In an outrageous display of placing personal ambition above common decency, the Democrat candidate for U.S. Senate from Texas walked all over the graves of the men and women that gave their all for our country. On a day that was designed to give us pause and to honor those men and women, Lt. Col. Rick Noriega chose to draw attention away from them and to himself.
Texas needs two senators fighting for our veterans and our families. It is reprehensible that Cornyn supports keeping our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan but refuses to provide for our soldiers once they return home. As a public servant, as a soldier and as a Texan, I am ashamed of Cornyn’s continued efforts to deny our troops the benefits they earned defending the United States.
I noted here that it would be a rough weekend for Sen. Cornyn and that Rick Noriega’s character was seriously in question. Even I did not, however, think that he would stoop so low on Memorial Day. In my naiveté, I thought that a man that has fought alongside those that sacrificed all would, at the very least, spend the day with the families of those men and women or perhaps attend a quiet memorial or just sit and hold his son Ricky, reflecting on the loss of so many.
I was wrong. They say that there is no honor among thieves and it must be true as well for ambitious, characterless politicians.
Just to be certain that people didn’t miss his grandstanding op-ed in the Chron, his campaign was working on Memorial Day, sending out emails, “highlighting” his attack upon Sen. Cornyn and linking to the Chron.
To read the entire piece, please click here. Once you’ve read the Op-Ed, be sure to forward the link to all of your friends and family.
Have a safe and happy holiday.
Sincerely,
Mark Bell
Campaign Manager
Rick Noriega for Texas
Not a word about the meaning of Memorial Day or why we should remember those that sacrificed. Sad, really.
Sen. Cornyn wasn’t alone in being attacked on Memorial Day. The New York Times shamelessly attacked President Bush in an editorial so over the top that it had this statement:
This page strongly supports a larger, sturdier military.
That the New York Times would make a statement like that given their history, both past and present, is laughable. Utterly laughable. That’s like Jane Fonda telling us that she supports the troops.
The editorial was so over the top that the White House felt compelled to issue a retort.
In today’s editorial, “Mr. Bush and the GI Bill”, the New York Times irresponsibly distorts President Bush’s strong commitment to strengthening and expanding support for America’s service members and their families.
Replacing “the New York Times” with “Rick Noriega” and “President Bush’s” with “Sen. Cornyn’s” we get this:
Rick Noriega irresponsibly distorts Sen. Cornyn’s strong commitment to strengthening and expanding support for America’s service members and their families.
Even sadder than the attacks on Memorial Day is the lefty blogesphere’s embrace of them.
I’ll agree with our rightwing friends on one count. His character is, indeed, showing. Just maybe not quite the way they want to frame it.
Hard to believe that walking on the graves of those that sacrificed for our country is now viewed as a sign of good character by the left. I suppose it isn’t hard to believe though - they’ve been doing it for years. The lefty blogger also says this:
The party that denied there was ever a recruiting struggle on the part of the armed forces are now concerned about retention?
Even a cursory knowledge of the HR field will tell you that retention is far better than recruiting. Not only does it maintain a stable workforce, it maximizes the huge investment in training that is provided. Making for a safer military.
Apparently, the left doesn’t really care about that. They have a headline grabbing talking point. Yippee.
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Ab so LUTE ly SHAMEFUL!
(color me not surprised though)
Noriega takes the hellhole route and the Chron cheers. They deserve each other,
Vaulting ambition doth perchance trip people up.
And another politician is born. The angels weep.
In the typical Dimwit tradition, Noreiga takes the LOW road and is helped in his journey by the Crummyicle. And the Crummyicle wonders why their subscriptions are down. Now, all we need if for Noreiga to play the “race card” and his campaign will be complete.
Noriega is pure opportunist scum. Many years ago I caught some of his henchmen stealing Republican campaign signs from a polling location on the night before the election.
