Adding to Bill Durston in CA-03 and Debbie Cook in CA-46, now Nick Leibham has some poll numbers showing a virtual tie:

You can now add Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-CA 50) to the new heap of GOP incumbents who should be suddenly very worried. A new poll, conducted for atty/ex-San Diego City prosecutor Nick Leibham’s (D) camp, shows him trailing Bilbray by a miniscule 44-42% margin.

This may feel like deja vu for GOPers. In the ’06 special election to fill imprisoned-Rep. Duke Cunningham’s (R) term, Bilbray needed $4.5M from the NRCC to skate by a relatively lackluster Dem. What’s worrisome for Bilbray is that the cash-starved NRCC can’t afford to put anywhere near that amount in his CD to save it this year. And the DCCC has enough cash, if it chooses to enter the contest, to make a difference. The NRCC simply can’t afford to overwhelm Dem efforts here like they did in ’06.

This is particularly acute in CA-50.  Leibham beat Bilbray in fundraising in the third quarter, and they are almost even in cash on hand.  Which means that, barring a life raft from the national party, Bilbray is largely on his own.  And he doesn’t have much to run on.  Here he is whining about that powerful ad from Leibham supporter Joe Hoar, a retired Marine General, which ripped Bilbray for voting against the new GI Bill:

Bilbray said he was one of the GI Bill’s original co-sponsors, but voted against it after congressional Democrats loaded it up with extraneous goodies, including a “massive tax increase” and a foreign aid package for Africa and Mexico.

“That’s the kind of cynical tactics we said ‘no’ to,” the Carlsbad Republican said. “We forced it to come back as a clean bill and we were able to pass it and it was signed into law in June.”

Actually, it wasn’t a clean bill at all, it was folded into an Iraq appropriation.  And he objected to it initially because it was funded by a tax on millionaires.

Liebham supporters have put up an attack website called Wrong Way Bilbray highlighting his votes.  Now that the campaign has settled into attacking Bilbray on the issues, with the Democratic wind at their backs, they are gaining traction.

And more than CA-50, what we’re seeing is an across the board re-evaluation of Republican incumbents, with multiple GOPers in trouble.

(You guys are awesome.  Thanks so much for getting us to our goal.  But there’s still more work to be done before midnight; we need to get $500 raised for each candidate.  Right now 4 of our 5 candidates need a little more.  Visit our ActBlue page and donate!)

Calitics Match candidate Charlie Brown is facing California’s Alan Keyes, perennial candidate Tom McClintock, in the most hotly contested Congressional race in the state.  And I think the pressure is getting to McClintock.

He put together a website called “Vets for Tom” which has a page with a list of resources for veterans.  There is substantial evidence that McClintock’s team plagiarized the resource list from Charlie Brown’s website.

Campaign manager Todd Stenhouse said that not only did a list of resources on the site exactly match what was on Brown’s site, but one link that was broken on Brown’s site had the same problem on McClintock’s site.

When visitors clicked on the “AmVets” link on McClintock’s site, Stenhouse said, the broken address took visitor to a site with an address from Charlie Brown’s site, in what Stenhouse called “a smoking gun.”

“Everything he’s learned about veterans and the military, he’s apparently learned from Charlie Brown,” Stenhouse said, referring to Brown’s criticism of McClintock, a state senator, for voting against legislation related to veterans. McClintock established the veterans’ site late last week.

There’s really not much more to say on that.  Some people lead and others follow.

Meanwhile, Brown and McClintock are strating to meet in forums and debates.  Last week Brown called into a Sacramento radio show where McClintock was appearing, and last night they discussed the financial industry bailout.  As expected, McClintock favors the exact same failed solutions which brought us to this crisis in the first place, like suspending the capital gains tax.  Brown’s position is more nuanced, supporting enforceable standards on executive compensation and returning proceeds from selling assets to taxpayers, while concerned about the consequences of doing nothing (which is McClintock’s specialty).

The larger point is that McClintock is an enthusiastic supporter of the failed policies of the past, while Brown would reliably represent the future and lead on key issues.

