You know, I could tell you all the reasons I detest these two Senators, much coming from the fact that I have worked against both and have seen their ethically challenged, slime-trail up close.
But the great Senate 2008 Guru has written two fantastic pieces laying this out for everyone to see. They are both must reads, and I will quote them a bit here. To begin with, there is Collins, the pretend-moderate Republican who loves to lie about her record, support overturning Roe V. Wade via judicial appointment and has never met an aspect of the Iraq War she just doesn't go ga ga over. She is also ethically challenged:
On a number of occasions, incidents came to light that demonstrated that Susan Collins was repeatedly using taxpayer-funded Senate resources for political campaign purposes. In August, when the Collins camp was trying to gin up a fake scandal over the Maine Democratic Party recording Collins' remarks at public events, we saw that it was Collins' taxpayer-funded Chief of Staff and Senate press office, rather than campaign staff, that were coordinating her political responses to the situation. Also in August, it came to light that Collins' Senate office computers were being used to adjust her Wikipedia entry to appear more politically palatable. None of this is shocking given that Collins was already caught using Senate computers for the purpose of political communication with the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign in 2004. In September, the Collins camp was finally called out in the media for their abuses of Senate resources for political purposes. There is unquestionably valid reason for further investigation by the Senate Ethics Committee regarding Collins' Senate office's practices regarding political activity.
But please go read the whole piece. The guru covers every putrid part of her pathetic record of service. I cannot do it justice here. Again, it is a MUST READ.
Then there is the guy who's grandma-resembling mug would appear next to "corporate whore" in the dictionary. The guy who thinks it's ok for troops to die in Iraq, because, after all, they weren't drafted.
No Mitch, none joined out of patriotic feeling after 9/11 to fight a real war against the actual enemy and then were diverted to Iraq. And none joined the National Guard, as virtually the entire Republican Party did in the 60s, to get an education paid for (in your guys' cases, however, it was more like using the National Guard to avoid having to actually display an ounce of courage). McConnell, himself, was discharged from service for some pretty murky reasons that still have never been explained.
In any case, here is what the Lt. Colonel Andrew Horne, a potential Democratic candidate against McConnell (this comes via the Guru)--and someone who actually had the courage to serve--had to say about McConnell's reasoning that it's ok to die in a war based upon lies, one that weakens this country more every day, if you were not drafted:
"I would say that Mitch McConnell owes every member of our service and the families of the fallen an apology, but no apology from him can take back the venom he has spewed at our troops, this time. For anyone to believe that casualties of war are somehow more acceptable because they were not draftees is disgusting. For the Republican leader in the United States Senate to say that is beyond repugnant."
"This is just Mitch McConnell once again demonstrating that he has no idea of - and has no interest in learning - what our troops have sacrificed. Whether it is filibustering a bill that would give proper time at home for our overextended troops, or voting against increased funds to take care of veterans who have come home, Mitch McConnell has shown nothing more than complete ignorance about our military and those who serve our nation in it."
"To my fellow service members and veterans, let me apologize on behalf of Kentucky for Senator McConnell's putrid comments. He most certainly does not represent our views, nor the high regard in which we hold you and your families."
Again, this is from the Guru's post. Go there for more, as he points out all the dead soldiers from Kentucky that might not feel so laid back about American soldiers getting killed.
