VETERANS FOR SALI CONDEMN ATTACK AD AIRED BY PATRIOT MAJORITY

VETERANS FOR SALI CONDEMN ATTACK AD AIRED BY PATRIOT MAJORITY

BOISE, IDAHO – A far-left group called "Patriot Majority West," has launched misleading and dishonest attack-ad against Idaho Congressman Bill Sali. Patriot Majority West is attempting to deceive Idaho's veterans and their families by blaming Sali for voting against flawed legislation.

"Bill Sali would never vote against our veterans – he voted against flawed legislation which would have in fact caused great harm to our troops," said Major General Ben Doty (ret.).

Doty added, "this group calls itself the Patriot Majority but is criticizing Sali, a man who has always sided with us. They are trying to discredit an effective ally of those who have served our country."

Matt Salisbury, Sali's opponent in the primary is a member of Veterans for Sali. When asked about the attack-ad he responded in saying, "Bill Sali has been a firm supporter of our veterans. In Congress he has made the right votes and always made sure America's heroes have received the help they need."

The advertisement cites three pieces of legislation.

The first is HR 3159 which mandates rest periods for soldiers deployed to Iraq. This bill undermines the ability of the president to act as commander-in-chief as required by the U.S. Constitution. This legislation was clearly an attempt to withdraw troops from Iraq, rather than actually implement a thoughtful rest-between-deployments policy, since the bill applies only to deployments in Iraq and not to deployments anywhere else in the world, including Afghanistan.

The second is H.R 2638 (an appropriations bill to keep the Federal Government running through FY 2009) and sought to provide a $25 billion bailout to the auto industry. The bill included funding for many programs, including health care for veterans. Additionally, the bill contained massive increases in spending for non-emergency federal programs and new increases in entitlement spending.

The third was a bill that reduced funding for the Missile Defense Agency – which failed by a bipartisan majority. The vote the ad refers was for an amendment to the billwhich would have provided $30 million in increased funding for the families of wounded vets. However, the amendment would have reduced funding for the Missile Defense Agency by almost $1 billion. This amendment failed by a bi-partisan majority.

Rep. Sali has voted for $834.8 billion in federal spending for defense, military construction and veterans spending. He is committed to providing our troops with all they need to fulfill their missions and care for their families, and to help our vets obtain the quality of care they deserve.

The Patriot Majority West is a 527 attack group which has been attacking conservative members of Congress across the nation. The Patriot Majority receives its money in large part from labor unions who oppose Congressman Sali's pro-free market voting record.

Co-Chairs:

Major General Ben Doty – MG Ret USA

Brigadier General Bob Brooke – BG Ret USA

Members

Richard Bauer, U.S. Army

Jim Adams – U.S. Army

Marcel Bujarski – U.S. Coast Guard

Josh Callihan – USMC

Rep. Marv Hagedorn – U.S. Navy

Greg Sali – USAF

Bill Pascoe – U.S. Army

Rep. Lawerence Denney – U.S. Army

Terry Bowers – USAF

Fred Tilman, U.S. Army

John Cross – USMC

Bill Guinn – U.S. Army

Robert V. Golling – USAF

Al Cole – USMC

Kenneth Huston – U.S. Navy

Lee Van Kirk – U.S. Army

Darrel McRoberts – USMC

Wilson Moore – USAF

Jeff Conlon – U.S. Navy

TJ Bruce – USAF

Alan Brockman – USMC

Pete Curfman – USMC

Alan Brockman – USMC

Bill Snowe – USMC

Dick Fagley – USAF

Ed Galloway – USMC

Jon Walton – U.S. Army

Jesse Dollemore – USMC

Ned Lougee – U.S. Army

Jacques Chung Hee – USAF

Bob Golling – USAF

David Duvail – USMC

Steven Monroe – USMC

Ken Huston – U.S. Navy

Wally Emory – U.S. Army

Bob Pence – USMC

Ray Zuleski – U.S. Army

Tom Cushman – USMC

Dusty Rhoads – USAF

Sherman Randolph – USMC

Marv Lekstrum – USAF

Blake Newell – U.S. Navy

Warren Harold Johnson – U.S. Navy

Robert E. Davis, U.S. Army

Joe Kunz – Iraq War Veteran

Ray Inglin – Retired Veteran

Bruce Wright – Retired Veteran

Dave Murray – Retired Veteran

Boom Huston, US Navy

James Fulton, USMC

Dwight D Van Horn, USAF

Chuck Elyard, USAF

Matt Salisbury US Army

Dale Courtney, US Navy

Greg Ferch, US Army

Jim Du Frain, USAF

Jim Connell, USAF