Cleland and Candidate Paul Evans are both Democrats and American war veterans.
(SALEM) - Former U.S. Senator Max Cleland visited Salem Thursday evening, joining Paul Evans and his campaign in front of a crowd of 200 at the Grand Ballroom. Cleland is part of the growing support network for aspiring Democrats who want to take the nation back and turn it into something that we may again recognize.
Candidate Paul Evans"I came to Oregon in support of Paul Evans because it's time that a leader like Paul, with a record of service as distinguished as anybody in the country, take office to change the course instead of staying the course," Cleland said.
Joseph Maxwell Cleland is an American politician from Georgia, with a long history of service to his country. He is also a critic of the Bush Administration.
Cleland in VietnamCleland was an Army Captain during the Vietnam War, where he was awarded the Silver Star and the Bronze Star for valorous action in combat.
On April 8th, 1968. Cleland was severely wounded by a grenade. He lost both legs and part of one arm due to injuries when the grenade exploded.
Cleland also served as the youngest U.S. Veterans Administrator in history from 1977-81 and served as Senator from Georgia for six years.
Tim King and Jim Rassman in 2004Another person standing up for Evans was Jim Rassman, the former Green Beret that John Kerry pulled from the waters of the Mekong River in Vietnam in 1969, saving his life. Even though Rassman, a former Republican from Lane County, was the person rescued, the heavily funded GOP spinsters tried to convince people that he was mistaken, even though he was there.
Many in attendance talked about the tragedy that befell John Kerry when the Bush team began spinning untrue stories about his honorable and documented military service.
They did the same thing to the honor of Max Cleland in a successful effort to unseat him and get a Republican into office.
It was like the non-veterans versus the veterans. But even in this era of chickenhawk politics, honorable veterans and war heroes still have a tendency not to lie, and they can only go so far with defending the truth when the millionaire liars from Texas and their warmongering friends go into public attack mode.
John Kerry on far right, with his shipmates in VietnamNo matter what the Ann Coulters and Bill O'Rileys and the professional media liars say, John Kerry fought honorably, then was directly involved in bringing an end to the war, by testifying before Congress. It wasn't a fair fight that caused Bush to prevail in the election.
Let's not forget that this election was crooked from the word go. John Kerry should have been the President of the United States for the last two years.
That war in Southeast Asia that John Kerry helped bring an end to, claimed over 58,400 lives before it was over, and it would have been a higher number if it weren't for Kerry and the actions of The Vietnam Veterans for Peace chapters.
We have to get through this embattled period and it isn't going to be simple or easy. It is sad that the Bush presidency has so completely polarized our nation.
We left up to 2,500 American POW's in Vietnam. Why were they not released? Because Nixon reneged on $2.2 Billion in War Reparation money for the North Vietnamese government. Why did they hold the money back? Because the POW's told stories of being tortured, that's why all the rest were left behind and forgotten.
Bush tried to pass legislation in the past week allowing his thugs to legally torture prisoners. We are living in a place that seems to have lost all moral ground.
We're Americans, and anybody who would torture people even under orders, is questionable and should face a court martial. Kind and decent men and women do not do such things to other people. I know many distort the image, but every single one of us knows that torture is wrong, but only if you live by the Golden Rule I guess.
In WWII, German soldiers went to their deaths rather than kill Jews. The myth that soldiers commit crimes and "that is just what happens in war" is a poor excuse for undisciplined, rampant and sometimes murderous behavior. It needs to be dealt with no matter how much we don't like it, and offenders should be punished accordingly.
Why let the actions of a few become representative for what soldiers do in general? Most Americans do not do anything significantly wrong or illegal in war, so why be so soft on those who do?
As a former Marine, I hate hearing about atrocities involving the Corps, but then I recall how many outrightly sadistic people I spent time around in that military service. It is all confusing, the same never ending struggle for an evasive explanation that never comes.
Still, in our hearts we know right from wrong.
Film- Hanoi HiltonBut "Christian" George W. Bush wants to have his cake and eat it too. He wants what always worked effectively in interrogative work; just like it did during the middle ages, and in nazi Germany, and in the Hanoi Hilton. I'm telling you, our problems with extracting information are no more significant than any nation in history.
His father never would have done this, in fact he is the individual who so clearly outlined why overthrowing Saddam Hussein would be a bad idea, "The person who replaces him might be worse" was the verbage if I remember correctly, it was heard over and over like a broken record. The first Gulf War was criticized, but damn if it wasn't over and out very quickly and effectively.
That's because George Herbert Walker Bush knew that if he had faith in our nation's military machine and acted within good faith as far as the rest of the world saw it, that he would succeed.
And we had our first war where combat claimed the same general number of lives as accidents.
Here comes number two, and the world is now in wreckage. The only beef the radical Islamics really have with this nation is a blind, non-objective support for Israel. Israel took the land away from the people who lived on it after escaping the nazis and the Palestenians have never recovered from it.
So over the years relations sour all the more, Israel takes land and gives it back. Palestenians are often poor, and boys grow up throwing rocks at the Israeli soldiers who all serve a mandatory military committment whether they want to or not.
I don't think very many Islamic people want to overtake this country, something tells me they would be happy just being able to live peacefully on their own land. Most were doing just that you know, before we started what is slowly edging in on the title of World War III. I still suspect that the attack on the United States would never have happened if Bush was not in office, or if his cabinet had done any number of things right.
Paul Evans in Iraq during the first Gulf WarIn the middle of this is one of many new chances to regroup and succeed. Paul Evans is a former mayor and another military war veteran like Cleland, Kerry and many others who hail from the Democratic ranks.
"I am humbled and honored to stand with my brothers Max Cleland and Jim Rassmann. We have precious little time to reclaim the promise of Oregon and veterans will lead the way in 2006," explains Evans.
Paul Evans is running for the Oregon State Senate, District 10. The former mayor of Monmouth and an Iraq War veteran, Evans says he has built a grassroots campaign for change.
What Evans represents is the area we all need to go toward; a political future where we can arrest the pendulum in mid-swing. Radical politics in either direction are no good. I believe at the same time that Democrats have to step up and be louder.
The growing number of people who want Bush out are not necessarily radical in their politics either. You don't have to be left wing or liberal or a Democrat to take a stand and disagree with all of the death and craziness Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Rove have delivered.
Progressive people need to openly speak their views. War should only be a nation's last resort. The amount of world instability that the current administration has generated could hardly be described in a book.
The President was in the Texas National Guard during the Vietnam years which was a guaranteed slot for not going to war. The idea that he would send today's National Guard troops out on their fourth deployment to the Middle East is more than outrageous, it is obsene.
Oregon is not a red state, do you think there could be a connection? Maybe a little roundabout payback?
Republicans have to lean toward the middle and Democrats have to do the same. It is time for everyone to listen to people like Max Cleland and all the others speaking out increasingly, and find someone that is inspiring to believe in. In this case, Paul Evans looks like the safest investment around.
Op-Ed: War Hero Max Cleland Calls for Changing the Course During Visit to Oregon; Many Say it Can't Happen Fast EnoughSalem-News.com