Doug Tudor: our next US Congressman
July 23, 2008  It has been my pleasure and honor to meet Mr Doug Tudor and to chat with him on several occasions. Doug is running for United States Congress, to represent Florida's 12th District. The seat is currently held by Adam Putnam. OK, so what do I know about Doug? |
 Doug retired from the US Navy in February 2008. He had reached the rank of Master Chief, an E9 - the highest rank for an enlisted man. PBS ran a great series recently called "Carrier" (about life aboard an aircraft carrier), and one of the gents on the ship described a Master Chief this way: "If you're gonna make Master Chief, you pretty much gotta get up every day for 20 years saying, 'Today I'm gonna kick a little a--.'" That is the kind of man I want representing me in Congress. Someone who has proven his ability to maintain discipline and focus and tenacity over a long period of time. Someone who has worked his way up, proving and reproving himself every single day for years. Doug's website includes much more detail about his distinguished career, but one item that I find quite pertinent today is that along with other extensive travels, Doug has been to Iraq 33 times. As a military man, and someone who has seen Iraq firsthand many times, Doug is uniquely positioned to render a very informed opinion about our involvement there. What else? Well, Doug holds an Executive Juris Doctorate from Concord University School of Law. If someone's going to be writing laws and voting on laws, it makes good sense to have studied law. We've now established that Doug has dedicated decades to serving our country, that he has worked for a living, and that he is very well-educated. What about his positions on the issues? |
- Fiscal responsibility. We need to get back to paying attention to the nation's finances, and Doug is committed to working toward a balanced budget and responsible spending
- Access to high-quality healthcare for all Americans
- Stimulation of the economy, improved national security, better environmental quality through development of renewable domestic energy sources
- Adherence to and support of the United States Constitution
Please take a moment to visit the website of Mr Doug Tudor. And please contribute to Doug's campaign. Unlike Adam Putnam, Doug does not have millions of dollars of family money; he is a working man who will truly represent us! To put Doug in Washington, we need to put some dollars in the campaign. Please help finally get Florida and the country the representation we need and deserve.
Politics
Reader Comments (5)
Master Chief Tudor has spent his career as, what is affectionately known in the service as, an office poge. Here's a brief description of what he did in the military from the DOD job description:Serves on the personal staffs of Flag and General Officers, and certain other senior officers in command positions at sea and ashore. Must be able to function independently and carry out required duties. Must be able to draft personal and professional correspondence; act on matters of social usage, protocol, honors and ceremonies; prepare and liquidate travel orders; and prepare Officer Reports of Fitness.
Hardly a description of a military observer with combat knowledge to render an informed opinion about our involvement in Iraq, Afganistan or elsewhere for that matter.
Didn't see the reference to 33 visits to Iraq on the website. Perhaps you could provide a link to that info?
As to Executive Juris Doctor knowing the law, that degree from Concord is not recognized by the Bar. Graduates are not qualified to sit for the bar exam. Let's not get carried away about his vast experience in the law. It's not like he graduated from Harvard or Princeton like the other weenies in Congress.
I'm sure that Master Chief Tudor is a fine man, dedicated, hardwork, etc. I don't think you're helping the cause by over-blowing his vast experience in the military and the law.
Mad
Exec JD is not intended for one to practice law in a courtroom. That is not Tudor's goal. His goal, as stated, is to get us some decent representation in the US Congress.
Your Repub buddies (especially one Harvard and Yale graduate) have been responsible for the deaths of over 4,000 Americans, displacement of one million Iraqis, decimation of the US economy for many, many years to come ... and the intentional decay of the US Constitution and any semblance of trust in the Executive and Judicial branches ...oh, and possible commission of war crimes. Great bragging rights.
No, I've not been to Iraq nor have I claimed to. The first 12 years of my career I was in combat units, not IT. That came later. I do have an understanding of combat operations. This is a guy I trust on understanding our engagement in Iraq and Iran: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Mattis Jim and I attended Amphibious Warfare School together and I have the highest regard for his abilities to understand the dynamics in those countries.
Decent representation in Congress doesn't require a law degree, it requires someone that is interested in the welfare of this country. Universal health care in the US will guarantee us 3rd world status in that domain. Physicians are fleeing both Canada and England to come here to practice. As a result, their health care systems are becoming increasingly a nightmare. This is the kind of system your guy Doug wants for us? Really?
