A Mankato resident responds to the Major Walter Gates' letter: Letter writer impugned Tim Walz's character
I was wondering when the Republicans would
start “swift boating” Tim Walz, the DFL candidate for Congress in
southern Minnesota. Now in Saturday’s Free Press Wally Gates has a
letter implying that Walz has lied about his service overseas with the
Army National Guard.
Tim Walz has never lied about his service.
I have heard him speak several times, and he always explains that the
battalion he led was sent to Italy during Operation Enduring Freedom to
provide support to the U.S. troops fighting in Afghanistan. He served
overseas for 10 months in 2003-2004. Walz’s web page (www.timwalz.org)
simply says he served 24 years in the Army National Guard, and “prior
to retiring, Walz served overseas with his battalion in support of
Operation Enduring Freedom.” Yet Wally Gates says that Walz “strongly
suggests that he fought in Iraq or Afghanistan.” Neither the web page
nor the candidate has ever suggested that, and it is underhanded and
mean-spirited for the Republicans to impugn Walz’s character. Readers
who want the truth should go to www.timwalz.org, click on “About,” and
read Tim’s biography - it’s very impressive, as Mr. Gates admits in his
letter.
James Manahan
Mankato
Is Major Walter Gates, the original letter writer, a Republican? I have asked several politically active friends in Mankato if this is the case and will post a summary of credible information as I get it. However, I don't think it's entirely fair to impugn the motives of a writer asking a question, without evidence that suggests motive; rather, one should answer the question.
Has Walz tried to give a false impression?
James Manahan is spot on about this point in his letter. Whatever the political affiliation--or lack thereof--of Major Gates, facts suggest that Command Sergeant Major Tim Walz (retired) has been truthful about his National Guard service.
Others on both sides of the political fence have not been so careful. I did find a curious editing omission online by a fairly well-trafficked, out-of-state conservative blogger back in February who misquoted a sentence from a CQ article about Walz. The conservative blogger left out a key phrase from the CQ story (omitted material in bold):
Minnesota Democrat Tim Walz, who is running in the state’s 1st
District, is a high school teacher and Army National Guard veteran who
served in support of the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. Now Walz is
looking to add the title of congressman to his resume.
Read the sentence above without the five words in bold. Given the misinformation that omission creates, I won't be linking to the "edited" copy created by the conservative blogger, though those with time on their hands could surely find it and speculate (if they so desire) on the writer's failure to use standard editing conventions.
For myself, I tend to avoid attributing to malice those things that are more readily explained by haste or incompetence.
Those who wish to know why CQ Politics thought Walz's unit provided support for troops in both Afghanistan and Iraq should ask CQ. After all, Al Franken's Air America Fighting Dems page got it right in January 2006.
William Anderson, another Free Press letter writer, renders a harsh judgement of Representative Gutknecht:
Gutknecht must be held responsible
— How
should we react to Gil Gutknecht’s revelation that Iraq is a
degenerating mess? Glad he has finally realized he has been a zealot
for a tragic lie? Angry that it took him so long? Instead, I hope as
his term of service nears an end, that he has some insight and remorse
over the failures of his party’s policies and their fatal consequences.
What he calls State Department or Pentagon “spin” is what the rest of
us call bald-faced lies, and the lies are not limited to the quagmire
in Iraq/Afghanistan.
Read the rest online.
Given the heated debate and spin in this race and others, it's to be expected that we'll be seeing more editorials like today's Free Press editorial. It argues along the lines of New Ulm Journal editor's commentary cited by yesterday's BSP.
Subscription required: The Rochester Post-Bulletin reports "DFL candidate Walz rips Gutknecht on DM&E."
Tobacco road update: Other important chores (a test; a group presentation) take my time away from composing the post that explores the question of Representative Gutknecht's Altria contributions. Look for it late this afternoon.