The Iraq war has subsided as a major campaign issue in most Congressional campaigns, but it has returned with a vengeance in California. In a closely-contested House race to succeed retiring Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif.), Republican nominee Tom McClintock is accusing his Democratic opponent, Vietnam war veteran Charlie Brown, of participating in an anti-Iraq war protest while in uniform three years ago. The McClintock campaign unleashes those charges in a new radio ad, featuring Deborah Johns, the mother of a Marine who has served two tours of duty in Iraq. “I was so upset to see Charlie Brown at an anti-war protest where a soldier was hung in effigy. That’s no way to support our troops,” Johns says in the radio ad. Brown has been a vocal opponent of the Iraq war, and it was a central message in his 2006 campaign when he nearly defeated Doolittle. But in a district where 17 percent of residents are military veterans, being seen as a strident anti-war protester could seriously hurt Brown’s prospects. UPDATE: Brown spokesman Todd Stenhouse called on McClintock to "pull his misleading ad" and challenged him to donate the money spent on the ads to a charity for veterans. "Charlie attended a highly publicized protest staged by pro Iraq war demonstrators in 2005 at the site of a controversial display at the home of an anti- War activist," Stenhouse said. "He talked with people on both sides of the issue and left. He wore a camouflage jacket, as did many attendees on both sides who were ex-military. " "Like previous attempts to smear veterans by John Doolittle, McClintock’s radio spot is political sleaze designed to distract voters from his cowardly record on veterans issues."
Posted by Josh Kraushaar at 2:38 PM | Email | Print | Permalink