A Candidate Speaks

SSgt David Bellavia, Medal of Honor Nominee, an honest to God American hero, and candidate for Congress from upstate New York. (Tom Reynolds district) Rochester

"Our patriotism demands the just defense of our nation and the promotion of freedom and liberty in places where there is none," he said. "As a soldier it often appears that our civilian leadership in Congress gravely misunderstand the consequence of victory or defeat in Iraq and Afghanistan today. Their will to win has been replaced by political maneuvering and partisan politics."

From Bob Loonsbury ya gotta go read the whole thing.

H/T to my buddy RV in Rochester.

....we’re in real danger of entering a Twilight Zone of leftist anti-Americanism and Democratic scorched-earth partisanship. When the Democrats hold all the reins of power, they’re going to bring out the long knives.
And it’s going to take somebody with a pair of brass ones to stand up to them.
No Republican in the House is going to have any legislative power, but David Bellavia can have rhetorical power. He can take his few minutes a day in the well of the House and let freedom ring. He can be a guest on the talk shows, he can be in the debates, he can call a spade a spade.
His demeanor, his verbal skills, his shiny medal, his cockiness will all give him a platform, and he will make sure that platform gets used. No mealy-mouthed go-along to get-along, he’ll go toe-to-toe with anybody of a matter of patriotic principle.
He’s a fighter and a patriot.
And that’s what the Congress needs. That’s what the 26th needs. That’s what America needs.
The problem is, there’s a little bit of foot dragging. It sounds a little bit like some in the Republican Party leadership through the 26th District aren’t that keen on David Bellavia.
Part of the problem is that he hasn’t paid any dues or kissed any backsides. Order is maintained in a political organization by doling out perqs and positions to sycophants. That’s not the way David Bellavia operates.
Some Republican leaders are worried that, at his young age, if they accept him as their candidate, they are possibly giving out a very valuable position that he may hold for decades.
It’s no fun being a king maker if you don’t get to make a king. David Bellavia isn’t beholden to the party’s leaders, and he has skipped the entire process the party uses to groom and produce senior politicians.
And that’s too bad – for them. For people outside the small rooms of the Republican leadership, however, it means nothing.