Posted on 02/10/2010 12:25:21 PM PST by Abathar
A hospital spokeswoman says former U.S. Rep. Charlie Wilson of Texas has died.
(Excerpt) Read more at theindychannel.com ...
If memory serves he was involved in both wars wasn’t he?
It was a grudging Hollywood way of admitting partial admiration.
Don't fall for that canard, we never helped Bin Ladin in Afghanistan.
Charlie was my congressman for years and was owned, lock , stock, and barrel, by Aurthur Temple of Temple Industries.
He did EXACTLY what Mr. Temple ordered and nothing more or less.
Already has been.
In those days, there was little distinction between Republicans and Democrats in Texas. Both parties were conservative. Democrats stood a better chance of winning because memories of Reconstruction remained strong, even though they were passed down from generations long dead.
He had a staff that went around the district helping people get on entitlement programs and was, of course, considered to be a "good" congressman.
When congress had their own "bank," Charlie was a big writer of "hot checks."
Oh, isn’t he the guy who claims he won the Afghan war vs. the Soviets?
He may have been a drinker and a womanizer but damn, he was open and honest about those things. He may have been led to support of Reagan’s by a woman other than personal belief however it was still the right thing to do.
I saw the History Channel documentary on him that came out around the time of the movie. It relied on a lot of personal interviews with the Congressman himself as opposed to reporters, staff members, personal acquaintances etc. and I have to say I did like the guy based on that show.
Now of course he may have been in league on many domestic policies with Tip O’Neil and the rest of the D’s at the time but he got this one right.
People forget that for all of Winston Churchill’s kind treatment in history for leading Britain during WW II and his identification of the Cold War/Iron Curtain he was completely wrong about a great deal of things. That is true of any leader.
It’s very rare for a Congressman to have made an indelible mark on an era and Charlie Wilson did that.
RIP
Rip to Good Time Charlie
claims=claimed
There is an old story that captures that sentiment. It was said that when a young man decided he wanted to enter Texas politics, he went down to his local chamber of commerce to be interviewed. If he passed muster, the men of the chamber would flip a coin to determine whether the young man would enter politics as a Democrat or a Republican.
Wonder if Tom Hanks will go to his funeral?
The Russians were haemorrhaging, nonetheless. Leaving, for them, was ultimately inevitable.
I don’t think so. He got to Congress in 1973, so I guess that he could have given a speech or two about the Vietnam War, but his contribution to foreign policy was related to the mujahadeen during the 1980s.
Which the Taliban and other Islamists anyway succeeded in conducting, and continue to persist.
Charlie was a Democrat and proud patriot. He served his country well. His personal life was a bit over the top.
Todays Democrat party would not have Charlie as a member.
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