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On one hand, Gold Star mom Debbie Lee and military mom Deborah Johns told participants at a rally in Cedar Rapids that they were tired of hearing about “red and blue” states. On the other hand, both made a point of calling out specific Democratic leaders by name.
The two were a part of the “Fight for Victory Tour” promoted and hosted by Move America Forward. The tour is a cross-country, pro-troop caravan featuring 27 stops between Sept. 3 and 15.
Johns, who is completing her fourth bus tour across the nation, says she’s learned a lot about American government while she has traveled.
“In going across the country I’ve learned a lot from Democrats, Republicans and Independents,” she said. “I’ve learned even more from the hearts of the American people who continue to say that they support the United States of America, our troops and our efforts to win the war in Iraq and the greater war on terror.”
When politicians talk about ending the war in Iraq, Johns says she wants to tell them “not now, not ever, no retreat, no surrender.”
“And, I want to tell them that if they don’t understand that message… then my words back to the politicians who want to continue to divide the United States, instead of support the United States, is to tell them ‘hasta la vista, sayonara, so long, goodbye, and see you later.’ Because this is the United States of America — our red, white and blue — the land of the free and the home of the brave, and what part of that does Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, John Kerry and John Murtha not support and do they not get? If they do not want to support the American people and our troops then they should go live somewhere else.”
Johns went on to discuss the current controversy surrounding the MoveOn ad featuring Gen. David Petraeus. She said that when Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., was asked to renounce the full-page ad that appeared in the New York Times, “the best he could muster was ‘Gen. Petraeus is a good soldier.’”
“It is time for us to call for the resignation of the likes of Harry Reid, John Kerry and Nancy Pelosi,” she said. “Enough is enough. If they cannot support our leaders and support our troops, then they’ve got no business trying to serve our country in Congress. They need to step down, and they need to resign.”
Our enemies, says Johns, don’t differentiate between Republicans and Democrats.
“You know the terrorists that are trying to kill our brave men and women overseas didn’t stop to ask if the person in their cross-hairs was a Democrat or a Republican before they pulled the trigger,” she said. “Nor did those evil men who flew the plane into the Twin Towers stop that day to inquire if their innocent victims voted for George Bush or not. To our enemies we are all the same. We are all Americans. So, I don’t want to hear any more about red states and blue states, because we are not a collection of 50 red and blue states. We are one country — the red, white and blue — one nation under God, and these colors don’t run.”
Gold Star mom Lee, who spoke with many pauses as she was overcome by emotion, also believes the war in Iraq must continue until democracy flourishes and victory is claimed.
“I remember that day — why that flag is flying at half-mast today — when we were attacked,” she said. “We came together as a nation. We were on our knees again and we were one nation under God like our founding fathers desired for us to be. I remember watching the news and, on the bottom, across the screen would scroll verses from the Bible of hope and encouragement.”
Lee says that because of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, the United States again became a nation of givers.
“That’s what Marc did,” she said. “Many people have said that terrorists took my son’s life. But you can’t take something from someone who gives it to you. That’s what all of our troops are doing. They’ve signed a blank check to America.”
Lee says she’s also upset that politics are playing such a major role in the outcome of the war.
“I am so sick and tired of the people in Congress — whether they are on the Democratic side, the Republican side or the Independent side — who continue to try to divide this nation,” she said. “That’s not what we’re about. And, just like Deb, I call for those people in Congress who have defamed the character of David Petraeus … they need to apologize to him.”
Above all else, she says, she continues to use her voice because her son cannot use his and because she believes good is coming from the work the troops are doing in Iraq.
“Because of our troops who have served in the past, who are currently serving and who are willing to go back for four tours — just like Deborah’s son — we are making a difference,” she said. “The surge is working.”
Johns, who serves as the organization’s director of military relations, was the lead spokesperson for the “You Don’t Speak for Me, Cindy” tour, which crossed the nation in 2005 and ended in Crawford, Texas, near Camp Casey. Her son, William, a Marine, has served three tours of duty in Iraq.
Lee’s son, Marc Alan, was the first Navy Seal to lose his life in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He died Aug. 2, 2006 while on patrol in Ramadi. She appeared at the 2007 Country Music Awards, where Tim McGraw presented her and other Gold Star parents a song, “I’m Already Home.”
