Subject: From California Assemblyman John Campbell's laptop to yours
Campbell's
Capitol Communication
Wednesday,
June 30th, 2004
4th
of July: In
each of the 4
years that I have been a member of the state Assembly, we have had many
"celebrations" on the Assembly floor. These "celebrations" are
orchestrated by the Democrats who
control the House and often involve
singing and dancing. Every one of my 4 years have seen
substantial
celebrations of Cinco de Mayo (Commemorates the Mexican victory over
the French at the Battle of
Puebla ), St. Patrick's Day (for the patron
Saint of Ireland) and Chinese New Year's Day, among others.
But never
once have we celebrated
America's
Independence
Day, the 4th of July.
So,
this year, Republican Assemblyman Jay LaSuer of San
Diego arranged for
Vietnam war hero Admiral
Jeremiah Denton to come to California
to be a part of
a 4th of July ceremony. As you may know, Admiral
Denton was a Navy
pilot in Vietnam
who was shot
down and spent 8 years in a Vietnamese prison. In
1966 while in
prison, he was interviewed by North Vietnamese television in Hanoi
after torture
to get him to
"respond properly." During this interview, he blinked
his eyes in Morse code to spell out the word "torture."
He was asked
about his support for the war in Vietnam
to which he
replied "I don't know what is happening
now in Vietnam,
because the
only news sources I have are Vietnamese. But whatever the
position of
my
government is, I believe in it, I support it, and I will support it
as long as I live." Four of his 8 years in prison
were spent in
solitary confinement. He later wrote the book "When Hell was in
Session" chronicling his
experience in Vietnam.
When
he stepped off the plane after being released from prison in 1973, he
said "We are honored to have had
the opportunity to serve our country
in difficult circumstances. We are profoundly grateful to our
Commander-
in-Chief for this day. God bless America."
He was
later
elected to the U.S. Senate from his home state of
Alabama, becoming the
first retired Admiral ever elected to that body. I could go on
and on
about his accomplishments.
Suffice it to say, Jeremiah Denton is unquestionably an American hero.
The
Democratic leadership refused to allow him on the Assembly floor and
there will be no 4th of July
celebration. A memo from the Democratic
speaker's office said "problems have arisen both with regards to
the
spirit, content and participation of various individuals with regard to
the ceremony." Apparently, they said
that he did not believe in the
"separation of church and state" and they didn't like the policies he
supported as
a United States Senator and therefore they would not allow
him to be on the Assembly floor or to speak.
Upon
hearing about this, Governor Schwarzenegger offered his meeting room
last Monday for a ceremony
with Admiral Denton. The room was
overflowing with people. Only one elected Democrat was in
attendance.
A number of veterans of the last 4 wars were present. Admiral
Denton
gave a very moving speech about the
4th of July and about the
undeniable commitment of our founding fathers' to their faith in
God.
He talked
about how the war on terrorism may be the most difficult war
we have yet fought. And he went on to say that
he fears that partisan
attacks on our mission and our troops in Iraq
and Afghanistan
sound too
familiar to what he experienced in Vietnam.
Following his
speech, The Governor came out to personally spend time with him.
Then this American hero, whose debt from us all can never be repaid, flew home to Alabama.
The
Assembly did meet on that day. And we did have a ceremony that lasted
nearly 20 minutes. That ceremony
was to celebrate the career of a
reporter from the LA Times on the occasion of his retirement.
Democrats
universally praised him as being "balanced." He was allowed
to speak for about 10 minutes. Admiral Denton
was no longer in the
building.
Four
years of Cinco De Mayo and not one recognition of the 4th of July. An
LA Times reporter praised, and
the very person whose sacrifice allows
him to express his opinion is banned. It is perverse. It is
wrong.
And
it is disrespectful to all the men and women in uniform who have
stared death in the face and to those who gave
the ultimate sacrifice
for the American people.
Admiral
Jeremiah Denton is a hero not because he was politician, but like all
the other men and women of the
Armed Forces, because he defended the
ideals set forth with America's
independence.
Democrats
are always railing about intolerance and discrimination. But yet
in
practice, it is they who engage in
regular state-sanctioned
discrimination and who are intolerant of the presentation of other
views. Maybe they
are worried that people will listen.
I
do not send you this to bash Democrats. I send you this to
demonstrate
the huge chasm that exists between registered, voting Democrats, and
elected Democrat leadership. I hope those of you who are not
Democrats,
will send this to your friends who are. If you are a
Democrat, don't be ashamed. Be angry. Change your
party and your
leadership, or leave it.
Fortunately,
we do not need the approval of the Speaker of the Assembly to celebrate
our nation's independence
this Sunday. Nor do we need his permission
to thank those who fought to give us and to maintain our
freedoms.
On
this 4th of July, as the burgers cook and the fireworks fly, let us
remember......and give thanks.
As a final offering, I give you a poem that Admiral Denton read to us this week, through eyes clouded with tears:
It is the
soldier, not the reporter,
Who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the soldier, not the poet,
Who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the soldier, not the campus organizer,
Who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.
It is the soldier,
Who salutes the flag,
Who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who allows the protester to burn the flag."
Amen. God
bless America.
Until
next week, I remain,
Assemblyman
John Campbell
Of
interest: The Assemblyman can now be heard Friday
afternoon @ 4:20
pm
on the Hugh Hewitt Radio Show (KRLA, 870AM).
Feel
Free to forward this edition of CCC to friends or reply to me with
comments.
Michelle
Hart, District Director
Assemblyman
John Campbell
949.863.9337
fax