St. Louis Beacon - Blunt joins Blunt to create new pro-Blunt vet group to counter anti-Blunt vet ad

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Blunt joins Blunt to create new pro-Blunt vet group to counter anti-Blunt vet ad

By Jo Mannies, Beacon political reporter

Posted 5:46 am Wed., 2.10.10

The call was brief and to the point.

Disabled Army veteran Joe Frank, former national commander of the American Legion and now a resident of suburban St. Louis, was calling on the listener to ignore a TV ad produced by another veterans group that attacks a GOP candidate for the U.S. Senate, U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt.

Among other things, Frank attacked the ad for using footage from the aftermath of the 2000 bombing of the military vessel Cole by terrorists.

Frank then went on to ask the listener to join Veterans for Blunt, and punch a number on their phone if they accepted.

The automated call went out Tuesday to thousands of potential Missouri voters. It was produced by Blunt's campaign.

This morning, the campaign announced the formation of Veterans for Blunt in an e-mail release that also was a fundraising request.

The first name on the list of the new group's leaders: the congressman's son, former Gov. Matt Blunt, who's an Annapolis graduate and in the Naval Reserves.

Today's release also reiterates the state GOP's call for the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, to denounce the Votevets' spot. She has not responded, but the state Democratic Party has emphasized that the Votevets' ad doesn't mention Carnahan.

Among other things, today's announcement of the new Veterans for Blunt group indicates that his campaign is, at minimum, concerned about the potential impact of the Votevets' ad.

Comments

#1 Nick Kasoff 2010-02-10 12:58

Shame on you, Jo, for letting votevets.org get away with calling itself a "veterans group." They aren't a veterans group, they're moveon.org in olive drab. In their entire history, they've only offered an endorsement to one Republican - and he refused it. Everyone else they've supported has been a Democrat.

#2 Jo Mannies, Beacon political reporter 2010-02-10 13:13

The fact that Votevets mainly endorses Democrats doesn't mean that it's not a veterans group. That logic would mean that only groups who back Republicans can be veterans groups. One could say that Votevets is a pro-Democratic veterans group or a liberal veterans group. But they're still a veterans group.

Thanks for commenting, Nick.

#3 Reese Forbes 2010-02-10 14:55

Votevets is a veterans group, just like my Veterans For Peace is a veterans group, but we are a 501(c)3 organization so we do not endorse any candidate, rather we speak to policy.
I can tell you that the policy that Votevets is advocating is correct - we need energy independence if we want to achieve national security, and we need to put government money into solar, geothermal, wind, etc if we are to survive as a great nation.

#4 Jay Hogue 2010-02-11 03:06

I agree with Nick, Jo. Your logic is faultier than his implication - simply, a group that really serves our country's veterans should be able to endorse candidates for either party as long as they purport to help veterans. VoteVets.org is a group dedicated to Democrats and a publicity vehicle for former Senator Bob Kerrey, former General Wesley Clark and former advisors from the Clinton presidency.

They're not a veteran's group, they're an arm of the Democratic party.

#5 Reese Forbes 2010-02-11 03:21

Still wrong, Jay and Nick - you don't seem to know the distinction. What the 2Blunts have formed is a Rebublician political organization made up of vets and others, and they want it that way and make no bones about it.
Votevets is made up of people that believe in the policy of not only energy independence, but other issues that are important to vets and has republicans, democrats, green party, and independents like me in it.

#6 Jay Hogue 2010-02-11 05:52

Maybe I should use smaller words here, but I'm not claiming that Vets for Blunt isn't a political group. I just am chagrined that anyone would be willing to post a bald-faced lie like "I'm an independent in Votevets." Votevets is an arm of the democratic party.

P.S. If I wanted to hear a commercial for votevets I would watch it on YouTube.

#7 Jo Mannies, Beacon political reporter 2010-02-11 14:31

Gentlemen -- I had to delete a comment because the person made unsubstantiated accusations of a personal nature. Please stay on topic, and don't get into the gutter. That said, thanks for all of your comments and for the otherwise valid debate.

#8 Reese Forbes 2010-02-11 14:46

Ms Mannies - did you mean you were intending to delete #6 comment. Because Jay Hogue called me a lier - which I am not. I am a voter that selects who he votes by their policies not their party and I am active in Votevets.

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