Things are happening very quickly in the most hotly contested campaigns in California.  Here’s an update:

• CA-04: Watching himself falling behind in the race to replace John Doolittle, perennial candidate Tom McClintock decided to borrow one of his predeccesor’s smear campaigns and release an ad claiming that Charlie Brown dishonored servicemen by appearing at an anti-war rally.

The idea that wearing a camouflage jacket constitutes being “in uniform” is ridiculous, and so is the idea that a retired military officer has no free speech rights.  But the idea is to smear Charlie as some kind of radical leftist and anti-military, despite Brown’s long record of supporting veterans and McClintock’s longer record voting against them.

The ensuing press conference put on by the McClintock campaign was a wild affair.

SACRAMENTO – A press conference on congressional candidate Charlie Brown’s actions in 2005 at the home of an anti-war display nearly descended into conflict itself, with disruptions before, during and after the event and a near-appearance by police officers […]

But before the event even began, a handful of Brown supporters – accompanied by Brown’s campaign manager, Todd Stenhouse – were asked to leave so that they wouldn’t cause a disruption.

One man loudly protested that as a military veteran and the father of an active-duty U.S. soldier, he felt he could stay. “This is not Russia,” he said.

McClintock campaign consultant John Feliz and Stenhouse eventually got the man to agree to leave, but not before security at the Hyatt hotel where the press conference took place made calls to Sacramento police to remove the man […]

But a third man who was with the veterans pointed out that Brown was within his First Amendment right to do so, prompting Feliz to ask him to leave as well, while also saying Brown should re-enlist and face a court martial for his actions.

The man, who gave his name as Bret Sherlock, said afterward that he attended because he was tired of non-veterans like McClintock smearing veterans like Brown.

“Did he do anything illegal?” Sherlock said of Brown, adding that if anyone should be able to protest the war, it should be Brown, as both a veteran and a father of a soldier who has served four tours of duty in Iraq.

McClintock campaign spokesman Bill George said the video came from a “concerned citizen.” Neither McClintock nor Brown appeared at the press conference.

After the press conference concluded, Stenhouse tried to give McClintock’s campaign a pledge to join a Brown program that donates 5 percent of Brown’s campaign contributions to nonprofit community groups that work with charities.

Feliz angrily took it and threw it down without looking at it.

They don’t want to talk about issues.  So McClintock tries to smear a decorated veteran to win an election.  Typical.

More on the flip…

• CA-11: We’ve talked before about Dean Andal’s embarrassing fall from Congressional contender to also-ran, but it’s just getting worse and worse.  The questions over Andal’s role in a botched construction project at a local community college have continued, and he’s also been caught lying about his claim that he’s raised more money than any Congressional challenger in the country.  Now his mailers are hitting mailboxes throughout the district, and they’ve been revealed as lies.

What it says: “Instead of taking action to fix America’s energy crisis, ruling Democrats shut down Congress this month (August) for a five-week vacation – with Democratic Congressman Jerry McNerney casting the deciding vote to adjourn.”

Is it true? No. The vote was 213-212 in favor of adjournment. Under Andal’s argument, all 213 members of Congress who voted in favor of the annual summer break were the “deciding vote.”

Besides, party leaders don’t let freshmen decide anything.

It’s almost sad how bad Andal is doing.  The NRCC isn’t even spending in the district.

• CA-50: The latest registration numbers for the district are in, and while Republicans continue to hold an 11-point lead, the trend is in Democrats’ favor.  Republicans are also perilously close to the 40% registration line, under which it becomes harder for them to win, as more independent voters lean Democratic.  I don’t know if Paris Hilton ads and chicken suits will get it done for Nick Leibham, whose campaign is clearly just trying to get in the headlines.  But there are lines of attack on Bilbray, particularly over his single-minded focus on immigration and not the pocketbook issues that affect people’s lives, though Bilbray is enough of a nut to say that the two are functionally equivalent.

