Despite his responsibilities as a public servant, Beau’s No. 1 priority is his family. “Above all, I want to be the husband and dad I want to be and should be,” Beau told the Iowa Independent during an exclusive interview. “To the extent I have time, I want to do everything I can to help elect my dad to be president of the United States.”

Beau Biden speaks on behalf of his father at a rally for Homeless Veterans in Cedar Rapids last Thursday

On the campaign trail, Sen. Biden has argued that the war in Iraq is the most important issue and nothing else on the political agenda can be accomplished until the war is ended without leaving chaos in its wake. The immediacy of the war in Iraq holds especially true for Beau, whose unit, the 261st Signal Brigade out of Smyrna, Del., has received orders for training, which is the first step in the deployment process.

Although Beau is somewhat reluctant to talk about his service, except as a means of establishing credibility when addressing veterans (see pic above), he did open up a little to the Iowa Independent. “I’m very proud of my service with the National Guard and proud to be associated with the men and women who serve in our military,” Beau said. “There’s no other service I’m more proud of.”Like his son, Sen. Biden has steered away from talking about Beau’s impending deployment, unless asked point-blank. “I don’t want him going,” Sen. Biden told Radio Iowa in August. “But I tell you what, I don’t want my grandson or my granddaughters going back in 15 years and so how we leave makes a big difference.”

During the same interview with Radio Iowa, Biden criticized Democratic rivals such as Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois, who have voted against Iraq funding bills to try to pressure President Bush to end the war. “There’s no political point worth my son’s life,” Biden said. “There’s no political point worth anybody’s life out there. None.”

Beau is in the middle of serving his fifth year with Delaware National Guard, where he serves as one of two JAGs assigned to the 261st Signal Brigade. As a JAG officer, Beau’s primary duties involve upholding and enforcing the United States Code of Military Justice, which includes everything from prosecuting and defending soldiers to completing wills. “In a sense, I’m a combination of a prosecutors’ office and a general practitioner.”

Thanks to his father’s influence and exposure to the military, Beau has always been impressed with the U.S. military and has flirted with enlisting. “While working for the U.S. Department of Justice as a civilian lawyer, I went over to post-war Kososvo as an interim legal advisor and met some JAG officers, who really made an impression on me,” Beau said.

Upon his return from Kosovo, a colleague of Beau’s, a full-bird colonel who ran the legal support office at Ft. Dix for the Army Reserve, persuaded him to join. “The next thing I knew, I was at the MEPs (Military Enlistment Processing) station in Fort Dix, New Jersey.”

In a deployment situation, Beau will serve as a JAG officer with his unit, while still serving as the Delaware’s Attorney General. “My chief deputy, a former AG and JAG who served in Afghanistan, will be on the ground in Delaware and I’ll be in constant contact with him while I’m deployed.”

Eventually, the discussion segued to Beau’s take on his father’s presidential bid:

Iowa Independent: From somebody who is serving in the military and faces an upcoming deployment to the war in Iraq, why do you think your dad would make the best president?

Beau: He’s the single most-prepared to be commander in chief. The most important issue of the day facing our generation, our kids’ generation and our parents’ generation is the war in Iraq. It’s always good in an election, with regard to the most important issue of the day, that we have the best candidate with the best plan to deal with the most pressing issue. Joe Biden not only has the best plan, but has the only plan on how to deal with the war in Iraq without leaving chaos behind.

Iowa Independent: We keep hearing about experience touted on the campaign trail by the mainstream, which has often sidestepped Joe Biden’s experience. Has this caused any frustrations for you and the campaign?

Beau: You bring up a good point. The reality is that it’s not all about experience. If that was the case, Joe Biden has five times more experience than Hillary Clinton. It’s not just about change and hope. My dad actually has a record of change that has provided hope for people.

For instance, on the Violence Against Women Act, he changed the way this nation and law enforcement view violence against women. We prosecute for the heinous crime that it is, when this didn’t used to be the case. That is a change my father, with others’ help, but begun singlehandedly by him, changed how we as a society view violence against women. And this has provided hope for countless women.

But it’s not just about change or hope. One of the other candidates talks about fighting. If it was about fighting, I would put my father in the ring against anybody.

But it’s not about fighting either. It’s about acting and getting things done. There’s no better example of action and getting it done than the Biden exit plan from Iraq, which has now received bipartisan support from the majority of the Republicans from the Senate and the House. Not only is it bipartisan, but it says to the president that he’s going down the wrong path and that he should follow the Iraqi constitution.

That’s action in the context of a war and a presidential campaign. That’s leadership. That’s knowing what you’re going to do the moment you’re sworn into office. The moment the next president steps into that office, he or she will be making decisions that will affect all of us and will possibly have implications for my kids’ future as well.

And with respect to the other candidates, my father is the only one who can act right away. I find it interesting how the portrait has been painted that my father will make a great secretary of state and whoever wins will be lucky to have his wisdom and knowledge.

