Taylor Marsh – TaylorMarsh.com – News, Opinion and Weblog on Progressive Politics

Paul Hackett Plays “Hardball” –updated–

Watch PAUL HACKETT play “Hardball”.

John
Amato has the video too, of course.

Capturing video and audio is now a big part of my day, because I use the clips
during my radio shows. By the way, previews have ended and we debut the show
after Labor Day. It should be fun.

But back to Hackett on “Hardball”, which was nothing short of invigorating
and stimulating, while Hackett has his Republican opponent Taylor hyperventilating.

Joh has been doing some great “Fighting
Dem” profiles the last couple of Saturdays, which
continues. Check them out if you haven't yet, because the sheer number of
Democratic war veterans dwarfs Republicans.

They call themselves the Band of Brothers, about 50 men – and a few women – all Democrats, all opposed to the Bush administration's handling of Iraq, and all military veterans. One more thing: They're all running for Congress this year. Not since 1946 have so many vets from one party come together in a political campaign, they claim. Their wildest dream is to give the Democratic Party the extra edge it needs – by boosting its weak image on defense and patriotism – to end Republican control of the House. They also know it's a long shot: Many are running against incumbents in safe Republican districts. Many also face competitive primaries against Democratic opponents with more political experience and access to money. Among the Democratic vet candidates, 10 have served in either Afghanistan or the current Iraq war, or both. Only one – Maj. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, who is competing for the seat of retiring Republican Henry Hyde – was recruited by the national Democratic Party. … (snip) Mike Lyon, who launched the Band of Brothers political action committee in December, has found the going tough. He's raised only $40,000 so far. “If resources continue to flow the same way, not many [will win] – I'm being frank,” says Mr. Lyon, who is based in Richmond, Va. “But if we can go out and build awareness about their campaigns and provide resources to level the playing field for the November general [election], then I think a lot of these guys will be competitive. We're still getting the lay of the land.” Now running for office: an army of Iraq veterans (circa February 2006)

Oh, and about Tammy Duckworth, the last one mentioned above. That's the amputee
veteran that Laura Bush just recently was campaigning against. Her pitch: the
Republican was for tax cuts. I mean, really.

As an aside, I'm working with Mike Lyon in The
Patriot Project, as regular readers know. (NOTE: Band of Brothers disbanded months ago.)

Hackett was amazing. He does us all proud.

As for what else is going on with our troops, get a load of this one.

President Bush has authorized the U.S. Marine Corps to recall 2,500 troops to active duty because there are not enough volunteers returning for duty in Afghanistan and Iraq, Marine commanders announced Tuesday. The recall was authorized last month, and will begin in spring 2007 to fill positions for upcoming rotations, Marine officials said. The Marine Corps is currently picking volunteers from the Marine Individual Ready Reserve, the officials said. … Bush OKs involuntary Marine recall

The Marine involuntary recall could last from 12 to 18 months.

Had enough?