• CA-26: There’s another smear campaign going on in this race, where David Dreier and the NRCC are trying to hold onto this seat by dredging up old news about Russ Warner and old tax liens and business license payments.  These are incidents from as far back as 1992, and Warner’s business license has since been reinstated.  It’s a pretty negative mailer considering that Dreier sounds so confident about victory.  Warner is now out with his own mailer highlighting Dreier’s many ties to special interests (like the $200,000 he’s received from oil and gas companies).  The fact that Dreier and Bush agree 94% of the time makes an appearance as well.  The fact that this race is getting so nasty so early suggests that Dreier has seen some polling that has him worried.  Maybe it’s because the Inland Empire is gradually turning blue and Dreier’s days of easy campaigns are numbered.  Enough of the district is in the IE for that to matter.

• AD-80: Manuel Perez has snagged the endorsement of the Sierra Club.  They also have an ad up on the air, which is notable for an Assembly candidate.  

It has been said that actions speak louder than words.

Thursday, September 4th marked another day on the calendar for many people. But for some veterans down on their luck in California’s 4th Congressional District, it was a day for hope. Retired Lieutenant Colonel Charlie Brown was joined by retired General Wesley Clark for a check presentation ceremony to three very special veteran’s service providers: Rebuild Hope, the Greater Oroville Homeless Coalition, and Cottage Housing.

Gen. Clark & Charlie Brown present check to local veterans service providers

$30,000 was donated to these three groups from Charlie’s campaign-something no other political campaign has done in known history. Charlie Brown has been committed to doing good right now through his Promises Kept Veteran’s Charity Challenge giveaway. The results have been nearly $55,000 in campaign money since Charlie started this unprecedented event back in March 2008.

Josh Steward, OIF veteran

The day’s events started with a speech by Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran Josh Steward, who came to the meeting in support of Charlie and to tell his story of how a former Veteran’s Charity Challenge recipient, Soldier’s Angels, helped him get back on track after a terrible accident while in service.

Dwayne & Carol Zanon, Greater Oroville Homeless Coalition

The 2nd runner-up in the Promises Kept Veteran’s Charity Challenge was the Greater Oroville Homeless Coalition. The Coalition helps homeless families or those who are at risk of becoming homeless, acquire, access, or maintain safe, temporary or permanent shelter—often veterans, or women with children. Charlie and the campaign presented the group with a $5,000 check. This money will be instrumental in their development for many months to come.

Dana Hendrickson, Rebuild Hope

The 1st runner-up, Rebuild Hope, is a relatively new non-profit who’s goal is to help keep soldiers and their families financially stable through tough times. The group received $10,000 from the Brown campaign, which will help drastically increase their scope and the number of families they can assist. Rebuild Hope is a national non-profit organization dedicated to mobilizing individual Americans to improving the financial health of severely injured soldiers, veterans and their families during their transition from military to civilian life. They are the only group in the nation to provide such services.

Tim Burke, Cottage Housing

Finally, the Promises Kept winner, Cottage Housing, received a check from Charlie for $15,000. Cottage Housing creates healing residential communities where homeless people are able to support one another while accessing the full range of supportive services they need to make the transition from the streets to self-sufficiency.

Tim Burke, a veteran and one-time recipient of assistance from the group, said that the pride he felt in knowing that he was “a tax-payer instead of a burden” helped motivate him and he now works with Cottage Housing to help get his brothers & sisters off the streets.

Gen. Wes Clark

With General Wesley Clark on hand, Charlie was doing something amazing. He was shining a spotlight on a need in not only this district, but this country as well. Too often our men & women are bravely sent off to fight & defend our freedoms. When they come home from battle, no one seems to want to care for them. It takes groups like Cottage Housing, Rebuild Hope and the Greater Oroville Homeless Coalition to provide services to help get through tough times. Now that they are receiving the attention they deserve, maybe more help will come.

General Clark said it best: “Everybody needs money and wants support, but this is the first time I’ve come to a candidate who gives back as he raises.”

For more information on these groups and what the Promises Kept Veteran’s Charity Challenge, please visit our Promises Kept page on our website.

Please visit our website, www.charliebrownforcongress.org, to learn more about Charlie, his historic mission, how to donate, and the ways you can help send an American hero to Congress.

PS- Check out our local press coverage here, here and here

Last week, I shared a tragic story of a veteran who committed suicide less than three hours after being assessed as a “low risk” patient, and was released from VA care. The carelessness of his assessment was largely due to a standardized questionnaire that was used to identify high risk patients. This is a serious oversight, especially when you consider the statistic that by the end of the day, 18 veterans will have taken their own lives.