No. 1: He can effect more changes as chair of the Foreign Relations Committee than he can as secretary of state, not to mention he gets to go home at night and spend time with my mom and be with my kids.

No. 2: The Des Moines Register debate made it clear that there was a president on the stage and then you had potential members of his cabinet. Joe Biden was the president. Barack, Hillary and John Edwards [any of them] would be a great vice president. Chris Dodd would be a great secretary of labor or commerce.

Iowa Independent: If you are deployed to Iraq and your father is elected president, do you think his decision-making process as president will be affected?

Beau: As president, I’m positive my dad would act the same way regardless of whether or not I was deployed with the Delaware National Guard. Of course my being in the military affects my father, because he’s a dad. If I’m half as good a dad as my father has been, I’ll still be a great dad. As good as a senator as he’s been, and as great a president as he will be, he’s an even better dad. It has to affect parents, whether it’s my mom and dad or the parents of members serving in the Iowa units currently deployed. Just the potential of a deployment has an affect on families, because it’s real.

Beau’s words, prefaced with a common Biden family phrase “mark my words,” recently hit home in Iowa a few days ago when four members from the Ottumwa-based 833rd Engineer Company were wounded by a roadside bomb in Iraq. While patrolling an area near the Iraqi city of Samarra, an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated next to their vehicle. Two of the soldiers were seriously injured and flown to a military hospital at Landstuhl, Germany, while the other two were treated and returned to duty.

“They were in an RG-31 armored vehicle,” Lt. Col. Gregory Hapgood, chief spokesman for the Iowa National Guard told the Des Moines Register. “If they’d been in a Humvee, they would have been killed. A Humvee couldn’t have withstood the explosion.”

Biden’s Democratic rivals, Sens. Hillary Clinton of New York, Chris Dodd of Connecticut, and Barack Obama of Illinois, voted against the bill but have stated they support appropriations for the MRAP–just not when it is specifically tied to an Iraq war funding bill that has no timelines for bringing the troops home. There’s the political rub that Beau alluded to in August. By voting against the funding bill, the Democratic candidates chose to send a political message to President Bush while simultaneously garnering support from the anti-war voting contingency.In doing so, they risked the possibility of delaying production of vehicles that will protect the troops in what soldiers on the ground call “real-time”- meaning the next five minutes of their lives, which could be their last. In the war zone, there is no such thing as political time, and Beau, whose unit is scheduled to deploy to Iraq early next year, understands this difference. Beau also understands how the Republicans operate and how they will use such a vote against the Democrat who wins the nomination. Now that the MRAP issue has hit home in Iowa, Beau’s prediction has moved from the abstract to the concrete, something that may resonate with Iowa voters.

Asked about his differences with Clinton, Edwards and Obama on when to end the war in Iraq and bring our troops home, Senator Biden was quick to highlight this distinction at a campaign stop in Cedar Rapids today. “Clinton, Edwards and Obama say they cannot commit to bring our troops home until 2013. How can they say that, when they and the rest of the candidates ripped the skin off my back in May, when I was the only Senator running to vote to fund the troops?” Biden asked 150 people gathered at the 238 Teamsters’ Union.

“I voted to give our troops all the protection they needed. How can the three leading candidates, one of whom took out advertising in Iowa saying we need to vote “no,” say they’re going to keep troops there until 2013, yet they’re not going to fund them?” Biden asked. “Folks, that’s what I mean when I say we need to start telling the American people the truth. They’re telling you what you want to hear: End the war. But they are acknowledging they can’t end the war with any plan they have.”

Related reading: John Carlson’s column, “Biden Takes a Hit by Funding Vehicle That Saved Iowans” (Des Moines Register)

Joe’s youngest sister, Valerie, helped run his 1972 campaign bid against a popular Republican incumbent, Sen. J. Caleb Boggs, whom Biden defeated at age 29, becoming the fifth-youngest senator in U.S. history. Valerie Biden-Owens has run every campaign for her brother Joe during his 37-year political career, so it’s not surprising that she’s serving as Joe’s national chairwoman in his current presidential bid. While the rest of Biden’s family members commute back and forth to Iowa to campaign, Valerie has set up shop in Iowa, where she intends to help ramp up the campaign’s efforts.

Meanwhile, Joe’s wife, Jill, and his two sons, Beau and Hunter, have been crisscrossing the state, where they’ve been retail politicking on behalf of Joe. The Bidens have popped up at meet-and-greets, Democratic fund-raisers, rallies and other campaign events, including the Johnson County Democrats’ Barbeque in Iowa City (see picture below).

To read the interview and view the video with the Bidens at the barbeque fund-raiser on Oct. 6, read below the fold.Iowa Independent: The Bidens have shifted gears and are putting more focus on campaigning in Iowa. Why the shift and what have been some of your experiences while campaigning in Iowa?

