Monday, January 18, 2010

Kokesh Responds to Mullins

Republican Congressional candidate Adam Kokesh is returning fire over comments his primary rival Tom Mullins of Farmington made on his blog last week. See my original post HERE.)

Mullins, you might recall wrote, "My primary opponent is a war protester and proud of it. I have spoken with many veterans who believe that Adam’s actions dishonor the military and our nation’s military men and women. I agree with their opinion."

In the same post, Mullins described Kokesh as a "rousing orator whose resume reads with a single line item: `war protester' ...",

In a news release Monday, the Kokesh campaign responded:

We believe that Mr. Mullins' insinuation that Adam's service to our country as a Marine in Iraq isn't worth a line on his resume is a slap in the face to all military personnel and veterans. As is posted on our website, Adam enlisted at the age of 17 in the United States Marine Corps, and later volunteered to serve in Iraq with a civil affairs unit in Fallujah. When he returned, he established a group home for OIF/OEF (Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom) veterans, founded peer-to-peer counseling groups for veterans with PTSD, and continues to raise awareness about veterans' issues. He also worked as a graphic designer to pay his way through Grad School. Whatever perspective you may have on our foreign policy, there is no excuse for degrading the sacrifice a veteran has made for our country. It is possible that, because he has never served in the military, Mr. Mullins does not understand the type of commitment and dedication required to volunteer for our armed forces. Still, we believe Mr. Mullins owes an apology not just to Mr. Kokesh, but to all active duty military service members and veterans.

Mullins wrote his post in response to "an undated unsigned letter questioning my commitment to the Constitution of the United States. This letter was being handed out by my primary opponent’s supporters in Farmington."

Kokesh's news release says "Although the campaign does not endorse the letter, there was merit to some of the points raised therein."

Who knew a Republican primary in the heavily Democratic CD3 was going to raise this much heat?