Since these troops make it home from Iraq, Afghanistan or other battlefields alive, they are not counted as casualties of war. In 2007, 6,256 veterans committed suicide. That’s about two thousand more than the number of troops who died in Iraq since the beginning of the war. And yet, these deaths are not counted among the war casualties.  

But what else can you blame for these suicides? Concerns over the rising rate of PTSD among veterans have been escalating. An even more telling statistic of this problem is the fact that the suicide rate among veterans is twice that of the civilian population, evidence that the war is a decisive factor in these suicides.

While Bush and Republicans have kept the troops at war in Iraq — and have gone to great lengths to keep them there, through extended tours of duty, stop/loss, refusing to talk about a timeline for withdrawal — they’ve been less willing to go the extra mile to help the troops when they come home. Witness Bush’s, McCain’s and other prominent Republicans’ refusal to support the Webb G.I. Bill extending further educational benefits to veterans, as well as McCain’s record of voting against increasing health benefits to veterans in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007.

We need to bring our troops home on a reasonable timeline, but we also need to start taking better care of our returning soldiers — a challenge that would be greatly eased if we weren’t wasting $10 billion a month on the war in Iraq  Imagine the kind of care we could provide our veterans if we weren’t wasting all our tax money on the war.

How much of your tax dollars are going to the war in Iraq? And what could that money buy for a veteran in need? Find out by using Progressive Future’s Invest in US Calculator. The calculator takes a person’s 2007 income before taxes and tells you how much of that person’s tax money went to fund the war (average: $235), and how many seconds of war that bought (average: .04 seconds). Then it tells you, with that money, how many days of veterans’ higher education benefits (average: 5) that money could have paid for, as well as other much needed initiatives at home. Then we are asking users to sign our Invest In US petition, which we plan on taking to Congress, the Platform Committees, and the media to push for new priorities for tax spending.

(This is an issue that’s starting to reach critical mass, and Charlie Brown is at the forefront of it.  Between recent reports about record numbers of veteran suicides and foreclosures in military towns tripling the average rate, the care and treatment of our veterans is an absolute disgrace.  And it has fallen to leaders like Brown, BEFORE reaching Congress, to show the compassion and wisdom to get those who served this country what they need.  I can’t have more pride in how he’s run this campaign. – promoted by David Dayen)

As many of you know, back in 2006, first time candidate and Retired USAF Lt. Col. Charlie Brown came from obscurity to within less than 9,000 votes (or 3%) of victory in a district that had been electing Republicans by 30 point margins just two years before.

I worked on Charlie’s campaign in 2006, and I’m proud to be serving Charlie again in 2008. I didn’t come back because I enjoy the 16-hour days. I certainly didn’t come back because of the paychecks. I came back because there’s something different about a “typical day” on the Charlie Brown for Congress campaign—something that can’t be described in sound bytes or talking points…something so important, you want the world to experience it with you…

You want them to hear the desperate cries of the Iraq Veteran who contacts the campaign to say he is contemplating suicide.  Or the e-mail from the married father of two who already tried.  You want them to meet the Gold Star mother who calls for gas money, so she can afford to take one of the guys from her son’s unit to the VA for rehab.  Or the Vietnam Vet who has weeks to live because of Agent Orange exposure, and has had his VA benefits denied for years.  And the list goes on, and on and on…

Every day, these are just some of the people who are reaching out-from across the country—to the Charlie Brown for Congress Campaign.  

They’re not calling to volunteer, contribute, schedule a meeting or inquire about a policy position.  They aren’t even calling to express their support or opposition to Charlie’s candidacy.  

They called to ask for help.

It begs the question, why would anyone call a Congressional Challenger who has never held public office before for help?

You have to remember that Charlie Brown is no ordinary politician—in fact he has, in the span of less than two election cycles, transcended politics as most of us know it.

Charlie’s making history not by virtue of who he is (though one could argue that a Congressman who is a career military officer, husband of a veteran, and father to a son who has done 4 rotations in Iraq is far from typical these days), but what he is doing to address one of the many OLD problems on which politicians have over promised and under delivered for years-the plight of America’s war veterans.

