Who Is Ed Patru?
Writing in the Washington Moonie Times aptly named “Fishwrap” column, Republican Ed Patru lobs an attack at Pennsylvania Democrat and Iraq War veteran Patrick Murphy, who spoke eloquently the other day on the need to end the war.
Yesterday evening, House Republican Conference spokesman Ed Patru sent out the following quotes from freshman Rep. Patrick Murphy, Pennsylvania Democrat.
Mr. Murphy said in a speech on the House floor Tuesday: “I served in Baghdad from June of 2003 to January of 2004, walking in my own combat boots, I saw firsthand this administration’s failed policy in Iraq.”
That is true. Mr. Murphy, according to his Web site, served with the 82nd Airborne in Iraq.
However, Republicans dug up a quote from Mr. Murphy in the Widener University School of Law Magazine, Fall 2004 edition.
There, Capt. Murphy said: “We are really making a difference here in Baghdad. These people haven’t had a sense of justice in such a long time. We’re rebuilding schools and parks, and I am working with the Baghdad judiciary on rebuilding their court system … For those of us who joined the legal profession to make a difference, this sure is the place.”
I’m not going to address Patru’s incoherence, other than to point out that initial enthusiasm has a tendency turn to sour disgust when something like, oh a botched mismanaged war based on lies spirals into a blood soaked failure. Heck, if you take Patru’s argument to its logical extreme, no one should be allowed to change their minds about anything. That probably accounts for the low low divorce rates in red states. Oh wait, 27% higher than blue states?
No, what I want to know is who is Ed Patru, and what right does he have to smear a Iraq War veteran?
I called his office. No one could connect me to Patru, but a person named Shane spoke to me. Had Patru ever served in the military? Shane wasn’t sure. Had Patru served in Iraq? Shane was pretty sure that wasn’t the case. How old was Ed Patru? Shane didn’t know. Was he over 42, was he past the maximum age of enlistment? Shane didn’t know. Did Patru support the war in Iraq? Shane couldn’t answer for his boss.
Well, basic research tells me Ed Patru has never been to Iraq.
Here’s Ed yapping in September 2006, and here he is in April. Here’s Ed in November 2006, taking flack for the NRCC’s voter suppression tactics: way to support democracy, Ed!
And here’s Ed golfing at the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Golf Resort in 2006, on a GOP Retreat. Note: “sand trap” and “Sand Box” are not the same thing. The former makes it difficult to get a hole-in-one, the latter far more likely.
I know Ed wasn’t in Iraq in 2005, because he was Communications Director for the NRCC (a boost from his former job as communications director for the American International Automobile Dealers Association).
Ed Patru wasn’t in Iraq on 2004: he was writing in favor of abolishing the estate tax, and busy getting interviewed by USA Today about tax breaks for SUVs.
And while I’m not about to shell out a dime for archived articles, here are the results of a google search for Ed’s whereabouts in 2003: it’s heavy on “NRCC spokesman”, very light on “combat duty in Iraq”.
And no, selling cars doesn’t count as “combat”.
Interestingly, finding a photograph of the vocal Mr. Patru proved quite difficult. The closest I came was this photo with Amy Walter in the foreground, at the Washington Center for Politics and Journalism. I’m still not sure if the young man clearly of military age is Patru. If anyone can positively identify him I’d appreciate it…
… because with the Army recruiting more felons than ever because of a precipitous drop in recruitment, with draft boards doing test runs, I think it’s a perfect opportunity for Ed Patru to get an up-close and personal look at Iraq. When (if) he returns, he’ll be much more qualified to question Patrick Murphy’s stance.
Or maybe Ed should just shut the fuck up and go back to giving selling Hummers.
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