Ad Campaign Makes Dems Bug OutThis story is getting a
fair amount of play:The members of Minnesota Families United, a grass-roots group made up mostly of the relatives of soldiers who have died in Iraq or are serving there, welcome debate on the war. Marine Lt. Col. Bob Stephenson of Woodbury is the group's co-chairman. When he returned from Iraq in March 2005, he was shocked at what he viewed as inaccurate and overly negative media coverage of the war. But Stephenson took it in stride. He says he put his life on the line in Iraq precisely to protect freedom of speech.
So he is baffled by the reaction of the DFL Party and some in the media to a TV ad about the war in which he recently appeared. The DFL has branded the ad "un-American, untruthful and a lie." The DFL isn't bothering to present its version of the facts in an ad of its own. Instead, party chairman Brian Melendez launched a campaign to silence Stephenson and others who appeared in the ad. He demanded that the ad be pulled from the airwaves, so Minnesotans couldn't hear its message and make up their minds themselves.
Earlier this week, I sat down with some folks from Minnesota Families United. What do they think of the fact that the DFL has branded their co-chairman an "Un-American liar"? Stephenson, it turns out, is a 23-year Marine.DFL stands for Democrat Farm Labor, and is essentially the Democratic Party in Minnesota. If you want to see the ads that have them up in arms,
Chris has the video.
