NM-3: Adam Kokesh(R) Vs. Ben Lujan(D) on Iraq and Afghanistan
The race for U.S. House in NM-3 features a Democratic incumbent and a Republican challenger, who is also an Iraq veteran. One supports the "wars" in Afghanistan and Iraq; the other does not. Can you guess who is the peace candidate?
I won't keep you in suspense. The answer is that former marine, Fallujah veteran, and IVAW member Adam Kokesh is the only peace candidate in NM-3. He does not equivocate when he says that all military personnel need to come home from Iraq and Afghanistan now. According to his campaign manager:
Adam is on record over and over again and has never wavered. Absolutely no way would he [vote to] continue the funding of the occupations.
That is a pro-peace position. In fact, that is the only pro-peace position for a member of the legislative branch. Congress is the pocket book. When members of Congress vote to appropriate funds for something, they support that thing, by definition. When they vote against funding, they oppose that thing, also by definition. Kokesh wrote me separately to express the same sentiment:
It's sad that we even have to ask that question [about funding] these days. "So you believe in something. Are you going to stand up for what you believe in or just be a typical politician?"
I'm not inclined to go easy on the incumbent, Rep. Ben Lujan, on this issue because he has chosen to be a typical politician. Frankly, his typical equivocating Democrat routine disgusts me. In true Pelosi/Obama fashion, he pretends to oppose the occupations (he calls them "wars," even though the wars ended years ago with U.S. military victories) by offering superficial, purely theatrical resistance. For example, he introduces amendments calling for time lines in Afghanistan (which never pass) to appropriations bills, and he sends symbolic letters to the White House "urging" the President not to escalate the conflict in Afghanistan.
You and I can "urge" the President with letters too. The only reason that the actions of Rep. Lujan are of any greater consequence than the actions of ordinary citizens is that Lujan also has a vote. The bottom line is that Lujan consistently uses his vote to appropriate funds to continue the occupations, which results in more death, more wasted money, and more ill will towards the United States of America.
Mr. Lujan owns the occupations as much as Obama, Pelosi, H. Clinton, Dubya, and Cheney. At least the latter two were somewhat honest about it.
Real peace candidates oppose foreign occupations regardless of the party in power. Adam Kokesh is a real peace candidate.
Tags: Adam Kokesh, Afghanistan, Ben Luhan, Iraq
October 5th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
I find it sad that so many of these people are all pro-war. They are still in the mindset that we can "win". We have heard this story before how we need another push and troops. Is this one the last one? How long, how long will it take to put a stop to this and bring our people home? Is there an end to the war ever unless we say stop. Enough killing, enough. I wonder if anyone has ever considered the strategy of a huge media hype about sending an olive branch to the world and saying no the war. That would save us loads of money we don't have, and it would go a long way in reducing the amount of hate directed towards us.
October 5th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
Members of our federal government should read "The Art of War." No country ever prospers from prolonged warfare.
October 18th, 2009 at 11:35 am
[...] one choses to describe him, that fact that he sounds nothing like McConnell, Boehner, McCain (who Kokesh protested during the 2008 RNC), or any of the other Republican "leaders," is to his credit. The United States of American [...]