Jim Moran: Twenty-Four Year Military Veteran Has Not Done Enough for his Community
[Guest post by Aaron Worthing; send your tips here.]
A few days ago it came to light that Jim Moran (D-emilitarized) said this about his opponent, Patrick Murray:
What [Republicans] do is find candidates, usually stealth candidates, that haven’t been in office, haven’t served or performed in any kind of public service. My opponent is typical, frankly.
Of course, Murray served in the military for 24 years, a fact that Moran referenced not a minute later in the same talk. So more than a few people said this meant that Moran was denigrating Murray’s military service as not being “public service.” And I offered a limited defense to those comments, which some felt was not much of a defense.
Well, what defense I offered, I take it back.
You see, Moran has clarified his statement as follows:
Moran said his comments have been distorted and what he criticized was not his opponent’s military record but his lack of civic involvement.
“Serving in the military does not prevent you from getting involved in the community,” he said. “Mr. Murray has decided simply not to be involved in the civic life of the community. That’s what I was saying.”
Actually Jim when you are serving our country in places like Iraq, Kosovo, Bosnia, Serbia and Russia, often being shot at, it’s a little hard to keep up to date with the latest actions by the PTA, you idiot. And even when he was in-country, he had every right to say, “you know what? I already served the community by defending it.”
There was some wiggle room before, but there is none now. Jim Moran has slapped every soldier in the face. He needs to apologize. And every person who values the contributions made by the men and women of our armed forces who live in Virginia’s Eighth Congressional District need to come out and fire this jerk, a week from today.
Update: Smitty at The Other McCain fisks a news report on the controversy, here.
[Posted and authored by Aaron Worthing.]
The VFW will probably endorse Moran tomorrow (I kid).
Not to mention, many troops attend FRG meetings or mentor local schoolkids (I did when I was enlisted, along with dozens of other troops) and yet they don’t mention this kind of stuff.
We need leaders, not community organizers. Lots of people running have done all kinds of things for their community, be it Sunday school or can drives, without pretending this is a qualification.
All Moran said was that the work Murray has done for us (that we know of) is not enough. Even though this work was incredibly difficult, gut wrenching at times for his family (and himself), and of tremendous value.
I don’t believe in waving medals around to get elected, but military service deserves respect and thanks, not ‘did you do anything progressivey, too?’
Dustin (b54cdc) — 10/25/2010 @ 10:53 pmI forget what my daughter called her title, but she’s the only one in her unit allowed to touch FRG money. And, no, she doesn’t expect a gold star for doing it. It’s for her troops and their families and such. Duty.
John Hitchcock (9e8ad9) — 10/25/2010 @ 11:15 pmI think it was P.J. O’Rourke who once asked why politicians insist on referring to what they do as “public service” when it’s hard to figure out exactly what if any actual service they render to the public.
JVW (eccfd6) — 10/25/2010 @ 11:33 pmDustin
Well, i think that is exactly right. you shouldn’t vote for him just because he served. But he did, and the least we owe all vets is not to put down their service.
And of Jim
Aaron Worthing (e7d72e) — 10/26/2010 @ 5:33 amMoronMoran, maybe its time to force him to mingle with the commoners until he gets it. (meaning, let’s fire him)Aaron, you have every right to comment as you see fit but if you are going to do so you should actually know the facts before doing so. The comment that you refer to as ‘a moment later’ was actually 20 minutes after the comments in the first clip of the video. If you actually saw the entire speach you would know this. Instead, you and everyone else are making your comments based on an edited video solely created to distort the truth. As for his comments on local service, Moran was NEVER comparing this to Murray’s military service. Moran acknowledges and commends Murray for his 24 years in the military. The point he was making is that if you have absolutely no connection to the local community you can’t claim to know your constituents and therefore properly represent the district. You may disagree with this but these were his views from the beginning and NEVER had anything to do with military service, ever.
TIB (5dec0f) — 10/26/2010 @ 5:37 amTIB – does active duty service constitute a service to the community? Do you get your jooooooo hate on with iamadimwit and Rep Moron?
JD (ae2c41) — 10/26/2010 @ 5:45 amTIB
> Aaron, you have every right to comment as you see fit but if you are going to do so you should actually know the facts before doing so. The comment that you refer to as ‘a moment later’
Well, you are free to comment, but you need to get your facts correct before doing so. For starters, the only time the word “moment” appears in this entire thread is in your comment. And now in this comment. Your quoted words never appear.
But let’s assume you meant to refer to this: “Murray served in the military for 24 years, a fact that Moran referenced not a minute later in the same talk.” Moving on:
> was actually 20 minutes after the comments in the first clip of the video.