Beau: This is the way we’ve done it for 34 years. Iowa reminds us of home. Even though it’s a much bigger state than ours, you have to remember that there’s only about 125,000 caucus-goers and 99 counties, so you can actually get around and actually meet a lot of these people.
We’re used to going around and knocking on doors, spending time at peoples’ kitchen tables, and we think this works to my father’s advantage. Once you get to know my father, you get to like, if not love him. On top of that, he’s the most qualified person in the race to be president. We see Iowa as a strategic advantage for us, starting with the great people here in Iowa.

Iowa Independent: Regarding the poll numbers, do you think Senator Biden is going to get some more traction or a bump now that you’ve shifted your strategy to focus more on Iowa?

Hunter: (Watch Adam Burke’s video below)

Jill: Joe is the only one who can bring together the red states and the blue states. He’s known for bringing the Democrats and Republicans together.

Iowa Independent: What role did you play in Senator Biden’s decision to make another run for president?

Jill: Actually, we got together and we went to Joe and we said we think you are the only one who can win the presidency. We want you to run and win.

Beau: The bottom line is that our dad and mom have been great parents to us. I only hope that, as a father, I can be half as good at raising my children.

The reality is that I would rather have my dad down the street from me, where he could give me advice on how to put my 18-month-old to bed, than out on the campaign trail. There’s something just as important here, and that’s the future of our country and our world.

Hunter: There’s another reason I’m here, and when I say this, I want you to know that I’m not pandering. You know what made the decision easier? It’s Iowa. We were here in 1987 and that was not an easy time for us. What made it much easier for us deciding to run again is the loyalty and the love of people here in Iowa. We’ve kept in touch with these same folks for 20 years. They have stood behind my dad, and more importantly, they stood behind us, and that means a lot to me and my family

Hunter and Jill Biden Campaigning in Iowa (Johnson County Democrats’ BBQ)

Earlier in the evening the family took the stage on behalf of Joe, with Beau speaking on behalf of his father, who was in New Hampshire delivering the keynote address at the Coos County Democrats Harry S. Truman Dinner. This is not the first time Beau, the attorney general of Delaware, has stumped for his father in Iowa.

Donning his military hat, figuratively speaking of course, Beau stumped at the Iowa Democratic Party Veterans’ Caucus Presidential Extravaganza in Des Moines in June. Beau is a captain in the Delaware National Guard, which is scheduled to deploy to Iraq early next year. Speaking as a military member, Beau made the case why his father would be the most qualified to be president in 2009, touting the candidate’s foreign policy experience and why Democrats can ill-afford to nominate a candidate who cannot pass the “national security test.” (see video below).

Drawing on these same themes, Beau added a familial dimension to his stump speech in Johnson County as he went to bat for his father. “Let me tell you about him, because I know Iowans want to meet the candidates once, twice, and kick the tires to what mettle and grit you have,” Beau told the audience, which was packed in the swine barn on the Johnson County fairgrounds. “Let me tell you about what grit and mettle my father has. In 1972, my father was elected to the United States Senate, becoming the first Senator he had ever met. He ran to end the war in Vietnam and continue the Civil Rights movement. But like a lot of us who has experienced great triumph comes great tragedy sometimes.”

At this point, Beau’s speech replayed the events surrounding the tragic accident in 1972, which took the life of Beau’s 14-month old sister and his mother, Neilia, when the car they were riding in was struck by a tractor-trailer truck. Beau and Hunter were also in the car and Beau was hospitalized after the accident. On Dec. 18 of that year, just as the newly elected Sen. Joe Biden was about to take office for the first time, he got a phone call from home about the accident back home. “My dad left Washington that day thinking he would never return, telling the Sen. Majority leader Mike Mansfield that Delaware can get another senator, but my boys can’t get another dad.”

“He came back to Wilmington and stayed at my bedside until January 3rd the following year, when he was to be sworn in in Washington. He refused to go to Washington,” Beau continued. “Men like Hubert Humphrey and Ted Kennedy, me who had been tested in their own right, convinced him to give a shot for sixth months. The next day they sent the secretary of the senate and my dad was sworn in at my bedside.”

“My dad has been at my side and my brother’s side for 34 years since then. We met my mom and we got remarried and my mom and dad rebuilt our family. I believe, ladies and gentlemen, this is what he can do for our country. Provide hope when there sometimes isn’t and provide comfort and leadership when there isn’t any,” Beau said. “I don’t tell you this story to gain sympathy, for I know everyone in this room has a similar experience. I tell you that because it’s those personal tests that Iowans want to know about, because they serve as indicators as to how you will perform as president.”

Beau Biden: Who passes the Commander-in-Chief test? (video shot by Adam Burke at Johnson County Democrats’ Barbeque)

Five of the Democratic candidates took the stage in the fairground barn, including (in order of appearance) Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, Sens. Chris Dodd of Connecticut and Hillary Clinton of New York. Academy Award winning actor Forest Whitaker spoke on behalf of Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, and Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden spoke on behalf of his father, Sen. Joe Biden of Deleware, who was in New Hampshire delivering the keynote address at the Coos County Democrats Harry S. Truman Dinner.

