Soldier answers a new call to battleSince starting VoteVets.org, Jon Soltz has shaken up the war debate, became a MSNBC regular and challenged the GOP on military issues.By Noam N. Levey, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
August 30, 2007
~ excerpt ~
But in a little more than a year since he launched VoteVets. org, Soltz has helped transform the war debate in Washington by channeling the raw anger and frustration of many Iraq vets into a political campaign both sophisticated and visceral. Soltz, 30, and his band of mostly twenty- and thirtysomething veterans have shaken the GOP's claim to be the pro-military party. They accuse Republicans of recklessly sending troops to war without the right equipment and failing to care for thousands of wounded and traumatized vets.
During the 2006 election, VoteVets' stark attack ads featuring disillusioned veterans helped unseat Republicans in five states, including Sen. George Allen of Virginia and Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, whose defeats gave Democrats an unexpected Senate majority.
This year, Soltz and VoteVets have been a constant presence on Capitol Hill, where they have emboldened Democrats to push for a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq.
"Jon Soltz seems to be exactly what progressives need," said Paul Begala, an influential Democratic strategist who worked on Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr.'s successful 2006 campaign against Santorum. "He has a pair of fists, and he knows how to use them."
(snip)
He and his comrades, dressed in business suits rather than the jungle camouflage favored by an earlier generation of politically active vets, were in Washington to press lawmakers to oppose the president's plan to send more troops to Baghdad. Rather than a "surge," VoteVets wanted U.S. combat troops withdrawn from Iraq.
Sen. Jon Tester, a freshman Democrat from Montana, was receptive. So was Kerry. In Republican offices, the vets often had to settle for meetings with aides, who listened politely.
(snip)
Soltz was one of a handful of outsiders invited to address House Democrats at their annual retreat in February in Williamsburg, Va. He drew a standing ovation with a tearful appeal to help bring the war to an end.
Since then, VoteVets members have traveled to Capitol Hill to stand with Democrats at news conferences around nearly every major vote challenging Bush's war strategy. "They need to know we've got their backs," Soltz said.
(snip)
Standing behind his desk in a blue blazer and conservative tie -- attire that allows him to go on television on a moment's notice -- Soltz smiled as he talked about his next project: the 2008 election. "Our goal is to be the No. 1 player on the No. 1 issue facing the country," he said.
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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-na-soltz30aug30,0,6989704.story?coll=la-home-world 
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