I came back to fight for Charlie because I knew that this campaign took a different approach to solving problems—leadership by example. With Charlie’s “Promises Kept Veteran’s Charity Challenge,” we’re seeing community based organizations that fill in the gaps for veterans get the support they so badly need.  The 5% of campaign contributions that Charlie is giving these groups helps to keep the lights on at shelters, supply those places with blankets and food and office supplies, and help pay for qualified counselors to do outreach on the streets.

But the commitment of Charlie’s campaign goes beyond money.  It’s a frequently something even more valuable–a live voice on the other end of the line when crisis comes.    

And when those calls come, it’s not about winning and losing elections—it’s about saving lives.

The stories of veterans who call us very often break your heart—but they also remind us what a different kind of campaign can mean for people in need right now—long before voters go to the polls next November.  

It also inspires hope—because as we work with callers to help them find solutions, we can’t help but think what a little Charlie Brown in Washington could mean for hundreds of thousands of veterans who are waiting in line for benefits, or struggling to deal with invisible scars, or trying to rebuild lives that have been shattered by war.  

Or what it can mean on energy independence, healthcare, or so many other “old problems” where the results from Washington simply don’t match the rhetoric we’ve been hearing for years.

My entire life, I was brought up to believe that honesty, hard work and determination make up the character of a person. And if you give a little back and fight for those who can’t stand up for themselves, then you have done your share. I fight for Charlie because he embodies what I was raised to believe: that integrity and a sense of duty (not political ambition) win out at the end of the day.

I am flush with inspiration, and every time the phone rings, that much more flush with perspective.  But I know that true change cannot be accomplished in a vacuum—and that’s why I wanted to share what’s been happening here on the ground with the netroots—and I hope you will share it also.

The two leading Republicans in this race-Doug Ose and Tom McClintock—have spent $4 million dollars in 4 months.  Once you get through their endless stream of attack ads, their message comes down to “vote for me I’m more Republican than he is”— and if you are looking for someone to take action, listen, or offer your family a little hope or dignity before November—look somewhere else…  

…I say look no further than Charlie Brown.

Neil Pople

Director of Online Communications

[War’s] glory is all moonshine; even success the most brilliant is over dead and mangled bodies, with the anguish and lamentations of distant families … It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, more vengeance, more desolation.

You cannot qualify war in harsher terms than I will. War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it; and those who brought war to our country deserve all the curses and maledictions a people can pour out.

   -William Tecumseh Sherman

On March 19, 2003, Pres. George W. Bush declared war against Iraq and the US attacked that country.  Six weeks later and exactly five years ago today, Bush landed a fighter jet onboard an aircraft carrier, far from any dangers of real battle, and declared “Mission Accomplished.” He appeared almost giddy from the excitement of his most excellent adventure.

 “Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed.”

 — George W. Bush

Today, on that anniversary, Lt. Col. (Air Force Ret.) Charlie Brown appeared at a townhall meeting for veterans accompanied by former Army Capt. and Sen. Max Cleland.  Both Charlie Brown and Max Cleland served in Vietnam; indeed, that’s where Cleland had both legs and his right arm blown off by a grenade.

This morning, they had a more sober assessment of our foreign policy, the use of our military and our responsibilities to veterans.  Here’s what Sen. Cleland had to say:

“We need to send somebody to Washington who knows the difference between right and wrong.  We need to send somebody to Washington who has actually heard and felt the sound of battle, somebody who has felt the bullets flying past them… who knows what it’s like to be shot at.  Something you learn after that is that war is not to be prosecuted for anything less than the vital national interest.  It’s not something you do willy-nilly… war costs the life and limb of people, the best we have, and it must be well considered before it’s entered into.“

Of course, most of us realize that Pres. Bush has a slightly different take on war. Just two months ago, with over 4,000 dead and nearly 30,000 wounded, in a conference call with our troops in Iraq, Bush made the following statement:

“It must be exciting for you… in some ways romantic.”

