MIKE EVANS STATEMENT ON MEMORIAL DAY

Submitted by ArkDem on Fri, 05/25/2007 - 11:50pm.
FOR IMMIEDIATE RELEASE

Contact the campaign at mikeevans2008 [at] yahoo [dot] com or 1.202.271.7897

Mike Evans, Democrat running for Lt. Governor, released the following statement on the upcoming Memorial Day holiday. Evans is a native of Desoto, Missouri. Upon graduation from High School, Evans enlisted in the U.S. Army as an Intelligence Analyst and was stationed at Ft. Huachuca, Arizona and the National Security Agency at Ft. Meade, Maryland. Evans owns M&T Productions, a marketing firm. He lives in Arnold, Missouri.

"On this Memorial Day we in Missouri, like so many Americans, shall pause to remember those individuals who gave us the greatest gift, the gift to defend our nation, to defend our way of life, and to defend freedom and democracy. This day is especially poignant in Missouri as we will pause to not just mourn the loss of so many friends and family who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, but rather to celebrate their life and their courage.

General Norman Schwarzkopf made the poignant statetment, "It doesn't take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle."

Memorial Day is and should remain a day to Honor those men and women who served in uniform and made the ultimate sacrifice. We can never repaytheir families for their sacrifice, but we can honor their service, live lives filled with the example and courage they showed, and protect the principles they valiantly fought to preserve.

In the coming days of parades, somber ceremonies, and picnics with friends or at family gatherings, we will celebrate our freedom, we also remember that freedom is not free--it comes to us at a great cost. As one who served in uniform, I join the ranks of 40 million Americans who risked life and limb to defend our country, our state of Missouri, and make the world a better place to live. I also will pause with you to remember the more than a million service men and women who have died for our country.

We also continue to hope, pray, and remain vigilant for the 140,000 solders taken as prisoners of war, many of who never been accounted for, but they are not far from our prayers and our thoughts of hope.

We salute the Missourians who serve today as soldiers, airmen, marines, national guardsmen and reservists, and thank them for their sacrifice as they defend us at home and across the world. Especially to those in Iraq, we look forward to you coming home to us safe in Missouri soon, rather than later.

I close with a quote from a heroine of mine, the late Lt. Governor Harriet Woods, who said, "You can stand tall without standing on someone. You can be a victor without having victims." On that note, I call on our leaders in Washington, D.C. to remember those words of wisdom when considering the future of our involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. To the families of those Missourians who paid the ultimate price, a grateful state is thankful. May we be worthy of the gift your loved one has given for our state and for our nation."

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Time to “screw your courage to the sticking place”

Submitted by bboldt2 on Thu, 05/31/2007 - 10:46am.
Dear Mike Evans, I’m sorry that I am not as familiar with you and your positions as I should be. According your bio, you seem to be a fine, bright, intelligent fellow. You also propose a number of important programs that would bring welcome reform to state government. With regards to your Memorial Day statement, I would expect you to be capable of something a little more creative than the kind of typical Memorial Day treacle you put forth. Today we voters are looking for people of leadership and principle who will stand up and be counted. Frankly, I would have been less upset if you had said that you honestly believed, like the Republicans and many Democrats, that we are fighting in Iraq to defend our freedoms here at home. At least I would have recognized that code for “to defend Halliburton, KBR, Blackwater and other big money contractors' right to gouge the taxpayer and to continue the outrage.” At least if you had said that I would have known you were for the war (the way our Sen. Claire McCaskill is) and would at least recognize whose side you are really on. Its just that when you use such simpering rhetoric, you leave me to draw the conclusion that you are merely another gutless politician pandering to mindless chauvinists with patriotic boilerplate. Where do you guys get these Memorial Day/July 4th speeches anyway? They all sound like they come from the same playbook. Even your little variant - your “call on our leaders in Washington, D.C. to remember those words of wisdom when considering the future of our involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.” is unspeakably weak and noncommittal. I write here as someone who worked like hell on Claire’s campaign this last election and have been a lifelong, hardworking Democrat all my adult life. You guys can no longer drift on the assumptions that the rankNfile will continue to support any Democrat as the lesser of two evils. After the big national sellout on the latest funding of Bush’s disaster, we are going to be deserting the Party in droves. You and the other Democratic candidates had better start standing for something. You should try dropping the drivel and begin calling this war for what it is: a disgrace to our military and to the spirit of America. I cannot think of a better place to start “screwing your courage to the sticking place” than standing over the grave of a soldier who died in vain - the victim of Bush’s folly. Bob Boldt
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That day was not the day.

Submitted by ArkDem on Thu, 06/14/2007 - 4:36pm.
Bob, Memorial Day is NOT the day to talk politics or to agree or disagree about policy. Its a day, as Evans did, to honor those who have served. He doesn't endorse anything more than honoring those who served. Drew
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