Ex-U.S. commander in Iraq may run for Senate in Texas

[Freddie Stubbs]

Source: USA Today

Several news organizations are reporting that retired Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, a former commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, is close to mounting a bid for the U.S. Senate in Texas.

Politico confirmed that Sanchez, who retired in 2006, appears to have been recruited by Democrats for the race to succeed GOP Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who is not running for re-election next year.

Sanchez was commander of coalition forces in Iraq at the time of the Abu Ghraib scandal, in which Iraqi prisoners were abused during aggressive interrogations. Sanchez, who now lives in San Antonio, told The Monitor of McAllen, Texas in 2006 that he was forced to retire because of Abu Ghraib. In his 2008 memoir, he was critical of the Bush administration's handling of the Iraq war.

Democrats face an uphill battle in Texas, where Republicans hold every major statewide office. Republican John McCain easily won the 2008 presidential campaign in Texas, outpacing Democrat Barack Obama, 55%-44%.

Read more: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2011/04/ricardo-sanchez-texas-2012-senate-race-iraq-commander/1

[Odin2005]

1. Awesome!

I hope who reams the asses of warmongers who ignore the damage caused by war.

[msongs]

2. maybe they can get Obama's friend Gen. Mcchrystal if Sanchez doesn't work out lol nt

[Kingofalldems]

3. Unrec. Not LBN

At least 2 threads in GD that are 2 days old on this subject.

[WolverineDG]

8. Oh ffs

:eyes:

dg

[BlueJac]

4. Then he will be an advisor ......

for what might happen here.

[nyy1998]

5. Would love to see a Democrat represent Texas.

He sounds like a good candidate, but this state is still really really Red.

[Kolesar]

6. Democrats might more properly be labeled as "brown"

Ultimately, the GOP cannot win by hyping fear issues that appeal to white people. Even groups like Cuban-Americans and Indian-Americans are turning against that message.

Every year, the electorate shifts from white to non-white at a proportion of 0.5%. The Mexican-American population in Texas and Arizona are going to turn those states into "swing states".

[PDittie]

7. Pass.

http://brainsandeggs.blogspot.com/2011/04/im-out-on-this-guy-too.html

[Bucky]

9. Good article, PD.

I'm not reflexively anti-Sanchez. He was a bureaucrat given an impossible task in a poorly designed mission working against inflexible forces and surrounded by hostile politicians like Paul Bremer. But that said, what he seems to have authorized crossed lines that American military professionals used to see clearly drawn in the sand. I won't cry if he's nominated, but I won't work for him before next March's primary.

[PDittie]

10. I'm out on Sanchez no matter what, Buck.

We've seen this play before: Tony Sanchez, Rick Noriega, Linda Chavez-Thompson ...

It doesn't work. Pandering to Latinos by putting one of their people on the ticket does not increase their turnout at the polls enough to get us over the hump. And if they cannot be motivated to vote after everything that Congress and the state legislature is doing to them ...

[Bucky]

12. Well, I have to disagree that Rick Noriega was "pandering to Latinos"

Noriega was a long established leader in the Democratic Party in Texas. He earned that nomination. For that matter, I don't think that's the only reason Ricardo Sanchez is being flogged about. His record as a military leader is what's being hyped here, not his bronceadismo. Obviously, it's part of the calculation (but no more so than when we nominate an Anglo).

If his name were Worthington J. McTicklenuts and his skin were pinker than Dan Quayle's, but he had the same record in command of Iraq and expressed an interest in coming home to Texas to run, he'd probably get the same volume of whispers, attaboys, and scowls from Texas Democrats. He's in contention because of his resume, no matter how much problems it causes the pro-Bill of Rights wing of the party.

I agree we should be nominating unapologetic liberal populists, people who stand for old fashioned values like fairness, opportunity, and equality more than for straddling the fence. If we're gonna lose, let's lose with someone who at least draws a line in the sand before going down. The more I look at Sanchez's record, the more I get squeamish about nominating him. I'll probably work for whoever runs against him {on edit: "in the primary"} (barring LaRoushkies, of course). But I just don't see the case for saying this is just about race. If it were, we'd be looking for a white guy instead.

[PDittie]

14. And I like Noriega. A lot.

Like his wife. I wish he would run again for something. The Republicans couldn't find one single thing to attack the guy on. They tried calling him "Manuel" after the Panamanian dictator -- why do they always make fun of peoples' names? that's so playground chidish -- but when thta fell flat they just settled on the tired yet tried and true "librul".

But he drew 41% of the vote and no money to speak of. In a year when Obama is on the ballot and our people OUGHT to be motivated to roll back the Red Tide of 2010 ... I'd say he would get 43%, tops. (That's about what Bill White got against Rick Perry last November.)

By the way, White is considering a run for Senate. Just considering, as I hear it; not particularly seriously. A big NO on him also.

[Schema Thing]

11. It will be interesting to see if Wes Clark comes and campaigns for him

[Bucky]

13. Ugh, I hate this tangled web thing. Let's not nominate this guy.