Once A Marine, Always a Marine

Contributed by Tina Richards

I was so excited on Saturday when I opened up my email and found a link to the New Mexican's article about Adam's possible Congressional run. I expect there will be many more articles if he jumps in the race. While I thought the piece was fair on balance, their were a couple of items that I felt should be addressed.

First, I was caught off guard by the title of the article calling him an "Ex-Marine." As the mother of a Marine, I know that there is no such thing as an "EX"-Marine. A Marine who has left the Corps still holds the title, and if you have to, you can call Adam a "former Marine." Especially for a Marine who has served in combat in one of Iraq's toughest battles. My son was there too, Fallujah, April, 2004 in what has become known as the "Siege of Fallujah". A mother's worse nightmare and one of the defining moments of Adam's life. Once a Marine, always a Marine. Semper Fi!

In addition, I would like to set the record straight as to the results of the last election. The article reported that Lujan received 65% of the vote. As that would be almost 2/3's of the votes cast, that would truly be an uphill climb for any Marine. However, I found that the New Mexican just got the facts wrong. Lujan received 56% of the vote, although a strong showing, this is hardly the deep blue that the article described.

Adam Kokesh, regardless of what party banner he may run under, represents a powerful new political ideology that serves the people, not the political structure. Within hours of his announcement, he received endorsements from Democrats, Republicans and Independents. The wide appeal from across the political spectrum, truly shows that with Adam, labels do not apply.

Apparently, Congressman Lujan recognizes how formidable Adam will be. I've never heard of a sitting congressman responding to a potential adversary 18 months before the election, especially since we don't even know what party Adam will run with yet. Lujan sees the threat. On that point, I completely concur.

Tina Richards
Media Relations
Kokesh Exploratory Committee