The Turkey from Cranberry Township; or, when a crazy conservative attacks Iraq and Afghanistan veterans

Guest post by Frankie Sturm

Frankie Sturm is communications director at the Truman National Security Project and a free-lance journalist. For his previous guest posts at The Reaction, see here.

I work with veterans on a daily basis. Lately, I've been burning the midnight oil as part of Operation FREE, a coalition of veterans groups and national security organizations that are looking to raise awareness about the links between climate change and national security.

We're right in the middle of a nation-wide bus tour, with veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan talking to local media, veterans groups, and civic organizations. But as we made our way to Pennsylvania, all hell broke loose.

We decided to invite all members of the Pennsylvania state legislature to meet us on the bus to talk with our veterans. It was a seemingly innocuous and run-of-the-mill invitation. But the response we received from state representative Daryl Metcalfe (R-Cranberry Township) was hardly run of the mill:

Subject: Re: Veterans for American Power Bus Tour coming to your state

As a veteran,

I believe that any veteran lending their name, to promote the leftist propaganda of global warming and climate change, in an effort to control more of the wealth created in our economy, through cap and tax type policies, all in the name of national security, is a traitor to the oath he or she took [to] defend the Constitution of our great nation!

Remember Benedict Arnold before giving credibility to a veteran who uses their service as a means to promote a leftist agenda.

Drill Baby Drill!!!
For Liberty,
Daryl Metcalfe
State Representative
Veteran U.S. Army

That's right, veterans who support clean energy are "traitors." Yikes. As it turns out, this isn't Representative Metcalfe's first foray into the absurd. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, he opposed a resolution declaring Domestic Violence Awareness month in Pennsylvania, fearful of a "homosexual agenda." He also refused to support a vote to honor the 60th anniversary of a Muslim group in the state because "Muslims don't recognize Jesus Christ as God."

For anyone who thinks this is unacceptable behavior, I'd like to invite you to strike back!

If you'd like to sign a petition that demands an apology for his remarks about U.S. veterans, please click here.

Or if you'd like to bombard his offices with calls, emails, and letters, you can check out the contact info on his website.

Of course, it's unlikely any amount of phone calls or emails will change this guy's mind. But at least we can make sure he knows that slandering good Americans comes at a steep price.

(Originally posted at The Huffington Post.)

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frankie-sturm/the-turkey-from-cranberry_b_328290.html