Not at all. If you go back to the first time I posted video of it, there is a link to an unedited video. It was around a minute later. Certainly not over two minutes later.
And the important fact this is that Moran knew of his background when he said that the man had no record of public service.
> Instead, you and everyone else are making your comments based on an edited video solely created to distort the truth.
In which you miss the part where I actually defended what he said in a limited way, based on having seen the unedited video. But this new post is not based on that video but what he is quoted as saying in this article as clarification. Notice how the headline in the top better corresponds with his “clarification” than the original quote.
> As for his comments on local service, Moran was NEVER comparing this to Murray’s military service.
You’re right. He wasn’t comparing it. He was saying that his military service didn’t count as service to the community.
> Moran acknowledges and commends Murray for his 24 years in the military.
He has denigrated it. once might have been an accident, but twice… reflects a world view. He doesn’t even understand what was offensive about what he said.
> The point he was making is that if you have absolutely no connection to the local community
The REASON why he has little connection to his community is because he has been defending it abroad.
Aaron Worthing (e7d72e) — 10/26/2010 @ 5:53 amTIB, if you read the links provided by Aaron, you would have noted this tidbit which essentially gives us a look at Moran’s honesty vs. his self-promotion and simultaneous denigration of an opponent:
On October 11th, the Military Officers Association of America sent a letter to the Moran campaign requesting that the congressman stop distributing a flyer clearly implying that MOAA had endorsed Moran for reelection.
“As a not-for-profit organization governed by the Internal Revenue Code, the Military Officers Association of America is barred by law from participating or intervening, either directly or indirectly, in any political campaign on behalf of, or in opposition to, any candidate for elective public office,” wrote Maj. Gen. Joseph Lynch (USAF-Ret.), MOAA’s general counsel.
“MOAA did recognize Rep. Moran in 1999 with our Arthur T. Marix Congressional Leadership Award. But the campaign flyer implies a more recent and more explicit MOAA rating/endorsement in connection with this campaign that did not occur.”
Dana (8ba2fb) — 10/26/2010 @ 6:09 amI think it was P.J. O’Rourke who once asked why politicians insist on referring to what they do as “public service” when it’s hard to figure out exactly what if any actual service they render to the public. JVW
I had the wonderful opportunity to hear Rep. John Dingell (D-esperation) on the radio this morning. He complained that his opponent, heart surgeon Rob Steele, has called him a career politician. In truth, he is NOT a politician (silly you). He is a “public servant.” His father was in part responsible for Social Security, and he was in part responsible for Medicare.
Wow. With credentials like that, who needs an election? We should just return him to office by acclamation. His motto can be “He Gave Us Medicare”
Gesundheit (cfa313) — 10/26/2010 @ 6:58 amIt’s the same service a bull renders to a cow.
Some chump (4c6c0c) — 10/26/2010 @ 7:38 amI’ve noticed that Moran’s more recent comments are getting some coverage in the local media, not just the conservative blogs, so hopefully Moran will get called out on this.
Joshua (9ede0e) — 10/26/2010 @ 7:40 amI don’t know what video you are referring to but I was at this meeting and the two comments made in the you tube video were no where near each other.
Are you saying that anyone that has served in the military is qualified to move wherever they want and run for office there? Can the argument not be made that in addition to military experience it is valuable to know your constituents and invest yourself in the community in which you are running? I have the utmost respect for anyone that has served our country in any branch of the military. Does that mean that I believe that solely because they have that experience they are qualified or capable of representing me in Congress, no I do not and I also don’t believe I am degrading their service by saying so. When Patrick Murray retired could he not have moved to this district and gotten involved with the community to actually learn what the views and issues of the district were? To get to know the constituents? Of course he could have and am I disparaging his military service for saying that, absolutely not. Congressman Moran was never questioning or denigrating Mr. Murray’s service, he is simply making reference to the fact that he has absolutely no connection to this district.
TIB (5dec0f) — 10/26/2010 @ 7:42 amTIB he posted a link to the unedited video previously. Moran should stick to hating on the jooooooos instead of denigrating military service as not public service. Why is it that when people use phrases like “are you saying” or “so what you are saying”‘ what follows rarely has even a passing resemblance to the truth.
JD (c8c1d2) — 10/26/2010 @ 7:59 amTIB
> I don’t know what video you are referring to but I was at this meeting and the two comments made in the you tube video were no where near each other.
Well, I told you how to find it, but I will make it even easier for you. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qc9iWVknwpY
I don’t see any edits in the video.
