| General Wes Clark Endorses Ted Ankrum
Citing Challenges at Home and Abroad...
Clark says, " Texas Needs a Representative who will Bring New Leadership to Congress"
November 2, 2006. Little Rock , AR. Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander General Wesley Clark today endorses the candidacy of Ted Ankrum in Texas 's 10th Congressional District.
General Clark said, "Today Americans face many difficult challenges at home and abroad. There has never been a time when foreign affairs were as closely linked to our daily lives as they are now. While fighting the causes of terrorism that threaten our country, we also face a changing global economy that demands America educate its young men and women so that they can successfully compete for good jobs in the global marketplace. We need Ted to fight for us in Congress, and I am pleased to endorse him today.
"As a decorated Vietnam veteran and retired Naval Captain, Ted understands the realities of war and can be counted on to support our troops, their families and veterans who depend on the VA for their healthcare. Holding senior executive positions with NASA, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Ted has proven his commitment to nuclear regulation and energy independence.
"Ted's integrity, leadership, and experience are much needed in government today. In voting for Ted Ankrum, Texans will help return honesty and accountability to our political system while reducing the influence of special interests. They will gain a representative who looks out for their concerns and places the good of our country above partisanship."
General Wesley K. Clark is a retired four-star general and served as the Supreme Allied Commander of Europe where he commanded NATO forces and directed Operation Allied Force in the Balkans, putting a stop to the ethnic cleansing by the Serbs. More recently, he was drafted in 2003 to seek the Democratic nomination for President. General Clark remains engaged in public policy and private business development. Authoring two books, Waging Modern Wars and Winning Modern Wars, he and his wife, Gert, still live in Little Rock . He can be reached through his website, www.securingamerica.com.
Ted Ankrum on corruption:
Competence and Cronyism
You're hearing about more and more of this lately. It's the natural progression of things. The longer any political party is in power, the more this happens. The Democrats did it and the "Gingrich Revolution" swept them out. Now the Republicans are doing it, and it's even worse because they control the Presidency, Senate and House of Representatives. "Absolute power corrupts absolutely."
Our Founding Fathers had enough of rule by Kings, and they wrote our Constitution so that there was an independent Congress; which is supposed to watch the President and his people, to be sure that they are doing the right thing. We don't have that, now. We have a Republican President, Senate, and House of Representatives; and the watchdogs of Congress have become lapdogs afraid to do anything that will embarrass the White House. What has happened when the Congressional Leadership says that any new Supreme Court Justice must strictly interpret the Constitution as the Founding Fathers wrote it; but then requires it's Members of Congress to show absolute loyalty to the President, and punishes any member that strays from his line? What happens is that you get a monumentally incompetent Head of FEMA being congratulated by the President; "You're doing a great job, Brownie." What happens is that you get CIA Director George "finding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq is a slam dunk" Tenant being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Congressional hearings are supposed to be where the People's House asks critical questions of the President's people and exposes bad ideas and incompetent people to the light of day. I've been there. I've testified to Congress on behalf of a President's proposals and many times supported my boss when he has had to defend them to members of his own Party and members of the other Party. Is Mike McCaul doing his job in Congress? He has been named Chairman of the Homeland Security Investigations Subcommittee. This is unheard of for a Freshman Representative, and I'm sure that Representative McCaul would like for you to believe that it is based on merit. I suspect that it is a reward for voting with Tom Delay over 95% of the time, supporting the President in his proposal to privatize Social Security, and showing total loyalty to the Party Line. This is the Committee that is supposed to investigate FEMA. We all know how well they did their job. What good is an Investigations Subcommittee if it can't discover that FEMA can't do it's job?
I have no illusions about how much influence a Freshman Congressman, like Mike McCaul, can have on legislation. The answer is "hardly any". But, one thing a freshman Representative can do is show up at Committee oversight hearings and ask questions that get to the heart of whether a Federal agency is doing it's job. To do that, you need to have had some experience at doing something other than being a lawyer, and to be willing to ask questions that might embarrass the White House.
I commit to you that, if elected, I will pursue this constitutionally-assigned role to the hilt. I will use all of that experience I've gained doing so many different things to make sure that your Federal Government is doing the job you pay your taxes for it to do.
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