Passersby and those entering the fairgrounds were greeted with a barrage of campaign signs lining the street, as the campaigns’ foot soldiers picked up where the Sign War left off at the Harkin Steak Fry.. The war had dramatically dropped off after the September sign surge in Indianola, sign pundits hypothesizing that campaigns are actually putting them in supporters’ yards. Borrowing precepts from the Cold War, the Sign War tries to serve as a deterrent for second-tier candidates, as top-tier candidates attempt to solidify their superpower stature by seeing who can stockpile the most signs.But this theory falls through the cracks if any one of the candidates is harboring a doomsday sign; such was case with the Biden Campaign’s “Ears of Experience” sign. Not only does the sign play to an Iowa audience, but Biden’s Deputy Press-Secretary Annie Tomasini informed me that all the corn is hand-picked from Iowa farms of Biden supporters.

Speaking of ears and war, a Johnson County political gathering would not be complete without an anti-war contingency drumming up support for peace. As cars meandered around the first bend of the road leading to the field of parking dreams, car passengers’ eardrums were filled with the steady beat of the Iowans for Peace drums.

While the barbeque pork and food was housed in one building, the political speeches were relegated to the swine barn. Despite the industrial fan blowing at the barn’s entrance, the crowd was consumed by the omnipresent heat and humidity. Despite the sweltering heat in the barn, I-Renew’s (Iowa Renewable Energy Association) global-warming snowman refused to melt. When asked about the heat, the snowman had a few choice words not suitable for print; granted, some of these words were lost in translation.

Campaign banners dripped from the barn’s rafters, thus transforming the swine barn into a political arena ripe for a cattle call.

All of the political action, however, was not relegated to inside the barn, for a number of happenings unfolded out back.

Richardson and Elizabeth Edwards shake hands, presumably agreeing to disagree who would make the best vice president candidate: her husband John or Richardson?

A group of young Obama supporters, most of whom won’t be eligible to vote by the time the caucuses hit Iowa, gathered to welcome Obama’s surrogate speaker, Forest Whitaker. In this context, it only makes sense that the surrogate speaker is shepherded in by surrogate supporters. Nonetheless, it’s great to see children getting involved at a young age, before it is too late and they’re left behind with the 50 percent of eligible voters who neglect their civic responsibility on election day.

As Whitaker shook hands and signed autographs, all I could think about was the prospect of drafting him to run for president. I imagined the movie star, who played the dictator Gen. Idi Amin in the movie “The Last-King-of Scotland,” espousing his populist message on the stump in Iowa. Better yet, the Draft-Whitaker Campaign already has a catchy slogan that will resonate with most eligible voters: “Run, Forest, Run…”

Despite Whitaker’s appearance and the rest of the high-profile political dignitaries, the highlight of the evening came when the man of many hats, Iowa Independent’s very own John Deeth, was named “Johnson County Activist of the Year.”

Speaking of Deeth who was sporting a raspberry beret, his official blog hat, be sure to check out his play-by-play of the cattle call. And if you’re looking to vicariously live or relive the moment through video, be sure to watch Adam Burke’s video footage of Richardson and Whitaker.

]]> http://iowaindependent.com/1235/presidential-hopefuls-come-a-courtin-johnson-county-democrats/feed 2 http://iowaindependent.com/945/iowa-legislator-whose-son-is-in-iraq-to-endorse-biden http://iowaindependent.com/945/iowa-legislator-whose-son-is-in-iraq-to-endorse-biden#comments Wed, 05 Sep 2007 16:56:42 +0000 T.M. Lindsey http://iowaindependent.com/945/iowa-legislator-whose-son-is-in-iraq-to-endorse-biden Citing Delaware Sen. Joe Biden’s foreign policy experience and his “Plan for Iraq,” Assistant House Majority Leader John Whitaker, D-Hillsboro, plans to announce his endorsement of Biden for president at a press conference in Fairfield today at 2 p.m. Whitaker, whose son, Gabe, was deployed with the Iowa National Guard last week to Iraq, will be the 7th Iowa state legislator to endorse Biden for President.

“Joe Biden is the only Democratic candidate for president who understands the impact of this war on the families of those soldiers serving our country,” Whitaker said. “Joe Biden has fought to get our troops Mine Resistant Vehicles which have the capability of saving the lives of thousands of soldiers, and his Veteran’s Plan offers our troops everything from improved healthcare and better handling of disability claims to job placement and educational services.”

Whitaker and Biden connected right away, because of the similar bond they share regarding their sons, said Biden’s Deputy Press Secretary Annie Tomasini. Biden’s son, Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, is a member of the Delaware National Guard and has received orders to deploy to Iraq sometime next year. “I know that Sen. Biden will end this war in a way that will not leave behind chaos and will not require our troops having to go back later on down the road,” Whitaker added.Since Biden is in Iraq this week, the Biden Campaign will be represented at today’s press conference in Fairfield by J.B. White, an Iraq veteran and the campaign’s National Veterans Coordinator.

