranger between college and law school.
Afghanistan War Veterans Running for the House
Name: Tim Walz
Age: 41
Rank: Command Sergeant Major, Army National Guard
Service: Walz enlisted at the age of 17 and spent 24 years in the Army National Guard before retiring in spring of 2005. Before doing so he served in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Party: Democrat
District: Minnesota 1st
Opponent(s): Incumbent Republican Gil Gutknecht (six terms)
District leanings: Gutknecht took 60% in his last election; District went 51-47 for Bush.
Previous political experience: None
Education and previous jobs: BS, Chadron State College; MA, Saint Mary's College. Currently working towards a doctorate in Educational Leadership. Walz taught on a Native American reservation and in China, and founded a small business that facilitates educational travel for high school students. He began teaching at Mankato High School in Mankato, Minnesota, in 1996. In 2003, he was named the Mankato Teacher of the Year.
Website: www.timwalz.org
Notes: Walz's wife Gwen traveled with the Military Moms on a Mission national tour in support of the Kerry-Edwards ticket. In 1993, Walz was named the Outstanding Young Nebraskan by the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce.
Veterans With Stateside Involvement in the Iraq War Running for the House
Name: Chris Carney
Age: 46
Rank: Lieutenant Commander, United States Naval Reserves
Service: In summer 2000 Carney served as an intelligence analyst in Saudi Arabia, creating strategic assessments of Iraqi intentions. Activated to go to Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2002, Carney was kept from going so he could serve as a Special Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations. The following year, he was named the Director of Intelligence Support for the Global War on Terrorism and coordinated counter-terrorism activities in Iraq and the Persian Gulf Region. Over his career with the Pentagon and Naval Reserves, he has been stationed in South Korea and across the Middle East.
Party: Democrat
District: Pennsylvania 10th
Opponent(s): Republican incumbent Don Sherwood (four terms)
District leanings: Democrats haven't run an opponent against Sherwood since before the 10th District was redrawn in 2001. The district voted 60-40 for Bush in 2004.
Previous political experience: None
Education and previous jobs: BA and BS, Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa; MA, University of Wyoming; Ph.D, University of Nebraska. Professor of political science at Penn State for 13 years.
Website: www.carneyforcongress.com
Notes: Carney is one of the strongest proponents for withdrawal amongst veterans running for Congress. He told the Scranton Times-Tribune, "We need to bring our troops home. But we need to do it in a responsible manner." His website says, "For every new fully-trained member of the Iraqi Security Forces, a member of the United States military should come home." Carney was part of a team of intelligence analysts that claimed to have found evidence linking Saddam Hussein to al Qaeda.
Name: Eric Massa
Age: 46
Rank: Commander, United States Navy
Service: Massa is 24-year Navy veteran. He served in Beirut and Iraq (Operation Desert Storm), among other locations. He was an aide to General Wesley Clark when Clark was the NATO Supreme Allied Commander.
Party: Democrat
District: New York 29th
Opponent(s): Incumbent Republican Randy Kuhl (one term)
District leanings: Kuhl took 51% in his last (and first) election; District went 57-42 for Bush.
Previous political experience: Senior aide to Wesley Clark presidential campaign.
Education and previous jobs: BA, U.S. Naval Academy
Website: www.massaforcongress.com
Notes: Massa was diagnosed with terminal Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 1998. He claims to be healthier today than he was six years ago. In 2003, a then-Republican Massa claimed he was forced to resign as a Republican staffer on the House Armed Service Committee after he wrote several dissenting documents about the plan to invade Iraq. He was also spotted with Wesley Clark in the run-up to Clark's campaign for President. Massa later switched party affiliation and worked as a senior aide on Clark’s campaign. Massa says he expects Clark to stump for him in the district. Massa's website has a collection of detailed and comprehensive position papers, including a concrete plan for the future of Iraq: "It’s time to admit we got it wrong from the start. It’s time to throw away the requirement to establish a strong, integrated central government based on the rule of Jeffersonian constitutional law. We must instead focus on allowing the three major religious and ethnic tribes to form their own form of government, loosely joined at the national level, based largely on the lessons learned from our time on the ground in Bosnia… It can’t be a Western solution to an Islamic problem. It has to be fundamentally, I believe, an indigenous solution." Massa's blog, found on his campaign website, has more wisdom.
Other sources of information about veterans running for Congress:
Air America Radio's Fighting Dems series
Daily Kos' Fighting Dems series
Jonathan Stein is an editorial fellow at Mother Jones