Yeah, I know sign wars happen on both sides. But as a rule of thumb the actual polling locations are off limits and I feel that every candidate should have an equal opportunity to place his signs there, free from theft. Rick Noriega doesn’t.
Wasn’t he the dictator of Panama? Wasn’t he the one responsible for running drugs into this country? Wasn’t he the one that failed to come to a complete stop before turning right on red? (might have my facts wrong but if this starts nasty rumors I’ll be satisfied)
Noriega has also been exploiting his military stuff for political points as long as he’s been in politics - not just putting it on his resume, but actively exploiting it as if it gives him some sort of moral authority to silence any opposition to his leftist views. He’s been doing this since before 9/11 too, and the Chronicle has always been there to enable it.
I went to a candidate forum where he spoke circa 1998 or 2000 in one of his first races for the House, and he simply couldn’t shut up about how great he was for serving in the National Guard. It was as if every sentence began “In the guard, we do this…In the guard, we do that…In the guard, we know this is a bad policy…look at how great I am for serving…blah…blah…blah.”
Then his Republican opponent stood up and politely and dispassionately pointed out “I thank you for your service, Rick, but you aren’t the only one who has served. I’m a reservist too, and I also happen to outrank you.” And he did. At the time Noriega was only a captain, and his opponent was a Lt. Colonel. After 9/11 Noriega did his much-bragged about stint in Afghanistan to constant media accolades. Nobody noticed when his former Republican opponent did tours in both Afghanistan and Iraq.
Needless to say, at that debate it humbled Noriega a bit and he dropped the constant national guard references the next it was his turn to speak.
Rick and Manuel…I’m afraid there’s not much difference between the two. Let’s hope the voters see it that way too.
Reply to No. 7: That was Rick’s father or at least I think it was. After all, they were both in the military. Maybe somebody needs to ask him that at a debate so he can deny it all he wants.
When are the conservatives going to stop questioning the patriotism of people who don’t agree with them. It is intellectually weak.
This is why the last three special elections have been lost by the Republicans. Pepoel are finally starting to see through all the crap that has been being thrown out for years.
people
11
No. You want to know what is intellectually weak, gadboy? The use of Rick Noriega’s military service as a trump card to silence all legitimate criticism of his politics is the very definition of intellectually weak.
Nobody here has attacked Noriega’s “patriotic” military record - only the way he constantly exploits it for political gain. The again, patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel, and while I cannot speak directly to Noriega’s patriotism, I do know him to be a scoundrel.
gaddy,
As Phil_M notes, I did not question Noriega’s patriotism.
What he did yesterday disgusts me. If it does not disgust you, fine.
He’s a jackass.
Please, allow me to question Noriega’s respect for patriotism. Memorial day is a day to honor those who have fallen in the service to their country. To respect them is to focuse on *them* and *their* sacrifice; not for Rick Noriega’s political career. I’ve no doubt Mr. Noriega loves his country and served it well. I do not question if Noriega respects those who have fallen in battle. I just simply observe a man who refocused attention appropriately designated for those who have made the ultimate sacrifice tso that we may remain a free nation and people and innappropriately placed that attention on himself and his own ambitions. That’s a disrespect for patriotism.
The Chronicle is as the Chronicle does. Trash in…trash out. I’ve grown to expect it and am seldom disappointed.
I only read it because I get it free and it tends to raise my blood pressure to an acceptable level for facing another day of people who don’t have a clue trying to tell me what to do and how to do it. Just glad we have other sources of information.
That’s pretty much Rick Noriega in a nutshell. The guy has run against more distinguished veterans than himself, yet he displays not an ounce of humility. With Noriega, his military service is all about himself. He wants to be the center of recognition, attention, and accolade for his “service” and uses it to pretend to speak on behalf of those with far more dignity than he has for himself. He doesn’t speak on their behalf though, and he’s disrespectful in their presence by constantly flaunting his own record over theirs.