“It is an honor for the Biden Campaign to have the endorsement of John Whitaker,” White said.”The commitment of John, his family and especially his son Gabe represent the best in American values. His support is a demonstration of the respect many Iowans feel for Joe Biden and his plan to end this war in a way that protects America ’s interests.”

Whitaker, a farmer, has served in the Iowa House of Representatives since 2003. He is the Vice Chair of the Committee on Agriculture, and is also a member of the Administration and Rules, Natural Resources, Public Safety and Transportation committees.

Whitaker joins six colleagues in the state legislature in a growing list of elected officials supporting Joe Biden in the Hawkeye state: State Sen. Joe Seng (Davenport), Rep. Doris Kelly (Waterloo) Rep. Lisa Heddens (Ames), Rep. Jim Lykam (Davenport), Rep. Mike Reasoner(Creston), and Rep. Dick Taylor (Cedar Rapids).

]]> http://iowaindependent.com/945/iowa-legislator-whose-son-is-in-iraq-to-endorse-biden/feed 0 http://iowaindependent.com/871/biden-playing-iraq-and-national-security-cards-in-iowa http://iowaindependent.com/871/biden-playing-iraq-and-national-security-cards-in-iowa#comments Sat, 25 Aug 2007 03:46:16 +0000 T.M. Lindsey http://iowaindependent.com/871/biden-playing-iraq-and-national-security-cards-in-iowa Last Sunday’s Democratic debate in Des Moines was a clear indication to voters that Delaware Sen. Joe Biden’s strategy in Iowa will focus on his foreign affairs experience and plan for Iraq as a means of trumping up support in Iowa. “It’s time to start to level with the American people. This administration hasn’t been doing it for seven years,” Biden said in the debate. “If we leave Iraq and we leave it in chaos, there’ll be regional war. I laid out a plan a year ago with Leslie Gelb. It said that what we should do is separate the parties, give them breathing room in order to establish some stability.”

And this was just the beginning for Biden’s insurgent campaign. The campaign aired a new television ad, “Cathedral,” across Iowa the same day of the debate, and released “Security” a few days later. Both ads focus on national security and Biden’s plan for Iraq. Whether or not this strategy will gain traction with Iowa voters has yet to be seen. Biden’s campaign has been consistently registering anywhere from 2 percent to 5 percent in the Iowa polls.

During a telephone interview with the Iowa Independent, Biden’s campaign dismissed those numbers, contending his campaign is just getting started in Iowa. “Our feet are just beginning to hit the ground in Iowa,” said Iowa Coordinator of Veterans for Biden James D. Mowrer, a Boone native who recently returned from a 16-month mission in Iraq with Iowa National Guard’s 133rd Infantry Battalion. “Not only are these our first campaign television ads, but we just officially launched our organizational efforts in Iowa.”

James Mowrer (right) poses with Jill Biden (middle) and Rep. Donavan Olson, D-Boone (left)

Regardless of his place in the polls, Biden’s campaign has been gaining traction in Iowa among Iraq War veterans, a bloc of voters that Biden’s campaign has been aggressively targeting. “Many Iraq veterans in Iowa are jumping on board with Senator Biden, mainly because of his strategy for Iraq,” said Mowrer. “I’m not 100 percent certain, but I think Biden has the most endorsements from Iraq veterans, and since the war in Iraq is the biggest issue in the campaign, these endorsements will be seen by caucus goers as an endorsement of Biden’s plan for Iraq.”

Although Iraq veterans and their families make up only a small percentage of the voter base in Iowa, Mowrer is confident the “Veterans for Biden” effort will have a big impact on the Iowa Caucuses. “It means a lot for caucus goers to really see which candidates are enlisting people in their campaign, who are most informed about the Iraq War,” said Mowrer. “I was an intelligence analyst in the Iraq War. Consequently, I had access to daily classified reports and assessments of what was going on in Iraq, and using that information, I decided that Sen. Biden is the best candidate to be the next commander in chief in 2009.” In addition to “Veterans for Biden,” the Biden campaign has extended itself to the “Military Families for Biden” as well.

In the “Security” ad, Biden lays out the case for why his leadership qualities and life experiences prepare him to be commander in chief and president of the United States. The current campaign is scheduled to run through Labor Day weekend at a cost of approximately $250,000.

‘Security’

Biden, along with son Beau, who is Delaware’s attorney general and a captain in the Delaware National Guard, have teamed up in Iowa and have been laying the groundwork for these ads. Not only have they been touting Biden’s 34 years of experience in the Senate and insights accumulated while serving on the Foreign Affairs committee, the Biden tandem has pleaded the case to Iowans that there is no margin for error for the next commander in chief.

“We cannot rely on choosing a president, who we think can formulate the best foreign policy team. We’ve already seen the dangers of doing this,” Beau Biden told a group of veterans gathered at the Iowa Democratic Party Veterans’ Caucus Presidential Extravaganza in Des Moines earlier this month. “I want somebody sitting in the situation room, who the minute they’re sworn in doesn’t have to rely on the judgment of advisers. I want the smartest guy in the room to be the president.”

