Emerson Refuses to Apologize
In responses provided yesterday to the Southeast Missourian and Beacon, Rep. Jo Ann Emerson refused to apologize for her demonstrably false and insulting claim that Tommy Sowers "never commanded anybody."
Instead, she came back with new accusations that Sowers is somehow trying to "cloud" the debate on the federal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. Wrong answer.
Look, the facts are pretty simple:
- Emerson made a demonstrably false statement about Sowers' service record
- Confronted about her statement, Emerson refused to apologize.
The whole point of saying that a person "never commanded anybody, [so] he might have a different perspective" on repealing DADT is to suggest that Sowers doesn't really have any expertise and wisdom on military issues. He "never commanded anybody," so what does he know? Emerson's reply that "she wasn't disparaging anybody" isn't convincing.
Instead of apologizing, Emerson chose to accuse Sowers of a "cynical attempt to divert attention from a position he has suddenly discovered is out-of-step" with the district. This is just dumb. There is no evidence that Sowers is waffling on his position in any way.
Furthermore, the idea that anyone could wake up and "suddenly discover" that some people might have a different opinion on DADT is preposterous. (However you come down on the issue, it's simply impossible to "discover" that some voters will disagree with you, though public opinion polls show that a clear majority of Americans support repeal.)
Emerson made a false and insulting claim, and Sowers responded.
Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/joannemerson
