I can't seem to find this diaried anywhere else, so here goes:
Mike McMahon, the Staten Island Democrat running for Vito Fossella's scandal-marred seat, has caught some flak on Dailykos for an Iraq position attributed to him by a member of the Staten Island Conservative Party. I have commented previously that McMahon should be allowed to speak for himself. Well, it turns out that he did back in early June, but it received very little press coverage. I think you'll like what you read. More below the fold.
In a June 6 article in the New York Sun, McMahon's campaign clarified his position on Iraq:
Michael feels that we need to get out of Iraq but that we should not do anything that would endanger the lives of our soldiers.
Now, that's a very reasonable and responsible position to take, and one that - frankly - is difficult to disagree with, considering the center-right nature of NY-13. I realize that some of our progressive purists may not agree, but I tend to look at the glass half full.
Even Obama, our standard-bearer this year, has been saying that we need to be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in.
The spokesman also reaffirmed that McMahon is pro-choice and is in favor of civil unions, two issues that are also very important to a majority of voters in this heavily Italian and Irish Catholic district.
While NY-13 has been in Republican hands for some 28 years (which includes the entire time I have lived here), 2008 is our best shot at capturing this previously Bush-bot seat. McMahon is a native Staten Islander (a big deal in this biggest of small towns), has an outstanding track record as a public servant with a responsible voting record on some tough issues, and is one of the genuine good guys in government. If you want to help him capture this seat, please consider donating to his campaign at ActBlue. As was diaried earlier, this race has made it onto DCCC's third round of red-to-blue. Let's work together to make that happen.