Saturday, July 21, 2007

Me and Sen. Reid Part II: Eat That!

Another late night after supporting the troops. I decided that I would give Sen. Reid the benefit of the doubt and check to see if he showed up anywhere supporting the troops. I googled his name and couldn't find him anywhere, particularly, at any event supporting our troops. I would bet that my original assumption about Sen. Reid knocking off early Friday from the Senate to recover from his busted all-nighter was incorrect. He apparently knocked off on Thursday. Sen. Boxer probably convinced him that the elderly, infirm (apparently dementia suffering) senators were tired after all that hard work undermining the troops and needed a day of rest. You know, 'cause our troops are loosing sleep "over there" and can barely get a day to themselves, much less a three day weekend. So, they took a three day weekend in solidarity with our troops.

How thoughtful of them.

Apparently, the only "troop" rally he can be tempted to attend are with the "bring our Nazi, civilian killing troops home, we support the insurgents" Code Pink folks. Still, I looked for him or any Democrats as we attended back to back troop support activities and planned for an unexpected "welcome home" Saturday morning. Maybe you can spot Sen. Reid.

Nope. No Sen. Reid here.





Still couldn't find him.








If he was here, he was camouflaged as a tree or a trombone. Probably a tuba, considering he's such a blow hard.






Friday morning, I looked for him again, but still no Sen. Reid. We went to send off the Kansas National Guard on their next mission to a place in Europe where Democrats once sent our forces to stop a genocide and *gasp* perform "nation building", ushering a couple of countries into independence, freedom and democracy. Something that is apparently not allowed if the troops are sent by a Republican president in a land where people are 50% more likely to be Muslim and brown while simultaneously fighting our number one enemy: al Qaeda.

At the pre-mission staging, PGR and Soldiers' Angels gather to chat and discuss the mission. Sen. Reid was no where to be found. Neither was Dennis Moore (D) or any other Democrat politicians from the area.



Is this Sen. Reid? Maybe he was late? He was definitely not part of our flag line. I walked up and down looking for him, but didn't see him anywhere.





Nope. Not Sen. Reid. Just a soldier with his young son who exhibited a little more maturity than Sen. Reid by having the good sense to slumber in his own carrier before the ceremony. No beds wheeled into the Senate for this youngster. I'm also certain that the cake, ice cream and punch served after the event was much more palatable and exciting than the pizza Reid had ordered for the Senators sleep over.


While this Sgt. Maj. had an uncanny resemblance to Sen. Reid, I read his name tag and it was definitely not "Harry" or "Reid". Later, the Sgt Maj hung out with us in the parking lot, drinking water and thanking us for our support. That clinched it. No Harry Reid here.


Here we have a general and a colonel walking down our flag line, thanking us for our support. He shook everybody's hand. I mean, everybody. I know it wasn't Sen. Reid because Sen. Reid couldn't even give a few minutes to the Vets for Freedom, actual veterans from OIF and OEF that support the troops and the mission, much less recognizing the patriotism and support of regular, everyday citizens who don't wear pink.

We were unexpectedly invited to stand behind the podium with our flag line for the event. We went before the entire unit and their families, standing in the hot auditorium for the 45 minute ceremony, in conditions that, I'm sure, the good senator would have protested.


As the ceremony proceeded, I scanned the crowds for the good Senator Reid and any other Democrat Senator or Representative, wondering if they had come in the back way to avoid all the adulation they were sure to receive from this very motivated crowd. Senator Reid was no where to be found.



Not on the podium. Not in the crowd. Not in a tree. Not on a train. Not in a car. Not on a plane. Sen. Reid, "I support the troops by pronouncing the war lost", was probably still at home enjoying a late breakfast of eggs and ham.

Actually, I was kind of glad that Sen. Reid wasn't there. He would have been a real drag on the rest of the ceremony. Not to mention, I think his sour puss would have gotten even more sour when he didn't get the same applause we did as the commanding general thanked us for our support and standing behind our soldiers, "no matter what the mission".

Here's a T.I.N.S. moment: One and two star generals, Sgt Majors and several Colonels turned around on the podium and the entire auditorium of national guard and their families stood and gave us a standing ovation for our continued support. No photos, but I do have the video.



Eat that Sen. Reid!


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Kat? That ROCKED! I watched with tears in my eyes.

Ohhhh I wish I coulda been there.....

And you're right. Reid wouldn't have known WHAT to do!!

Good for you!!!

Tammi