And, again, you are conceding this is in the same talk. So he knows that the man served in the military, but he said Murray had no record of public service.
> Are you saying that anyone that has served in the military is qualified to move wherever they want and run for office there?
Well, the constitution’s qualifications say literally yes. But saying a person cannot have moved around a lot… really, don’t you know this happens to military people a lot?
And the rest of it is a matter of opinion. I have been more than fair to that anti-semite, moran. But now he has twice denigrated Murray’s service. He was not merely calling him a carpetbagger, but saying he has not served the community. As though him being a congressman was more honorable than what Murray had done.
Aaron Worthing (e7d72e) — 10/26/2010 @ 7:59 amTIB – Are you claiming Moran has been a good Congressman and if so, why?
daleyrocks (940075) — 10/26/2010 @ 8:20 amJim Moran is indefensible, and merits retirement.
smitty (2bcec1) — 10/26/2010 @ 8:39 amTIB claims to have been there. I wonder in what capacity? Shill for Moran? Concerned conservative Christian? Why is it quibbling about the time frame between remarks. Does 2 minutes or 20 minutes make any real difference?
JD (d9926c) — 10/26/2010 @ 8:42 amJD
20 minutes v. 2 minutes matters if…
you want to figure out if TIB was actually there or not.
But not if you are wondering if moran knew his opponent was a vet when he made the first comments.
Aaron Worthing (e7d72e) — 10/26/2010 @ 9:01 amSo, in your construct, it is both determinative and utterly irrelevant?
JD (ffe6ea) — 10/26/2010 @ 9:23 amits determinative on one issue, irrelevant to another.
Aaron Worthing (e7d72e) — 10/26/2010 @ 9:41 amI was just being a smartass, AW. My bad.
JD (ae2c41) — 10/26/2010 @ 10:17 amAaron, it’s impressive how you handle yourself with these challenges. And the excellent blog posts just keep rolling in.
Another point, I sure did learn a lot about people when I served. You’re forced to work with people from many walks of life, races, cultures, classes, when serving. I also have worked on Capital Hill, and while I met a lot of good people there, 90% of them were attractive 20 somethings from relative wealth. It was a very narrow slice of America. I certainly didn’t learn as much about relating to people in my home district.
Moran’s not just rude and unappreciative, he’s also wrong. Veterans value other veterans because we realize this common experience straightens people out, helps them learn about their society, and takes enough devotion to show they have a some actual patriotism. It’s actually useful experience for a congressman.
Strangely enough, being an incumbent is horrible experience for being a good congressman, as Moran’s lack of respect for others has shown on several occasions.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 10/26/2010 @ 10:33 amWhere is TIB?
daleyrocks (940075) — 10/26/2010 @ 10:34 amThe cynic in me says that what Moran means by Public Service is otherwise known as Graft.
LarryD (f22286) — 10/26/2010 @ 11:09 amsaying he has not served the community
Aaron, I think you’re wrong and TIB, whoever he is, is right on this point. You’re confusing service to one’s country (of which military service is the paramount type) with service to one’s community.
kishnevi (437df2) — 10/26/2010 @ 6:33 pmOne can do both at the same time [as Dustin showed in his first comment:Not to mention, many troops attend FRG meetings or mentor local schoolkids (I did when I was enlisted, along with dozens of other troops)] but they are two entirely different things.
kish
read the whole linked article. it make it clear that there are two complaints 1) he has not served the community and 2) he is a carpetbagger.
And are you really telling me that when you are being shot at in iraq, that it isn’t hard to keep up with the PTA? What Moran said was foul and I hope it earns him the election defeat he has long deserved.
Aaron Worthing (f97997) — 10/26/2010 @ 6:38 pmLook at this person’s record,
ian cormac (6709ab) — 10/26/2010 @ 6:53 pmhttp://combatveteransforcongress.org/cand/73
re this corrupt bully they have now
Kishnevi, my point was that that sort of issue is hardly a qualification… many people will not bring up that sort of thing, but most soldiers do, in fact, have involvement in their ‘community’.
As far as “any kind of public service”, Moran’s wrong. As far as “decided simply not to be involved” that is very dishonest and unfair. Many times soldiers do not get this decision, unless you mean the sort of community involvement almost all troops indeed engage in without making a big self-promoting deal out of it.
Moran’s out of line, and I also think he’s really being an irrational point. If he’s trying to show devotion to public service, Murray has obviously been far more devoted to public service. Personally, I’m more interested in plans to fix our nation’s problems, but you and I both know why Moran wants to talk about something else.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 10/26/2010 @ 7:03 pm