Calls on US Navy to Reconsider Decision

(JOHNSTOWN, PA) – Republican 12th Congressional District candidate William Russell today called on U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus to reconsider his decision to name the 10th San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship after the late Rep. John P. Murtha. Russell called the decision an insult to all the brave men and women serving in uniform, as a result of Mr. Murtha’s 2006 comments calling Marines “cold-blooded killers.” Russell also pointed out that that Navy tradition calls for the naming of San Antonio class ships after famous war battles and not former Congressmen.

“Even the media is questioning Secretary Mabus’s decision to name a new ship after Mr. Murtha,” Russell said. “The Washington Times called it (Mr. Murtha’s) ‘highest undeserved honor,’ and as a veteran I find this particularly offensive. In fact, I stood up against Mr. Murtha’s comments back in 2008 when it was a matter of conviction and not just political expediency. I was even threatened for my position of defending those brave Marines.”

Russell has called on veteran’s groups around the country to express their displeasure with the Navy Secretary’s decision.

David Eldridge | Washington Times

The wars they fought in are still raging, but a surge of veterans from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan are already running hard for public office and shaking up congressional races across the country.

It is estimated that the number of candidates with military records on the 2010 ballot will double compared with just two years ago. With polls showing some voters unhappy with incumbents and nervous about defense and security issues under President Obama, many of the challengers fresh from the ranks are mounting strong challenges in local and state races.

“With each year, the quantity and the quality of the veterans seeking office is increasing,” said Pete Hegseth, the executive director of Vets for Freedom, a nonpartisan political action committee that supports candidates who are hawks on national security.

Mr. Hegseth said veterans are getting into the 2010 races for many of the same reasons as other reform-minded candidates.

“Veterans are driven by the same frustrations that the public has with what is happening in Washington … the fiscal irresponsibility and the financial crisis that our country is facing,” the 29-year-old Iraq veteran told The Washington Times.

Neither the Republicans nor the Democrats officially track the number of veterans running for Congress, but political action groups estimate as many as 40 Iraq and Afghanistan warriors-turned-politicians are competing in party primaries across the country this year.

The surge of new veteran candidates comes as the number of lawmakers with military service has plummeted. Steadily declining since the end of World War II, there are just 95 Army, Navy, Marine, Air Force and National Guard veterans in the current House of Representatives, a postwar record low of just over 21 percent of the total.

Many such candidates are running as Democrats — including formidable candidates like Rep. Joe Sestak, a retired admiral and the highest-ranking military man ever to serve in Congress, who is locked in a tough Senate battle in Pennsylvania’s Democratic primary with incumbent Sen. Arlen Specter.

But most of the veterans seeking office this year are campaigning as conservatives and looking to emerge from crowded Republican primaries — a prospect that hasn’t exactly been embraced in some GOP circles.

In Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District, long held by the now-deceased Democrat John Murtha (himself a vet), retired Army officer and Desert Storm veteran Bill Russell was rebuffed by the Republican Party’s state leadership. The leadership chose instead to back millionaire businessman Tim Burns as the handpicked GOP candidate in the May 18 special election to serve the remaining months of Mr. Murtha’s term.

Mr. Russell, who made a surprisingly effective run at Mr. Murtha in 2008, pulling 42 percent of the vote in the heavily Democratic district, didn’t appreciate the slight and is running against Mr. Burns in the same-day primary for the GOP nomination to seek a full term in November.

The race echoes some of the themes from 2009’s controversial special House contest in upstate New York, with charges that GOP insiders and decision-makers are out of step with the grass-roots candidacies of outsiders like Mr. Russell.

Mr. Russell said in an interview that he sees the parallels.

“Party leaders absolutely tried to engineer the selection of a candidate who was 30 points down in the polls, and it’s all a business-as-usual, back-room deal based on them wanting a candidate who could be self-funded — despite the fact that I’ve outraised Mr. Burns three-to-one,” Mr Russell said Monday.

But he said there’s a big difference with the New York race, where divisions between the official Republican nominee and a conservative challenger helped the Democrats score an upset win.

“I’m absolutely not going to run a write-in campaign or try to run as a third-party candidate,” Mr. Russell vowed. “I’m a Republican, and if we’re going to change things in Washington, we need to recapture the soul of the Republican Party.”

Mr. Russell’s battle with the party establishment is one that many veterans face when looking to make the jump into politics, said D. Patrick Mahoney, an Iraq veteran and president of the Veterans for Congress political action committee.

Mr. Mahoney has been sharply critical of the Pennsylvania Republican leadership’s decision to pass over Mr. Russell, saying the move had less to do with qualifications than with the Republican establishment’s obsession with Mr. Burns’ wealth.

