HUTCHISON BURIES TRUTH IN DISGRACEFUL VETERANS ATTACK!
What I find particularly disgraceful is that Sen. Hutchison's campaign has apparently misled a highly-respected United States Navy Commander on this issue and has shamelessly used him to falsely attack me.
In a letter published and recently distributed by Team Hutch on Twitter, this Navy commander - who I will refrain from identifying because I don't blame him for being fed incorrect information - accused me of proposing a tax "that would charge our non-combat veterans $100 to be buried in a veterans cemetery."
That sounds pretty bad - at least when you don't know the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. And the truth is, it wasn't my bill.
Nevada State Sen. Hal Smith
was a retired Navy captain who I was extremely fortunate to serve with
in the 1993 Legislature. He was an honorable man and superb state
legislator known for his dedication to education. In fact, he has an elementary school named after him in Las Vegas.
Sen. Smith decided not to run for re-election in 1994 and asked me to introduce three veterans' bills on his behalf in the 1995 Legislature. I was extremely proud and honored that this retired Navy captain chose me to "carry" those bills for him.
The controversial bill in question was SB162.
The problem facing Nevada's veterans at the time was that the Legislature refused to allocate the funding necessary for upkeep at the state's two veterans cemeteries.
As such, Sen. Smith's bill - which I introduced on his behalf - would have, in fact, assessed a $100 fee for the burial of each non-combatant veteran in a veterans' cemetery, with 100 percent of the funds going to upkeep for the two cemeteries and no other purpose.
However (and now you'll learn the rest of the story).
By the time SB162 was brought up for a hearing, federal legislation had been introduced which, if passed, would provide the funding needed for the upkeep. As such, I asked at the hearing that Sen. Smith's bill be "held."
By the time SB162 came up for its second hearing, the federal legislation to provide the funding had passed Congress, so I requested that Sen. Smith's bill be withdrawn completely. And it was.
Those are the facts, but you don't have to take my word for it. You can look it up.
This is politics. So I understand why Sen. Hutchison doesn't want to talk about his actual conservative "street cred." Not with his tax-hike voting record!
I also understand why he doesn't want to talk about his lack of experience and background in the constitutionally outlined duties of the Lieutenant Governor.
And after he blew up on camera in our last debate on Jon Ralston's television program a couple weeks ago, I completely understand why his handlers and consultants won't let him debate me any longer, not even on radio.
But it is inexcusable and unforgivable to mislead an honorable retired Navy commander into attacking a bill authored and requested by an honorable retired Navy captain. For that, Sen. Hutchison owes the Navy commander, and especially the family of Sen. Smith - not to mention the citizens of Nevada and our veterans - an apology.
How desperate can my opponent in the Lieutenant Governor race get? Desperate enough to question my commitment to veterans!
I know he’s done a background check on me,
but maybe he missed the fact that I traveled the world with the Bob
Hope Troupe entertaining the troops, including a stop in Da Nang,
Vietnam when I was 18 and it was a war zone. Maybe, he missed when I was
made an honorary member of the Catholic War Veterans earlier this year
because of my service to our Vets.
Maybe,
his handlers failed to mention SB497, my bill in the 1993 Legislature
that allowed for Veterans License Plates, that helped fund Nevada’s
Veterans Homes. Below is the story on SB162 from the 1995 Legislature,
but he fails to mention my three other veterans' bills from the 1995
Legislature in support of veterans. I’m proud of my support for
veterans, and I have the record to prove my commitment. Can he say the
same?
My
under-qualified moderate opponent in the Republican primary race for
Lieutenant Governor - desperate to change the subject from his THREE
votes to implement ObamaCare after he lost his lawsuit challenging it -
continues to mislead the public about a bill that came before the Nevada
Legislature some 20 years ago dealing with Nevada's veterans'
cemeteries.
What I find particularly disgraceful is that Sen. Hutchison's campaign has apparently misled a highly-respected United States Navy Commander on this issue and has shamelessly used him to falsely attack me.
In a letter published and recently distributed by Team Hutch on Twitter, this Navy commander - who I will refrain from identifying because I don't blame him for being fed incorrect information - accused me of proposing a tax "that would charge our non-combat veterans $100 to be buried in a veterans cemetery."
That sounds pretty bad - at least when you don't know the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. And the truth is, it wasn't my bill.
Nevada State Sen. Hal Smith
was a retired Navy captain who I was extremely fortunate to serve with
in the 1993 Legislature. He was an honorable man and superb state
legislator known for his dedication to education. In fact, he has an elementary school named after him in Las Vegas.Sen. Smith decided not to run for re-election in 1994 and asked me to introduce three veterans' bills on his behalf in the 1995 Legislature. I was extremely proud and honored that this retired Navy captain chose me to "carry" those bills for him.
The controversial bill in question was SB162.
The problem facing Nevada's veterans at the time was that the Legislature refused to allocate the funding necessary for upkeep at the state's two veterans cemeteries.
As such, Sen. Smith's bill - which I introduced on his behalf - would have, in fact, assessed a $100 fee for the burial of each non-combatant veteran in a veterans' cemetery, with 100 percent of the funds going to upkeep for the two cemeteries and no other purpose.
However (and now you'll learn the rest of the story).
By the time SB162 was brought up for a hearing, federal legislation had been introduced which, if passed, would provide the funding needed for the upkeep. As such, I asked at the hearing that Sen. Smith's bill be "held."By the time SB162 came up for its second hearing, the federal legislation to provide the funding had passed Congress, so I requested that Sen. Smith's bill be withdrawn completely. And it was.
Those are the facts, but you don't have to take my word for it. You can look it up.
This is politics. So I understand why Sen. Hutchison doesn't want to talk about his actual conservative "street cred." Not with his tax-hike voting record!
I also understand why he doesn't want to talk about his lack of experience and background in the constitutionally outlined duties of the Lieutenant Governor.
And after he blew up on camera in our last debate on Jon Ralston's television program a couple weeks ago, I completely understand why his handlers and consultants won't let him debate me any longer, not even on radio.
But it is inexcusable and unforgivable to mislead an honorable retired Navy commander into attacking a bill authored and requested by an honorable retired Navy captain. For that, Sen. Hutchison owes the Navy commander, and especially the family of Sen. Smith - not to mention the citizens of Nevada and our veterans - an apology.
No comments:
Post a Comment