Posted on 09/05/2003 9:52:36 AM PDT by NYC GOP Chick
Candidate Comes Out Swinging
By DAN SHAW
dshaw@ftimes.com
“Mr. Speaker: I have been called to active duty in the United States Army… I request immediate leave of absence of the House of Representatives to accommodate my military duties,” reads a letter written in March by Rep. Steve Buyer (R-Monticello) to Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert.
That statement now stands at the middle of controversy between Buyer and his recently announced Republican opponent for the 4th District Congressional Seat — Dennis Hardy of Mount Vernon.
On one side of it, Hardy is claiming that Buyer knowingly lied for political gain by saying he had been placed on active duty in the Army.
“When you look at all the facts, there’s no other conclusion that you can come to,” Hardy told The Times Thursday. “And it infuriates me. I don’t see any other step in politics as more heinous than this.”
On the other hand, Buyer’s camp contends that if Hardy, an Army major, understood the rules of the armed services as well as he claims, he would see his argument falls apart on an important distinction in military terms.
Of Hardy’s accusations, Buyer’s communications director Laura Zuckerman said, “They’re reckless, and they’re false.”
Following closely on the heels of Buyer’s visit to Frankfort earlier this week, Hardy came here Thursday armed with documents that, he claims, prove his opponent deliberately lied in the matter of Army service.
Hardy said he found the evidence while overseeing a database at the Pentagon, where he worked until recently. The database contained the names of all reservists called up to serve. After hearing of Buyer’s request for the leave, Hardy claims he looked up the congressman’s name in the records but could not find it.
Indeed, that he ever would have been called to active duty is unlikely, continued Hardy. Under a Department of Defense directive, a member of Congress can not be moblizied, unless they obtain a special exemption, he said.
But Zuckerman said Buyer did obtain that special exemption through the letter sent to the Speaker.
In the spring, Buyer learned that there was a 90 percent chance he would be called up from the Reserves, she said. That meant he was on active duty and prepared himself accordingly, she said.
But, because he served Congress, he was still exempt from being mobilized, explained Zuckerman. He then had a choice to make his mobilization possible by requesting leave of absence. And he decided to do so, she said.
“He’s a man committed to his country,” Zuckerman said. “He’s a dedicated member of the armed forces. He cannot see serving as not being the job of a congressman. That’s not who he is.”
Only later, after the congressman had received permission from the Speaker, did Secretary of the Army Thomas White countermand the orders to activate Buyer, she said.
Hardy also kicked off his political campaign with other matters.
He held a press conference Thursday in Lafayette in front of the Halleck Federal Building, a former congressional office. Hardy contended the closing of that office demonstrates how much Buyer has lost touch with his constituents.
If elected, Hardy pledged, he will maintain three such offices, plus a roaming unit that would solicit comments from his constituents. Hardy also proposed forming advisory committees in the communities throughout his district, which cuts across 12 counties. The committees would consist of members of law enforcement, government and business and would advise him on how national policies affect the local level.
Hardy also criticized Buyer’s support of a bill that would allow illegal immigrants to receive a visa application if they pay $1,000.
“I don’t have anything against legal immigrants. This country was founded by immigrants,” Hardy said. “But if they’re illegal, they should be deported.”
Cracking down on illegal immigration would be one of the best way to strengthen homeland defense, Hardy said.
Hardy once served as the assistant chief of staff to former-7th District Rep. Brian Kerns. Kerns lost his seat to Buyer in 2002.
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