Here's a list of notable tea party conservatives and military vets that the VFW took a pass on:
■Joe Miller, AK-Senate, Army
■Tommy Sowers, MO-8, Army
■Ilario Pantano, NC-7, Marines
■Allen West, FL-22, Army
■Chris Gibson, NY-20, Army
■Jesse Kelly, AZ-8, Marines
■Raul Labrador, ID-1, Marines
■Ryan Frazier, CO-7, Navy
■Nick Popaditch, CA-51, Marines
■Michael Grimm, NY-13, Marines
■Scott Rigell, VA-2, Marines
They've made it through Tarawa, Chosin, Khe Sanh, Desert Storm, and a whole lot more. But the Veterans of Foreign Wars are waging a new battle for survival this year: They're fending off a mutiny by tea partiers.
The tea party movement enjoys strong backing from some armed forces vets, and many of its best-known congressional challengers have military bonafides. But none can boast of an endorsement from the 2.2 million-strong VFW, the nation's largest advocacy group for combat veterans. As the march toward Election Day continues, the group's PAC (which has a seperate leadership) is spurning tea party candidates—including at least one who's a card-carrying VFW member—to endorse establishment politicians from both parties. As a result, the interest group is facing a mutiny within its ranks, one that goes all the way to the top. And angry VFW members might defect to newer vets' groups dedicated to right-wing causes. "I'm calling it the VFW's version of the tea party, in a way," says one military blogger and disenchanted member of the organization. "It is apparent that they have gone so far off track at the national level, just like our elected officials, that they've lost touch with who really matters—local guys."
http://motherjones.com/politics/2010/10/tea-party-vfw-congress-election-candidates
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