The Carpetbagger Report (via Kevin Drum) alerted me to a story that starts off as yet another example of a Bush event being restricted to only rabid supporters:
Command Sergeant Major Tim Walz is a twenty-four-year veteran of the Army National Guard, now retired but still on active duty when a visit from President George W. Bush shortly before the 2004 election coincided with Walz’s homecoming to Mankato, Minnesota. A high school teacher and football coach, he had left to serve overseas in Operation Enduring Freedom. Southern Minnesota is home to a large Guard contingent that includes Walz’s unit, the First 125th Field Artillery Battalion, so the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are naturally a pressing local concern — particularly to high school students headed into the armed services.
The president’s visit struck Walz as a teachable moment, and he and two students boarded a Bush campaign bus that took them to a quarry where the president was to speak. But after they had passed through a metal detector and their tickets and IDs were checked, they were denied admittance and ordered back onto the bus. One of the boys had a John Kerry sticker on his wallet.
The story goes downhill from there, as the Bush staffers subject the veteran to further disrespect. But it then takes an interesting turn: Rather than just complain to the media, Walz decided to run for Congress, as a Democrat. He’s now one of 53 and counting Democratic veterans running for Congress.
