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Kerr's interest in veterans issues sincere

February 09, 2004

Dear Editor:

Recently I had received a phone call from the commander of the VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) post on Leestown Road in Lexington. Alice Forgy Kerr, who is running for Congress against Ben Chandler, was coming to speak about veterans issues.

I had seen the commercial with Ben Chandler and the man with the American Legion hat. The American Legion, by the way, does not endorse any political candidate. I asked the commander if we were going to be doing anything like that. He said that there would be no press there and no cameras.

That was the way Chandler's meeting was supposed to be. Ben Chandler showed up with a camera crew showing no respect for the VFW. The commander informed me that the camera was a surprise to him. The VFW post charged Chandler a location fee.

Alice Forgy Kerr seemed very sincere when she laid out her plans for the issues that were of concern with our group. She promised she would work to not cut health services to veterans. She also was very honest. Having only one vote, she could not promise to get this done. Having the support of Sen. Mitch McConnell and President Bush would give her more of an inside track than Chandler.

When I saw the Chandler commercial I could not help thinking of Ira Hayes. Every veteran will know who he is. There was a song about Ira Hayes where the lyrics said they let him raise the flag like you throw a dog a bone.

I do not know Chandler's opinions on all veterans issues. But he does belong to a party that elected a president that marched against our country in the Soviet Union. The front runner in the current Democrat primaries threw someone else's medals away in protest for what his country was doing. The message I get from Democrats is "We will burn the flag your fellow servicemen died for, we will call you names and march in favor of your enemies, but we will throw you that health care bone." In the words of a famous Kentucky politician, "That's just plain wrong."

I urge all fellow veterans in this district to support Alice Forgy Kerr.

Don't chase that bone.

Mike Houchin

Danville

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