Support The Fighting Dems!

What is a Fighting Dem? They are a group of men and women, mostly veterans, who you should take the time to get to know. Many are vets from Operation Iraqi Freedom. Others are vets of our earlier wars like Bosnia, Desert Storm, and Viet Nam. Active duty, Reservists, and Guardsmen, prepared to serve their country in a more constructive way.

The most widely known of the Fighting Dems is Major Paul Hackett USMC. Last year, after returning from duty in Iraq, he ran for Congress in his home state of Ohio. Against all odds, he garnered 48% of the vote in a district that went 2 to 1 for Bush just ten months earlier. Paul’s strait talk and honest assessment of our military situation in Iraq earned him respect from both sides of the isle, and across the country.

Shortly after, Mother Jones Magazine coined the new battle cry for this new breed of Democratic candidate when they called Major Hackett “the rarest of political animals – a fighting Democrat.”

Since then, at least sixty men and women have answered the calls of people like Major Paul Hackett, General Wesley Clark (U.S. Army Ret.), Commander Eric Massa (U.S. Navy Ret.) and Democrats far and wide to volunteer once again to serve their country in it’s time of need.

To best describe the position of the Fighting Democrats, I will let Cdr. Eric Massa’s words do the talking. After reading this, please take the time to go thru the list of candidates provided by Fighting-Dems.com and read Gen Wesley Clark’s “Real State of the Union” provided at the end.

“We are called by various names. Air America and Daily Kos call us the “Fighting Dems”, Mother Jones sees us as “The Capitol Brigade” and Draft Zinni includes us among the “Security Dems” as part of their concept of the Blue Force. I have called this vet force the “Band of Brothers”, but in our meeting in January we avoided these labels to call ourselves the Veterans for a Secure America” (VSA). We are the Democrats’ “secret weapons.” There are five core things we have in common: we are veterans, we are Democrats, we are strong on national security, we believe our nation is headed in the wrong direction — and we are running for Congress to put America back on course.”

“We are not, however, all Iraq war veterans. Some of us are veterans of other conflicts such as Vietnam or peacekeeping duty in the Balkans, and some supported our troops in other vital ways. But regardless of how we have served our country in uniform, we all have progressive to moderate social views and are running on platforms to support working families, insure fair taxation, protect Social Security, restore American values, fully fund programs to aid education, the poor and disabled, equality of opportunity for all Americans, and sound environmental policies to safeguard our land.”

“We also believe that a strong America is one that engages its allies rather than antagonizes them, one that goes after terrorism where it exists rather than invading countries that distract from this mission, and, as military men, we believe that using force to accomplish international objectives should be used only as a truly last resort.”

“And one more thing. Most of the Fighting Dems come from so-called “Red” districts. But America is not Red and Blue; it is Red, White and Blue — a land in which all Americans share common values, aspirations and dreams. And our brigade of fighting Democrats is intent on taking Congress back from those who have hijacked our nation, distorted our values, devastated our economy, damaged our nation’s credibility, derailed the middle class, and distracted us from the War on Terror by sending our fathers and sons, mothers and daughters and brothers and sisters to be maimed and to die fighting a war that did not need to be fought.”

“One thing is certain: there are enough of us to win back the House and put America back on course. Paul Hackett showed it could be done in his close race in Ohio. And even more recently in my district, where I have been helping to build the Democratic Party “from the ground up,” we have had a series of victories. These have included electing Democrats to the office of mayor in Corning and Elmira for the first time in 45 years and 25 years, respectively.”

“There are many other good Dem candidates who are not veterans, with some three dozen vets across the nation, are running for office to reverse a negative trend of recent years. Since 2000, the number of vets in Congress has been diminishing and America suffers from the lack of strong veteran leadership coming from Congress. Now is the time to turn the tide and chase the Republican chicken hawks out of Congress and replace them with true patriots. Make America strong by electing those who have fought on the front lines to fight once more on the home front.”

“I stand with the Band of Brothers. We will put America back on course, make America strong and secure, and insure that America is truly the land of the free and the home of the brave.”
“Our hearts are strong, our resolve and commitment is total, and in our hands we carry the torch that will light the future of the America as we fight for the families who will build a better tomorrow for our children and for our grandchildren.”

Eric Massa USN Retired
Democratic Candidate US Congress NY 29th


Full list of candidates are avalable at www.fighting-dems.com.

General Wesley Clark's speech at the New America Foundation is avaliable at securingamerica.com.