Using the previous two presidential elections as a precedent, Beau Biden went on to explain why the Democrats came up on the short end both times. “Al Gore and John Kerry lost their presidential bids, because they failed the national security test. It is a sin that a decorated Vietnam veteran failed the national security test,” Beau Biden said, referring to Kerry. “And what’s the first thing they used against Kerry? Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. I ask you to imagine, what they’ll do to the candidates who voted “no” on the Iraq war supplemental funding bill vote a few months ago.”

That bill would appropriate $120 billion in fiscal 2007 emergency spending, including $94.4 billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The measure included a Biden amendment allocating $1.5 billion for Mine Resistant Armored Protected vehicles (MRAPs). Sens. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., Chris Dodd, D-Conn., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., all presidential candidates, voted against the funding bill. Biden took a lot of heat from anti-war advocates, but because of his MRAP amendment, he stood behind his decision. “I will not cut funding for the troops that denies them the equipment they need to be safe,” Biden said on the Senate floor. “I don’t care what the politics are of that decision.”

]]> http://iowaindependent.com/871/biden-playing-iraq-and-national-security-cards-in-iowa/feed 2 http://iowaindependent.com/855/iowa-veterans-want-more-than-lip-service-from-presidential-hopefuls http://iowaindependent.com/855/iowa-veterans-want-more-than-lip-service-from-presidential-hopefuls#comments Thu, 23 Aug 2007 19:53:50 +0000 T.M. Lindsey http://iowaindependent.com/855/iowa-veterans-want-more-than-lip-service-from-presidential-hopefuls For the veterans attending the Veterans’ Caucus Presidential Extravaganza earlier this month, the fighting didn’t end with their military service. Instead, they faced a new battleground upon discharge: their government.

“We want to be sure that those who served in harm’s way aren’t left behind on the battlefield,” said Democratic presidential candidate Chris Dodd (see pic), a U.S. Senator from Connecticut. “The old line in basic training is you don’t leave a buddy on the battlefield. The battlefield doesn’t end when you return from the theater of conflict; the battlefield for our 24 million veterans is going on here today.”

The event was intended to raise money for veterans and provide Democratic presidential candidates a forum to share their platforms for vets. Dodd was the only presidential candidate who spoke at the event; other candidates sent high-level representatives. The Aug. 13 forum was supposed to be nonpartisan, but Dodd quickly established a partisan tone, which the rest of the speakers emulated in a blistering critique of the Bush administration’s neglect of veterans.

“I’ve spent four different occasions on the Senate floor just to get body armor for those serving in Iraq, only to be defeated every single time by the Republicans, who could not come up with the votes to support the body armor or compensate the families and communities who purchased body armor for their loved ones in Iraq and Afghanistan,” said Dodd, a National Guard veteran. “The Don Rumsfeld line, `You don’t get the Army you deserve, you get the Army you got,’ reflects this administration’s attitude toward our young people, which they placed in difficult situations without even the most basic protection. This is deeply disturbing to me, and when I hear comments about how much they care and compare this with the actions of this administration, these words ring hollow.”A number of veterans at the forum said they have grown tired of politicians paying lip service without ever producing results. They also feel the media have neglected their concerns. Joe Stutler, an Army veteran from Cedar Rapids, said he was looking for two things: honor and respect. “All the benefits in the world are available and possible, but not until Americans realize that without veterans, there is no America. Somebody has to defend us; we’re called and we go. There should be some honor and respect in that,” Stutler said in response to former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack’s solicitation for veteran concerns. Vilsack was speaking on behalf of Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y.

“If Americans began honoring and respecting that service, there would be no talk of a draft, because people would be fighting to get in instead of clamoring around in an RV around the green zone in Iowa thinking that’s a patriotic duty,” Stutler added, before setting his sights on the media or in this case, the absence of the media. “I don’t see a room full of media here, but I saw it for labor, GLBT and minorities. Where’s the respect from Americans for veterans?”

Using this as his cue, Vilsack talked about Clinton’s new television ad about society’s “invisible” people, which had been released in Iowa earlier that day. “In essence, you are invisible, and one of the groups Clinton mentions in her new television ad is veterans. She really never believed that we would get to a point in this country where veterans are invisible, but that’s where we are at,” Vilsack said.

“I’m sorry there isn’t any media here, but there’s going to be a lot of money put behind that ad,” Vilsack said. “Every person in Iowa is going to be asking: What do you mean our veterans are invisible? And this will give you an opening to talk to your friends and neighbors.” While no members from the major media covered the presidential extravaganza, Clinton’s new ad was introduced at a press conference hosted by Vilsack, which merited not one or two, but three, articles in the Des Moines Register.