And yet after five long years, a recent Pew Research poll tells us that a mere 28% of Americans even know that approximately 4,000 of our troops have been killed in Iraq.  Even fewer know about the shabby treatment that our veterans have been receiving from the federal government.  Once again, here’s what Max Cleland had to say:

We are so quick to go to war and so slow to take care of those who won the battle.

And here’s Charlie Brown, talking about the debt we owe to those who have served our country:

This mission is never accomplished; it’s ongoing.  It’s about accountability.

What is wrong with our country that we are not taking care of our veterans?  Any number of bills, whether it’s the new GI Bill, the increase in medical benefits, are being defeated… why are we not keeping our promise to the troops?

What has happened to the American dream? All of us who thought if we defended our country, we thought our country would take care of us. What has happened to our country?

Patriotism is meaningful to those who serve. We took an oath to serve; we took an oath to get results. And that’s what we expect from our leaders.  It’s time to hold our elected leaders responsible to do their job, hold them responsible to get some results.  We did that in the military. We should expect nothing less from our leaders.

On this five-year anniversary of Mission Accomplished, these are questions that all Americans should be asking. Something tells me if we send more real patriots like Charlie Brown to Washington this November, we’ll start getting the answers to some of those questions.

Penny

Online Organizing Director

California Democratic Party

(Up goes the diary from Charlie. We’ll have video from the Calitics interview soon. – promoted by Brian Leubitz)

Yesterday was a powerful press day in CA 04, most notably on the Opinion page of the Auburn Journal.

As all of you know, the treatment afforded American veterans has long been a national disgrace—and like so many of the challenges we face, it’s not a new problem either.   That’s why Charlie is not waiting for January of 2009 to make a difference for America’s veterans–donating 5% of campaign contributions to help those most in in need in our community.

Last week here in CD4, some of our well travelled, career politician opponents actually attacked Charlie for his Promises Kept Veterans Charity Challenge.

The Auburn Journal weighed in with an editorial here.

And then somthing else happened—30 local veterans, including more than a dozen vets of Iraq and Afghanistan submitted a response of their own.  Wanted to share their comments with all of you, below the flip.    

A MESSAGE TO CAREER POLITICIANS FROM ARMED FORCES VETERANS

It’s no secret that career politicians like to talk tough about national security, spout empty slogans, and spend their campaign war chests on mail and TV ads describing their supposed “support for our troops.”

Most haven’t worn the uniform, or fought for our country. They haven’t sent their own children off to war – just other people’s kids. And they haven’t seen the men and women they served with be-come casualties of war long after they returned home.

But we have.

Last week, something unprecedented in our country’s history happened here in Roseville. While politicians in both parties used the Iraq War Anniversary for pontificating and armchair quarterback-ing, a local candidate for office (himself a 26-year vet with a son going back for his fifth rotation in Iraq) made good on a pledge to donate 5% of money raised in his congressional campaign to non profit organizations helping veterans and families in need. He gave away $17,500 last Thursday – just a down payment.

It’s not widely publicized, but community based nonprofits do a lot of heavy lifting in terms of out-reach and service delivery for veterans – and there’s a lot of heavy lifting to be done.

War carries lasting scars that aren’t always visible. 1 in 3 homeless is a veteran – and we don’t come home that way. Veterans are twice as likely to commit suicide, and are at greater risk for sub-stance abuse, family and other problems than their civilian counterparts. Chronically under funded by politicians, the VA is already stretched to its breaking point – and even with recent funding in-creases, will be for decades to come. That’s where community based services, like the ones Charlie Brown is supporting, play the crucial role of filling in the gaps.

Instead of applauding the effort, or matching Charlie with 5% of their own, Doug Ose and Tom McClintock attacked Brown for putting attention and resources towards solving a problem that politi-cians have ignored for generations.

McClintock called the plight of American veterans a “non story.” Ose, who spent the past two years and thousands of his riches defending another career politician named John Doolittle, attacked Brown’s historic pledge as “politically expedient.”

Marine Sergeant and Iraq War Veteran Cody Conway introduced Charlie on Thursday. Cody was injured outside Baghdad, but stayed in the fight. When he got home, he was abandoned by his gov-ernment, and began spiraling towards rock bottom.