#17 Darren: Maybe you should e-mail Rick with your post. Most excellent~
Here ya go:
Houston
Rick Noriega for US Senate Campaign
PO Box 231163
Houston, TX 77223
Phone: 713-621-7425
Fax: 512-628-6010
As Uncle Squawkbox taught me, I send faxes. They have to walk over to the machine and THEN throw it away.
“I’ll agree with our rightwing friends on one count. His character is, indeed, showing. Just maybe not quite the way they want to frame it.”
And Rick Noriega has shown he has no character, no morals and no decency
But what do we expect from the party of global cow flatulence and the clintons.
NativeAmerican Says:
May 27th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
He’s a jackass.
YOU SAID IT!
I agree with all of you about Noriega but wonder, what is so much an aphrodisiac that men and women will lie, be opportunistic, close their eyes to the welfare of the country, to get elected.
I love this debate because I get to tell my favorite “Dan Patrick is a buffoon” story. A few months ago I attended a banquet honoring law enforcemnent officers from this area. Each law enforcement agency nominated an “officer of the year” to be honored. I was sitting at the table with the HPD nominee. Dave Ward was the M.C. and gave a great speech honoring the dedication of all these great officer. John Culberson,to his credit, gave a great speech also. If you didn’t know already, you wouldn’t have even known he was an elected official. Then Dan came up. I think his first line mentioned the officers, then the rest of the speech consisted of me, me, me, and I , I, I. It was a campaign stump speech at a time when one was definitely not appropriate. Kinda lie this Noriega thing, huh?
kinda like
Re my #21 post:
The 512 fax # does not work. Just talked to the Houston office and the fax is 713-621-4484
Send them your faxes and give them your 2 centavos!!!
When are Liberals going to stop accusing Conservatives of questioning the patriotism of people when nobody actually has?
Please show us all where anybody’s patriotism was questions.
There some serious questions about a sense of decency here—and well found ones at that, but nobody is questioning anybody’s patriotism.
#25 - So I guess in your mind, that impartially alleged incident makes Noriega’s constant grandstanding okay.
Quoth the raven, Tu Quoque! Tu Quoque!
grandstanding is grandstanding, no matter what side it comes from.
Except, gaddy, your example has never been proven to be correct. You’ve used that in the past, several times actually, to disparage Sen. Patrick and yet no one has corroborated your account of the event. IIRC, others have disputed it.
Go figure.
I’m sorry that no one else who posts here was at the event. I just call it as I saw it.
How could it be disputed by someone who wasn’t there?
I understand that you called it as you saw it but it was from your decidedly biased opinion. I’ll see if I can find the other posts that disputed your account.
But the bottom line, as Phil_M stated is:
And if it was any other day, I’d ignore it because that is what politicians are - grandstanders.
But honestly, you’ll have to believe me on this one, I was quite taken aback that Lt. Col. Noriega would do this ON THIS DAY!
I admit that I am very, very naive and take most people at their word, especially when their spouse vouches for them.
There is, in my mind, no excuse possible for his actions. Period, end of story.
If you liked it because you think it helped you in November, well, that’s your choice.
Memorial Day is a day to honor vets and Noriega tried to make it only about him. The banquet was to honor LEO’s and the senator tried to make it only about him. Differece may be only in degrees, but it was still grandstanding by both.
NO, NO, NO!
Veterans Day is to honor Vets!
Memorial Day is NOT A FREAKING SHOPPING DAY, GRANDSTANDING DAY OR ANY OTHER FREAKING DAY YOU WANT TO MAKE IT!
Memorial Day is a day of reflection. Think about the lives sacrificed for you and me to be arguing today!
Memorial Day is not about cheap political stunts to designed to increase your name recognition!
Further,
I have only your word that it happened as you say it did. Pardon me if I think that your mindset might, just might have colored the words that you heard.
I have thousands of links, including Noriega’s own website that say he stomped on the graves of the men and women in our military for his own personal gain.
This argument goes to the heart of the conservative mindset and is why I get very frustrated with the right wing.
