Press Release:
http://www.clark04.com/press/release/166/Ortiz Endorses Clark For President; Clark Thanks South Texans For Support
Corpus Christi, TX - Before a packed crowd, Congressman Solomon P. Ortiz, Dean of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and a senior member of the House of Representatives' Armed Services Committee, today endorsed Retired General Wesley Clark for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States.
General Clark addressed the crowd by phone, telling them how honored he was at the show of support for his candidacy. Clark recalled how he and Ortiz had worked together over the span of their careers in Latin America and Europe, and the corridors of power in Washington.
The crowd was clearly excited to hear from the candidate -- and the number of people who attended the event illustrates the support now coming to Clark's burgeoning candidacy. Clark's standing in national polls has crept up steadily in the past 6 weeks.
Retired Col. Ed Moore, of Brownsville, once General Clark's Executive Officer, spoke glowingly of his former commander, offering his personal insights of Wesley Clark as a leader and as a man of honor and values.
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Statement Of Congressman Solomon P. Ortiz
January 10, 2004
I have waited a long time to endorse General Wesley Clark for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States of America.
There are several candidates who are worthy to carry our banner against the former governor of Texas. But as a representative of a military community and a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I know General Wesley Clark - and he is a great American. Gen. Clark is straightforward and smart ... he was first in his class at West Point - AND - he is a Rhodes Scholar.
General Clark is a leader, not a typical politician ... he just says what he thinks and takes the hits for it. He has a no-nonsense approach to problems that face our nation - and most importantly now - he has an intimate understanding of the needs and capabilities of our military and U.S. foreign policy.
At this moment in our history, America desperately needs the wise leadership of a military man who came of age in Vietnam ... who led this nation in a successful campaign to overthrow a brutal dictator in the last decade ... and who understands the 21st Century realities of our place in the world in foreign policy.
At a time when our nation has obliged a first strike policy based entirely on our intelligence - be it flawed or not - and overstepped all the goodwill the world bestowed upon this country after 9-11... we need Wes Clark's leadership. These dangerous policies have taken our eyes off the true business for our military and foreign policy: flushing out all al Queda cells in Afghanistan, Pakistan, elsewhere in the Middle East - and around the world - even including our own nation.
That should be our mission ... that should be our purpose ... in both our military and foreign policy.
It was al Queda - Saudi Arabian members - that flew planes into the center of our souls on that day .... And it is al Queda that still plots our demise and damage on our home soil. Any al Queda in Iraq now came there AFTER we invaded ... to take advantage of the opportunity to take pot shots at American soldiers.
Wes Clark is a decent, Christian man - now all the Democratic candidates are men and women of faith, but you always know the sincerity of a man who has prayed in a foxhole. His candidacy is grounded in family, faith, patriotism, and inclusion.
Those values: family, faith, patriotism and inclusion -- will guide the decisions he makes that affect all of us after he's sworn in as president.
For example, his newly released tax reform plan provides that families making less than $50,000 will pay no federal income tax and that all families making up to $100,00 will get a tax break.
He will focus on creating jobs, raising family income, and providing health care to all children under 22 and tens of millions more Americans.
He wants to create a Universal College Grant that would make the first two years of college free for most students ... remember when education was the silver bullet for our future? It still is, and Wes Clark understands that.
This administration has spent our hard earned surplus ... added in the Social Security Trust Fund and Medicare savings ... and BROKEN THE BANK.
The biggest chunks of what they spent it on was tax breaks for the more wealthy Americans, and a war in Iraq that takes our eyes off the prize of al Queda ... still a ticking time bomb here and around the world. This General has a success strategy for Iraq - first we got to fix the mess we made in Iraq ... we have paid for our action there in patriots' blood and we can't cut and run now ... we have to do it right.
I am pleased and proud to offer my full-throated support to Wesley Clark in his quest to win the Democratic nomination and take back the White House. Today I commit my vote this summer as a superdelegate to Gen. Clark, in what will be an exciting convention to nominate a General and military hero to carry the Democratic banner in the general election.
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