The forum’s speakers tailored their speeches to address veterans’ feelings of governmental neglect once they’ve fufilled their contracted service obligations. Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden (see pic), who spoke on behalf of his father, Sen. Joe Biden, had this to say: “All of you veterans went over to war and served without talking about what you did and what medals you won. You came home and went about your business.” The younger Biden is a captain in the Delaware National Guard, which is scheduled to deploy to Iraq sometime next year. “But what you haven’t done is you haven’t forgotten. You’ve kept the covenant. Whether you were drafted or volunteered, it doesn’t matter; you did what your country asked for you.

“The first thing my father would do as president is honor the covenant you made, so you’re not caught like so many Korean and Vietnam veterans in between the greatest generation and this Iraqi war generation,” Biden said. “We cannot forget the people in the middle, and must honor all veterans of foreign wars.”

Speaking on behalf of candidate John Edwards, Major Gen. Youngman reiterated Edwards’ campaign platform of honoring “our sacred contract” with veterans. “Edwards believes we need to fully fund the VA, and the reason this isn’t happening is because of the annual dance that goes on in Washington,” Youngman said. “Bush sends over a VA budget that everyone knows is far from adequate, then we hear some speeches on the congressional floors, and then Congress adds a few amendments, then they turn around and send out campaign mailers saying they’re fighting for veterans in Washington.

“John Edwards understand there’s more to patriotism than waving a flag and sending somebody else’s children to war. He understands there’s more to taking care of our veterans than getting together with veterans for a photo opportunity,” Youngman said. “The mindset that has been in place since this war started is that a soldier expense has been treated as a labor expense, and it’s something we try to reduce. That kind of mindset says it’s OK for the secretary of Defense to send out letters of condolences to families, who just had the devastating loss of a loved one, signed by a signature machine.”

The presidential forum reached the emotional apex when New Mexico Gov. Richardson’s representative, Rick Bolanos (see pic), took the stage and shared his thoughts on his Vietnam War experiences and the Swift Boat Veterans, who disputed 2004 presidential candidate John Kerry’s heroics in Vietnam. Along with his three brothers, Bolanos stepped up and volunteered to serve in Vietnam. They were the only four brothers in America serving simultaneously in Vietnam.

“When I saw people wearing purple heart band-aids, I thought to myself, that’s really cruel,” Bolanos said, before retelling a Vietnam War story. “While serving in Vietnam, my brother and I saw a young Marine fall down as he cupped his hand to his throat. When his hands fell down, we saw blood spurt from his neck. He fell and bled to death right in front of our eyes. When we asked the medic what happened, he told us that a small piece of shrapnel had severed his artery. What would this administration and the Swift Boat Veterans have said had he survived? Would they have denigrated his service if had come back and run for president of the United States?”

With his hands and voice trembling with emotion, Bolanos continued his story. “And what would this administration and the Swift Boat Veterans have said to my best friend, Mack, who I held in my arms as he looked up and said, `Rick, don’t let me die.’ For that one instant I wanted to exchange my life for his, and I was angry at my God for the first time, because I didn’t have enough hands to cover all the wounds he had to stop the bleeding.

“I ask you as a veteran, what would the administration and the Swift Boat Veterans have said had Mack come back and run for the president of the United States? This administration and these people do not have the right to pit one veteran against another. They don’t have the right to denigrate a veterans’ service, because not one of them — not Karl Rove, not President Bush, not Dick Cheney — ever answered their country’s call.”

]]> http://iowaindependent.com/855/iowa-veterans-want-more-than-lip-service-from-presidential-hopefuls/feed 4 http://iowaindependent.com/843/biden-will-return-to-iraq-to-gather-info-from-troops http://iowaindependent.com/843/biden-will-return-to-iraq-to-gather-info-from-troops#comments Tue, 21 Aug 2007 21:07:16 +0000 Adam Burke http://iowaindependent.com/843/biden-will-return-to-iraq-to-gather-info-from-troops
More than three-fourths of U.S. senators have been to Iraq, many in the past 12 months.  Leading the pack is Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., with 10 visits as of Aug. 1, 2007. 

Delaware Sen. Joe Biden has visited Iraq seven times (plus one visit to Afghanistan) and plans to go back before September.  This will be his first visit since finding out that his son, military lawyer Beau Biden, will be sent to Iraq in early 2008.

Last night at a house party for the presidential hopeful, Biden gave me an earful when I asked why he needs to be in Iraq so much.  He prefers to gather information directly from the troops, “when you get in their Buffaloes, and their Humvees, and their Hueys, and their Cobras, they tell you the truth.  They are not reluctant to level with you…I’m not so smart, I just listen to people.”

He said that the troops he talks to come from all ranks, and “They will tell you that there is no real political solution and the moment we leave, the place is going to spin apart.”

Last week, Biden received notice as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that he would not be allowed to question Iraq Ambassador Ryan Crocker or Iraq Commander General David Petreaus.

In the past, Crocker has been held out of Senate questioning by the State Department during a time in which the ambassador has appeared on Fox News, National Public Radio and in several print media interviews.

Instead, Biden would have to rely on a White House report on Iraq, a source he clearly doesn’t trust.