The US went to war against Iraq and Afganistan with the approval of Congress in a bi-partisan manner. We had some bad intel, but so did other countries like Britain. We made serious judgment errors in the post war phase in Iraq. The surge put things back on track to turning administration back to the Iraq government. Should we have gone? Don't know, but that is now immaterial. We need to work with Iraq and others to transition the country and get out. We're working on that. I've noticed that your candidate has seriously backed away from 'get out now' no matter what. Gee, I wonder why that is? Could it be that he now has seen for himself what is really going on? Hmm......
Both parties have pressed the envelop of the Constitution. No surprise there. The checks and balances envisioned by the framers still work. Notice that the Supremes slam-dunked the administration several times recently. Can you say Gitmo?
Speaking of trust. Did you not notice that the Congress, lead by your guys, have approval ratings lower than whale s---? Lower even than the evil President?
War crimes? Where's the evidence? Where's the hue and cry by the Dem leadership in Congress and the people for that matter? Awfully quiet on that front for such a serious crime.
Regards, Mad
There are workers of every type - not just physicians - wanting to come to the US. I also know physicians considering going to the UK to practice in what you would have us believe is a third world health care system. I suspect that you have not had the opportunity to speak first-hand with those with direct knowledge of the compensation and working arrangements in the medical profession in the US *and* the UK.
You don't know if we should have gone to Iraq? And that is IMMATERIAL? WTF? You, who has studied history more than most, knows that we must learn from the past, so you are absolutely BS'ing on this one. Are you perhaps instead wanting to avoid admitting that this administration botched the whole freaking job, from the 'bad' intelligence (or the decision to pick and manipulate what intelligence would be used), to horribly flawed assumptions about the culture in Iraq, to decisions about troop levels, and on and on?
My preference for president was Kucinich. He's out now. The next president will be Obama or McCain, and I consider Obama *far* preferable. But I would have preferred a liberal.
Yes, the Dem-"led" Congress has been pitiful. Just as I once respected McCain, and now have had that respect eroded to nil, I also have lost respect for Pelosi and many others from the Democratic side.
War crimes ...does it perhaps become difficult to investigate war crimes when even investigations into domestic matters at the Justice Dept are stalled by an administration that claims executive privilege to avoid any appearance to testify before Congress? How do you feel about this above the law attitude? How do you defend such arrogance?
Unfortunately, the past (nearly) 8 years have yielded far worse results than I had feared. The Dems have done far less that I had hoped. The actions of Bush /Cheney /Rumsfeld /Rice et al are at least immoral ...I happen to believe that the actions go beyond simply immoral. And although some who had voted for the Bush regime have now regretted that decision, sadly, you seem to press forth upholding anything Republican, and denying the reality that we deserved far better (from both parties). But to stay the course, as you appear to advocate, will only worsen the national and global condition.
BTW, you use the name 'madmarine'. What do you possibly have to be mad about? Your guy has been in office for 8 years. Congress has all but given this administration a blank check for anything they wanted to do. You've pretty much had it your way. Is it time to change your moniker?
I'm not mad at anybody for anything. It actually is a reference to being slightly off balance. After all, aren't all Marines a little wacko?? The left certainly seems to think so. You know, mad baby killers....
As to the health care system, I was simply making a point that physicians are fleeing those countries that offer the kind of care that your guy seems to think is peachy keen. These folks cite declining care, lack of funding and insufficient compensation for what they do. I don't know any that are fleeing the US but know of several that came here for those reasons. I'm sure you will regal me with empirical evidence of vast numbers of physicians fleeing our 'greedy, uncaring, capitalist-inspired' health care system.
Iraq... My observation is that we (neither you nor I) know enough to know whether our involvement was justified or not. You might think you know, but in fact, your opinions are just that. Neither of us have the inside knowledge to know either way. History will tell us 50-100 years from now. Therefore, I don't know. That's WTF. And why, at this point, it is immaterial. We need to figure out what to do NOW, not what we should have done then. BTW, I did say that the administration screwed the pooch on Iraq. Read more carefully please!
Executive privilege... bah! All Presidents have cited that to keep sensitive communication away from political adversaries. Your man Clinton did it. Didn't hear you whine about it at the time.
Mad