10/11/2007
Senators' rubberstamp support for Bush's Iraq Policy, Refusal to Change Course will be Issue in '08 electionWASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Keeping America's Promise (KAP) launched a set of "user-generated" radio commercials to help defeat Republican Senators who have been roadblocks to changing course in Iraq, continuing their rubberstamp support of the Bush Iraq policy. All six Senators are up for re-election in 2008.
The commercials are running in Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Texas on local radio stations in the hometowns of the sitting senators or in the state capital.
The commercial is a result of a contest run by KAP that asked hundreds of thousands of people across the country to submit radio scripts to convince these Senators to change their position on Bush's Iraq policy. Over ten thousands scripts were submitted in just a few days and the winner was chosen through public voting online.
The winner of the contest and the voice in the commercials is retired Army veteran Edwin Walker. Currently an attorney in Nashville, TN, Walker volunteered for the ROTC program at Notre Dame, graduated in 1968 and was stationed in Turkey. He worked as the commanding officer of a small communications unit on the Black Sea during his time in service. He volunteered, he said, because he didn't want someone else to have to take his place.
"Mr. Walker's script is emotionally powerful and tells the true impact that war has on the lives of our families and loved ones," said Theo Yedinsky, senior advisor to John Kerry. "Clearly, the American people have had enough of these Roadblock Republicans’ refusal to break with George Bush's Iraq policy, while this war continues without end. It is simply not acceptable that we stand by and let this happen. If these Senators won't change course and remove the roadblocks, then we as citizens need to take action at the ballot box in 2008.”
The full script of the commercial is below:
Walker: "I volunteered for the Army in 1968. Now, when I'm in Washington, I go to the Vietnam Wall, and look for the names of my friends, and try not to weep. Someday they will build an Iraq Wall. Some of those names will be there because these Senators put Party above country. I won't sit by while the number of names on that Wall grows - will you?"
The radio campaign is a continuation of the two-year program by the John Kerry.com community to build a majority in the Senate committed to changing the Bush policy in Iraq. So far, the JohnKerry.com community has raised over $100,000 in the general election funds to support prospective challengers in these races.