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thedrifter
09-25-08, 10:30 AM
Marine uniform in Mahoney ad causes flap

By George Bennett | Wednesday, September 24, 2008, 04:19 PM

Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Mahoney is drawing criticism for a new TV ad that features an unnamed Iraq war veteran wearing his U.S. Marine Corps uniform.

The National Republican Congressional Committee cried foul, and spokesmen for the Department of Defense and the Marines said today the vet appears to be violating guidelines on wearing the uniform.

Mahoney’s campaign is defending the ad.

Mahoney campaign spokesman Marc Goldberg said the NRCC and Mahoney’s Republican challenger, Tom Rooney, “should stop picking on an innocent veteran. They want to deprive a veteran of his right to free speech and assembly, the same right he put his life on the line to defend.”

A Marine Corps spokesman offered a different view.

“Marines can participate in the democratic process a number of different ways, but wearing the uniform in a political setting is not proper,” said Capt. Carl Redding, a Marine Corps media officer.

Mahoney was criticized earlier this year after his congressional office sent out a veterans-themed mailer that included a stock photo of an elderly man wearing Soviet medals.

Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CofbryRCLMs

Ellie