Minnesota DFL Silencing Soldiers

I thought I would apprise Red readers of a very disturbing controversy taking place here in Minnesota.

The state democratic party (DFL) is attacking actual veterans and their families ability to speak freely about what they think of the war and the enemy we face. In a series of ads running here, entitled "Midwest Heroes" veterans and their families criticise the coverage of the war as negative, and reiterate that we are, indeed, fighting al Qaeda in Iraq.

This has sparked an effort by the DFL to have the ads removed from the airwaves. Party chair Brian Melendez called the ads depicting veterans and their opinions "un-American," and "lies."

I have posts following the timeline of this attempt to bully television stations into denying soldiers their inherent right to free speech here, here, and here. There you will find links to the ads, quotes from the fascists trying to silence soldiers, and response from veterans.

When Mother Sheehan calls America "terrorists" or decries the "occupation of New Orleans" we are told from the left that she is a military mom and therefore above criticism. When soldiers and their families speak out about negative coverage and a lack of support at home they are demonized and silenced.

Allowing soldiers to speak their peace should not be a partisan issue. Certainly no one on the pro-war side of the debate is behind any organized effort to quash the speech of anti-war veterans or their families. The left has decided to take on the silencing of pro-war veterans and it is just about the most sleazy move I have ever seen.

Regardless of stance on the war, I think we should all agree that shouting down soldiers with experience in the region is not what this country is all about.

Unfortunately, I think the DFL's actions are just a precursor to a coming national effort from the left to silence and demonize soldiers that disagree with their hysterical position and dishonest politics.

I've often wondered what the Democratic response will be when soldiers start coming home and telling a different story than the one the left attempts to force down our throats every day. It looks more and more like the response will be to shout them down or silence them entirely.

That is a kind of "support the troops" we can do without, and every American, regardless of party, should denounce the tactic in the strongest terms possible.