“I have absolutely no confidence, based on seven years of experience, [in] a White House report.  I do have confidence in the honesty and integrity of Ambassador Crocker and the honesty and integrity of Petreaus.  I disagree with their positions so far, but they will tell the truth if you ask the right question.”

[Iowa Independent reporter Lynda Waddington contributed to this story.]

]]> http://iowaindependent.com/843/biden-will-return-to-iraq-to-gather-info-from-troops/feed 2 http://iowaindependent.com/839/bidens-plan-for-iraq-tv-ad-hits-home-in-more-ways-than-one http://iowaindependent.com/839/bidens-plan-for-iraq-tv-ad-hits-home-in-more-ways-than-one#comments Tue, 21 Aug 2007 00:09:33 +0000 T.M. Lindsey http://iowaindependent.com/839/bidens-plan-for-iraq-tv-ad-hits-home-in-more-ways-than-one Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, D.-Del., launched his new ad, “Cathedral,” which not only strikes the emotional chords of parents having lost loved ones in the Iraq War but those parents who risk losing loved ones in the future – including Biden, whose eldest son, Beau, has received orders to deploy to Iraq next year.

Stumping for his father, a passionate Beau Biden addresses members of the Iowa Democratic Party Veterans’ Caucus

In his first television ad to hit the Iowa airwaves, Biden describes one of his experiences while visiting the theater of war in Iraq. The 30-second commercial is part of a quarter-million-dollar ad campaign that launched Sunday and emphasizes the Delaware senator’s campaign focus, a detailed plan to end the war in Iraq. The ad begins with the camera focusing on Biden staring point blank into the camera, as if he was looking into the souls of American viewers.

Biden begins retelling his story with the setting details: “It was my fourth trip to Iraq; we were leaving Baghdad. It was pitch black,” Biden says before segueing into a description of a flag-draped coffin strapped in the middle of his C-130 cargo plane. “They turned that cargo plane into a cathedral,” he says. “And all I could think of was the parents waiting at the other end. We must end this war in a way that won’t send their grandchildren back.” Knowing that Biden may be one of these parents on the receiving end of the C-130 cargo plane, it’s these lines that strike an emotional chord with television viewers.Biden’s son, Beau, is the attorney general of Delaware and a captain in the U.S. National Guard. Beau Biden told a room full of veterans at the Presidential Extravaganza that his father is not happy about the possibility of his deployment, quoting his father, “I don’t want him going. But I tell you what, I don’t want my grandson or my granddaughters going back in 15 years, and so how we leave makes a big difference.”

Unlike his poll numbers in Iowa, where he’s been consistently polling at about 2 percent, Biden’s “Plan for Iraq” has been gaining traction with his congressional colleagues and foreign policy experts on both sides of the political aisle. Biden’s campaign crew hopes the ads will help him garner name recognition and traction in the polls.

Larry Rasky, communications director for the Biden campaign, said this to the Des Moines Register: “There’s no question that Iraq is the major issue on the minds of the voters, and there’s also no question that Joe Biden has been the leader in trying to push George Bush to get out of Iraq. It will certainly raise the senator’s favorable name recognition, but as for the horse race question, I think it remains to be seen as to when people really begin focusing on making that choice, but it will happen over time.”

“Cathedral”

]]> http://iowaindependent.com/839/bidens-plan-for-iraq-tv-ad-hits-home-in-more-ways-than-one/feed 3 http://iowaindependent.com/421/labor-bill-debate-prompts-change-in-firefighters-convention http://iowaindependent.com/421/labor-bill-debate-prompts-change-in-firefighters-convention#comments Sun, 24 Jun 2007 17:22:51 +0000 Lynda Waddington http://iowaindependent.com/421/labor-bill-debate-prompts-change-in-firefighters-convention An Iowa City event that had drawn a great deal of national attention has been partially postponed to allow presidential hopefuls who are also U.S. senators to travel back to the beltway for debate on a bill.

The Iowa Professional Fire Fighters State Convention was to host presidential hopefuls Tuesday and Wednesday. Gov. Bill Richarson, Sen. Barack Obama, former Sen. John Edwards, Sen. Chris Dodd and Sen. Hillary Clinton confirmed they would be in attendance. Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden was also scheduled to appear and represent his father, Sen. Joe Biden. There was also speculation that former President Bill Clinton would appear beside his wife for the event.

The firefighters decided to postpone this portion of their convention when it was learned the event conflicted with debate in the U.S. Senate on the Employee Free Choice Act. This piece of legislation is considered to be one of the highest priorities for labor this year. Debate on the bill began last week, and a cloture vote is expected this week.

The House version was passed by a wide margin in March. In the Senate, however, much more resistance is expected.

A rescheduling date is not known at this time. It is anticipated that non-senatorial hopefuls — Gov. Richardson, A.G. Biden and former Sen. Edwards — will address the convention as scheduled.

]]> http://iowaindependent.com/421/labor-bill-debate-prompts-change-in-firefighters-convention/feed 0