“That’s why you don’t see more veterans running for Congress. It’s so expensive,” he said. “It’s tough for veterans who have been fighting a war, stationed around the world. Veterans who come back and want to seek office — especially the recent vets — generally are not going to be the rich guys.”

Mr. Hegseth agreed, saying both parties too often overlook veterans’ “untapped pool of leadership” in favor of self-funded candidates who can finance their own campaigns or party loyalists who network their way onto ballots.

Mr. Hegseth said the Republicans and the Democrats should be working harder to recruit veterans, even if they are new to politics.

“That’s not a negative,” he said. “It’s good that they’re not tainted by the process that some of these other candidates go through.”

Mr. Hegseth picked five races to watch this year:

• Brian Rooney, a Marine who served in Iraq and a grandson of the founder of the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers, is running for Michigan’s 7th District seat, held by freshman Rep. Mark Schauer, a Democrat from Battle Creek.
• Navy vet Mark Steven Kirk could end up with President Obama’s old job, senator from Illinois. The five-term congressman, who has twice deployed to Afghanistan since 2008 as a reservist, leads Democrat Alexi Giannoulias in the polls and in the money chase.
• Active Marine Corps reservist Vaughn Ward has drawn a lot of attention in his bid for the 1st Congressional District in Idaho, especially after he won the backing recently of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Mr. Palin also endorsed two other veterans, Adam Kinzinger in the 11th Congressional District race in Illinois and Allen West in the 22nd in Florida.
• In Arkansas, Tim Griffin, a veteran and a former U.S. attorney, is battling Scott Wallace for the GOP nomination in the 2nd District.
• Steve Stivers, a Bronze Star medal winner for his service in Iraq, is a rising GOP star in Ohio making a bid to unseat Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy in the state’s 15th District.

“All are races where veterans have raised a good deal of money, in toss-up districts or states — races where we think we can have an impact,” Mr. Hegseth said.

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Dear Friend of Bill,

My name is Kasia Russell. Many of you have heard me referred to as the ‘Polish wife that Bill met in an Irish pub in Germany!’ Well, since my marriage to Bill a decade ago, I’ve lived with him in 4 different countries as he served America. Like many military moms, I raised our children as a single parent while Bill was deployed to an active war zone, and I learned how hard it can be on a family to live the life of a nomad that comes with military service.

So when Bill retired and we finally got the chance to choose a place to call “home” for the first time in our married lives, we decided to settle here in southwestern Pennsylvania.

You all know how Bill was the only person with the courage and the conviction to challenge the late Congressman Murtha in 2008. My own father fought Communism in Poland and even spent time in prison for daring to challenge the establishment. I think you understand why I am incredibly proud of Bill as I watched him stand firm on his beliefs.

This year, Bill is once again standing firm – running in the Republican Primary to represent us in the 12th District next year.

I want to let him know how proud of him we are. So I am giving him a Birthday Bash, and inviting you to join me in wishing my American hero husband a Happy Birthday.

Here’s a request and a personal invitation:

First, if you have a “Russell Brigade” tee shirt, please wear it on Saturday, April 24th. If you don’t have a T-shirt and need one, please call the campaign at 814-254-4475 and we’ll make arrangements to get you one. There is no cost.

Second, we’re planning a birthday party for Bill on that same day. Please join us at McCali Manor, 462 W Main St, Mt Pleasant, from noon until 4pm for light refreshments so you can personally wish Bill Happy Birthday.

And be sure to spread the word to your friends and family about April 24th so that we can be sure that the voters of this district do everything that they can to tell Bill how much they support him on this very special day.

I can’t thank you enough for welcoming our family into your midst, giving us our first opportunity to put down permanent roots. I look forward to meeting you in person to let you know how grateful we are for your hospitality. We love being your neighbors.

Sincerely,

Kasia Russell

CAMPAIGN MANAGER’S NOTE: While there is no ticket price or admission charge to attend Bill’s birthday celebration, the campaign would be grateful for any financial help you’re able to extend as we close in on the May 18^th Primary!

Kindly RSVP to info@russellrigade.com

The political establishment doesn’t want you to mark your calendars – but do it anyway!

One Wednesday, April 21, join Pittsburgh 104.7 & XM RADIO personality Rose for a special campaign event with Lt. Col. Bill Russell (USAR ret).

Here are the details:

Rally with Russell & Rose
Wednesday, April 21 | 7pm
Laube Hall
Freeport Community Park, Freeport, PA

*Meet Rose from 6-8pm.

This event is sponsored by Citizens for Constitutional Conservatives.