Cody will tell you that it was his friends, community based veterans groups, and fellow veterans like Charlie who were willing to listen, really understand, and take action on his behalf that saved his life.

And that’s why today, Cody is a parent, a college student and an officer in one of the nation’s pre-mier campus veteran’s organizations at Sierra College. He’s working to help fellow Iraq War veterans find solutions – veterans like Josh Steward.

Josh Steward’s story began like Cody’s – with a dream of becoming a soldier. After he graduated from Independence High School in Roseville, he enlisted in the Army and became a Paratrooper. He was sent to Iraq, serving as a combat engineer charged with finding and disarming I.E.D.’s (Impro-vised Explosive Devices).

During a training jump with his Airborne Unit back in the states, Josh’s life and career got side-tracked. Something went horribly wrong with his parachute and he hit the ground with a force that literally shattered both of his legs.

Despite a desire to continue serving in any capacity he could, the Army Medically Discharged Josh, but denied him disability compensation. Today, Josh is unable to work, with no money coming in, and wheelchair bound in a home not adapted to his physical needs.

Frustration comes and goes for Josh. His government let him down, but his community and family are the ones working in the trenches every day, to right a terrible wrong, and to prevent Josh from falling through huge cracks in a veterans aftercare system that was grossly unprepared for war.

We won’t let Josh get left behind, but Josh is one of the lucky ones. He’s already lost three mem-bers of his unit in Iraq to suicide.

Josh was there on Thursday too, and those who attended got to hear his story. So were many other veterans, whose stories will never be told, but they should be.

As veterans, we would hope that the voters of District Four understand that tough talk by career politicians usually masks the coward within. Ose and McClintock are birds of a feather, flocking together.

We are soldiers. We believe in keeping promises. We believe in leading by example. We believe that patriotism trumps partisanship, action speaks louder than words, and we know, first hand what it takes to defend America. And for all of these reasons and more, we are proudly supporting Retired Lt. Col. Charlie Brown for Congress.

Rank Name Branch Years Served/Tours City

Sgt Mark Blackwood Usmc 5 years 2 tours Iraq Rocklin

Cpl Scott Bonham Usmc 4 years 1 tour Iraq Rocklin

Cpl Phillip Fulgam Usmc 5 years 2 tours Iraq Rocklin

E-5 Meagan Smith Usn 5 years 2 tours Iraq Granite Bay

Sgt Nathan Yuongman, Usmc 4 years, 2 tours Iraq Grass Valley

Cpl Marshall Eason Usmc 4 years 2 tours Iraq Rancho Cordova

Sgt Rich Cervantes Usmc 4.5 years 3 tours Iraq Roseville

Sgt Douglas Ginther Ang 6 years 1 tour Iraq Rocklin

E-4 Chris Sederquist Usa 4.5 years 2 tours Iraq Lincoln

Sgt. Cody Conway Usmc 5 years 1 tour Iraq Roseville

E-4 Joshua Steward Usa 1 tour Iraq Citrus Heights

Ssgt Mathew Zane Usaf 5 years Afghan Vet Carmichael

E-4 Jessica Miller Usn 4 years 1 tour Gulf Lincoln

E-4 Brain Guardiola Usn 5 years 2 tours Gulf Citrus Heights

E-5 Dayna Scorsone Usn 6.5 years 1 tour Gulf Gold River

E-4 Kevin Miller Usn 4 years 2 tours Gulf Loomis

E-4 Richard Smith Usn 3.5 years active duty Roseville

Lcpl Gary Cerar Usmc 2 years active duty Fair Oaks

Cpl Jamie Mcdonald Usmc 4 years active duty Roseville

Ae3 Timothy Marsh Usn 4.5 years active duty Lincoln

Ssgt Eddie Einst Usaf 7.5 years active duty Roseville

Sra Bryan North Usaf 4 years active Folsom

Wo Christina Holsworth Usmc 10 years active duty Lincoln

Sgt David West Ii Usmc 5 years active duty Sacramento

Msgt Margaret Ervin Usaf 24 years active duty Placerville

Dale Kehoe Usn Vietnam Vet ’66-67 3837 Auburn

Doc Kauffman Usn Vietnam Vet ’69-’70 5224 Carmichael