Conservative-can do no wrong.
Liberal-can do no right.
Well, I suppose if you can show me where I said that Lt. Col. Noriega could do no right, you would have a point. As it is, you do not.
In point of fact, I have stated that Sen. Cornyn has a formidable opponent. Obviously, I have qualified that to note that Lt. Col. Noriega’s future depends upon the performance of Barack Obama.
I thought, truly, that Rick Noriega was an honorable man. Truly. I saw the repeated patterns of self-promotion but chose to view them as nothing more than political talk. Then - yesterday. Nothing much to say after that.
It is one thing to promote yourself. It is another thing altogether to do that at the expense of the families that are dealing with the grief of losing a loved one in war.
Disgusting.
Kinda like putting up the flag that says “mission accomplished” so your approval ratings will improve.
Damn gaddy,
You are starting to irritate me tonight because you never bother to respond to any particular point, just bring up something that you think might win the day.
Who put that flag up?
Do you even bother to read anything beyond DailyKos and Huff Post?
BigJolly, you are assuming gadboy has a clue. He doesn’t. {Shhhh.. Don’t tell him that was a banner, not a flag}
But he is in touch with his “feelings”.
LOL, I’ve been communicating with someone from the Noriega campaign for some time now. I responded to an email from that person regarding this post a few seconds ago and received this message:
Typical of the left side of politics.
BTW, you know who you are. If you want to know how I responded to your “startling” comment, remove the block.
Unbelievable.
and in that you expose both your ignorance, and that of the Left in general.
Veterans Day is to Honor Vets.
Memorial Day is to Honor the Dead.
But that’s typical. You’re candidate can’t tell the difference either:
http://hotair.com/archives/2008/05/27/the-young-gaffer-sees-dead-people/
The only people who make those kinds of mistakes are those who are rather late to the dance when it comes to Honoring Duty and Sacrifice in the Service of one’s country.
Late enough to the dance to suggest that you only reasons you guys do it is for political expedience.
#44 Sarge:
Hello? Tap…Tap…Tap…AHEM ™
Darren: May I borrow some of your #17 post (for a letter), ‘cuz I lack tact.
Oh wait! Make that “snarly”!!!
If Dan Patrick is a baffoon then let me hearby organize the baffoon wing of the Republican party. We need “bafoons” like Senator Patrick in office.
#45;
Be my guest southerntragedy
#44
So the Left sees dead people sarge. Does that surprise you? If you lack God you have to replace that with something afterall.
The way the press has made an artificial “war hero” out of him with absolutely no scrutiny of the guy’s self promotion, it’s easy to understand why he’s perceived so widely as “honorable.” A few weeks ago a Democrat friend from up north was in town and we met up for drinks. He knows I’m from Texas (he’s not) and asked what I thought about the senate race, then began telling me what a wonderful person this Rick Noriega fellow was and how I should take a serious look at him. My friend had never met Noriega or even known of him before this year, but based on what the media has said about him he thought the guy was a saint…kinda like Saint Barack.
I smiled and proceeded to tell him some Rick Noriega stories from the old days…stories about run ins with him on the campaign trail back when he was a first term state rep, about how Rick - then an up and coming product of barrio political machinery - used to live down the street from one of my buddies when he was at UofH. My friend was taken aback and said “so you know him?” I replied that I did know a bit about him in a former life, and that I still know enough of him to know he’s a scoundrel of the first order.
But that is what we’re up against this year. The national media will be pushing Saint Barack. Expect Saint Rick here from the locals.
#50;
Good point.
What difference does it make? The Republicans we’ve sent up there sure haven’t carried the water very well. Maybe it’s time for a change.
Change. Change? Socialism would be a change. Communisim would be a change. A dictatorship would be a change. I don’t think I care for any of these “changes”. Define change in terms I understand, otherwise I’m not sure I’m totally ready for ‘change’ unless it means more coins in my pocket.