Anthony Zinni For U.S. Senate (Pennsylvania) Part One
I haven't seen anyone else talking about this yet, but I think that the perfect candidate to run against Rick Santorum for U.S. Senate is General Anthony Zinni. Zinni is perfect for many reasons- as Frank Kaplan, of Slate, wrote:
His final posting, before retiring in 2000, was commander in chief of U.S. Central Command—the command that, under his successor, Gen. Tommy Franks, ran the war in Iraq. Through his 40-year military career, Zinni was director of operations for the Somalia task force (before and after the Mogadishu disaster, but not during), head of the Marines' counterterrorism unit, commander in chief of U.S. European Command, deputy commandant of the Marine Corps, commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, director of various training and doctrine commands, and a decorated Vietnam veteran. Finally, from 2002-03, Secretary of State Colin Powell named Zinni to be his special envoy to the Middle East
He is perfect as a framing candidate because:
Zinni is the very model of a modern general—a warrior-intellectual, adept at fighting battles, commanding divisions, planning strategy and tactics, undertaking massive logistical feats, and engaging in global diplomacy
....
Other applicant's-checklist issues: Zinni values allies. "The allied contributions to Provide Comfort were significant. The French [were] superb." As for coalitions, "No nation today can go it alone—economically, politically, diplomatically, culturally, or religiously." "Building viable, interoperable coalitions with the forces of regional allies will remain necessary to ensure our security." What about the United Nations? "[Kofi] Annan is a tremendously impressive human being with a rare intellect and the common sense to handle the most complex situations."
But can Zinni—a maverick, a hell-raiser, and a Republican—be a loyal team player? Clancy supplies a testimonial, writing of Zinni's performance helping Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage run disaster-relief missions: "Zinni made things happen—contributing to, demonstrating his loyalty to, and becoming part of Armitage's team."
posted by Anonymous @ 1:37 AM
3 Comments:
This seems sutiable for the blog. This is an email exchange about Zinni. I have more to say about him, as well. Anyway, scroll down for the earliest email.
-----Original Message-----
From: Rev Al-X
Sent: Wednesday, December 15, 2004 3:08 PM
To: DanielUA
Subject: RE: Zinni
Dan- you have to understand the mindstate- he will be a servant of the
people, almost regardless of what he believes, because his real belief
is to honestly serve his country. If the majority of people who put him
in office tell him that he needs to stand with them on abortion, than he
will (or at least we'd have to make sure he would). I'm not saying there
aren't questions he'd hae to answer- but he's my candidate and I'm going
to push this as hard as I can.
I like weeding out the weak from public service- I'm not sure how
that's even a negative. You want people who are smart, determinned,
able, and loyal to work with the apparatuses of the State (and not just
the military). If only we could get the same level of preassure to
succeed and rejection of mediocrity in the other branches of our
government, then we'd all be in a better place. But if you mean weeding
out the weak as an excuse to put down the poor and working class, then I
think you've got it backwords. Zinni represents the oppurtunity for
hard-working, intelligent, lower-middle class Americans to fight there
way to the top. That is the American dream, we are losing it, and Zinni
can be one of our symbols of A) how government service can create
oppurtunities to succeed beyond those that one would find in the private
world, and B) The American Myth, that we all can succeed if we try.
And I know that most people don't know much about him- that's why I'm
starting this- because I see a great American leader, who will stand
firm with us on the issues we care about. I'm going to see if I can't
find something on Abortion and Gay Rights- usually the commanders are
AOK with gays in the military- as Clarke pointed out, we are already
working in the field with Armed forces that allow gays, there are
already many gay people within the armed forces who are extremely good
at what they do, and there's no reason that if your fellow soldier has
your back on the field of battle that you have his back (no pun
intended) as well.
You need to take that picture in your head of what a republican is and
throw it in the trash. People identify with the Republicans for a
variety of reasons, and for military guys in his age group that reason
was the perception that the Dems were not fighting the war against the
Communists. Now it is apparent that the Republicans don't give two shits
about security, or at least what the military-dimplomacy-intelligence
people have to say about it, and we can reclaim our "lost sheep". But in
order to do that we have to show that the Dems are once again the party
of Strength, and Zinni can be the face of this fact.
Rev Al-X
>>> "DanielUA 12/15/2004 2:24:24 PM>>>
Alex:
I am not saying he is not principled or honest, I am just curious how
He sees those principles playing out in realms other than foreign policy.
I agree we need strong leaders, I just don't think that alone makes me
want to vote for him. Has he said anything about running? Has he
said anything about any domestic policy? The army is an interesting place
socially. On the one hand, they have basic socialism. On the other
hand, they weed out the weak in basic training. How do we know the
unemployed are not the same? I'm just saying I don't know too much
about him.
Obviously, I have no idea what he thinks about anything. But I will
still take a Democrat over a Principled Republican. Is he a
registered Republican?
-----Original Message-----
From: Al-X
Sent: Wednesday, December 15, 2004 1:11 PM
To: DanielUA
Subject: Re: Zinni
He'll stand with the people he represents. And just ask him- he won't
lie to you about how he will vote, and how he will behave. We need
strong candidates with strong wills who will stand strong with us and
help us to lead our country to safer waters. Zinni is a reasonable
guy, and we can convince him with rational argument that our side is right.
Did you hear what he said about epathizing with others? You think the
same won't apply to the poor and working class- by which I mean his
own family and home? Anyway- if you don't want to put it on the site when
I'm done, it's up to you- I know he will fight for the people of
pennsylvania and America- and we need someone right now who can shake
off the image of pussy-ass Democrats. Him and HArry Reid could kick
some serious ass.
Al-X
>>> "DanielUA 12/15/2004 11:48:46
AM
>>>
We shouldn't just run someone because he is a skilled general. I am
sure he would be excellent for a sane foreign policy, but I would
require seeing that he is actually a Democrat. What about the
Constitution, the Economy, the environment, Soc Security, etc, etc.
Where does he stand on everything else? George HW Bush probably had
some similar views as Zinni, I still don't want him as my senator.
DanielUA
BTW- Have I mentioned he'd be "strong"?
I like the idea of Zinni if Casey backs out. He is a Clark-style guy: an honest fellow who has been a blistering attacker of the Bush-Rumsfeld approach to the Iraqi War which hasn't been refuted or attacked. My only worry is that they will do to him what Bush did to McCain in 2000: instead of addressing his arguments, they will try to pain him as an angry, crazy old General and get smears to say he was let go for being off is rocker (even though Bush used him as an embassary to the Middle East in the early days).
Plus, I am sure Clark would endorse him and it would be a good test if a Clark-style candidate could do well in the Keystone state.
Post a Comment
<< Home