Anderson and Bohanan have  both replied to the tirade

by St. Mary's College  Professor Emeritus  Dr. Michael Glaser  

video of Poet when he wasn't screaming at veteran with murder on his mind

By Kenneth C. Rossignol
ST. MARY’S TODAY

ST. MARY’S CITY (July 16, 2010)  UPDATE  --- A chance encounter at the weekly River Concert Series held on the banks of the St. Mary’s River is not the usual setting for a game-changer in a Maryland political race, but the outburst of Maryland’s former Poet Laureate and Professor Emeritus of St. Mary’s College and words of rage leveled at a candidate could well spell the doom of his opponent.

The encounter came as GOP House of Delegates candidate Erik Anderson, joining several other Republican office hopefuls in shaking hands and appealing to the electorate, chatted with those attending the concert.

According to Anderson, Dr. Michael Glaser, who’s usual words uttered in public have more to deal with soft words of love and tenderness were on Friday night, harsh and damning towards Anderson.

Anderson is a former Army helicopter pilot who has flown missions around the world and served in Afghanistan.

Glaser, who attended Kent State in Ohio prior to being hired as an English teacher at St. Mary’s College in 1970, gave Anderson the type of welcome typical of pot-smoking hippie students and their left-wing professors in the days of the anti-war movement in the late sixties and the seventies.

Glaser reportedly called Anderson a ‘war-mongering murderer’ and ‘murdering military trash’, a real come down from a guy who spent four years preaching poetry to Maryland’s school children and giving readings at libraries and community centers around the state.

His tirade didn’t even rhyme.

GOP Delegate candidate Matt Morgan was also at the campaign table seeking votes when Glaser assailed Anderson.

"I was there and those were his exact words," said Morgan.  "He also asked Erik if he was proud of killing people.  I asked the guy if he didn't want Erik to do his job?  And he ignored me." 

Anderson attempted to speak civilly with Glaser and was rebuffed and the angry poet, who didn’t like Anderson’s campaign signs, which proclaims “shoots Taliban, fights taxes”, stormed off.

Anderson also reports that Glaser told him that he had no right to run against Del. Bohanan and that he knew Bohanan personally and that there was no way that a fine man like him should be replaced by a murderer like Anderson.

The signs show Anderson in the cockpit of the Apache helicopter and refers to his tours of duty assigned to find and eliminate the Taliban following the attacks on America on 9/11, an effort which has recently been increased by Democrat President Barack Obama, who has added another 30,000 troops to do exactly what Anderson was doing.
 
American military men who have served in times of war have often not only been proud of their service to America in uniform, but have campaigned on their war records, like Anderson, to demonstrate their patriotism and eagerness to fight for the freedoms we all enjoy.

From General George Washington, to William Henry Harrison, John Tyler (Tippecanoe and Tyler Too), to U. S. Grant who won the Civil War for the north, Col. Teddy Roosevelt’s charge at San Juan Hill, and WWII era Navy pilots Lyndon Baines Johnson, Richard Nixon and especially President John F. Kennedy, who had his crew from PT 109 in his inaugural parade highlighting his saving lives after his boat was cut in two by a Jap destroyer, Sen. John Kerry’s Viet Nam service and Sen. John McCain’s POW heroism; those men who have served overseas deserved to be able to tell voters what the perils and pitfalls of war have done to prepare them for battles in politics. 

Gen. Dwight David Eisenhower, known to millions around the world simply as "Ike" was the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe and in 1952 and 1956 was elected President, due mainly to his leadership in the Army that Glaser seems to despise.

President George H. W. Bush was the youngest fighter pilot in the Navy during WWII while the man who beat him in 1992, Bill Clinton, was a draft dodger.  President Ronald Reagan served during WWII in creating movies to sell war bonds to finance the war machine that beat the Japs and the Nazis.

It is clear that there have never been campaign signs quite like Anderson’s in St. Mary’s County, but with an uphill race against a well-funded opponent like John Bohanan, who has amassed over $120,000 in campaign funds to a shoestring budget for his challenger, Anderson’s desire to capture attention sure worked like a charm. 

When it came to lighting the fuse of a latently anti-American, anti-military fanatic at the time when Democrat Bohanan can least afford it can't be making the Democrats too happy.

Anderson had been on the Presidential helicopter program when it got canceled by the Obama Administration. While the new chopper may well be needed, it got loaded down by the usual burdens of Washington and became too costly. Obama’s glib depiction of the existing helicopters carried his typical 8th-grader’s knowledge of most things military, as the chopper could well be in the Smithsonian instead of the Presidential fleet. The helicopter will soon be reborn, as often happens.

While there are some who feel that the canceled program and the job with it that Anderson lost may account for his decision to run against Bohanan, it really makes no difference what his motive was in contesting the seat.

The fact remains that Anderson is a distinguished Army pilot, has served his nation, works at a critical job at Pax River, as part of our nation’s defense and has every right to run for office without being assailed by a left-wing lunatic in a public event.

That Anderson behaved as a gentleman is what we should expect from an officer, while it appears that we should not expect too much from a poet.

The real tragedy here may be that this contest is not decided on Anderson’s quest to show that his opponent’s voting record is one of consistent votes for higher taxes. Bohanan will not get anyone to listen to him explain how his leadership role in the General Assembly benefits St. Mary’s County. Those are the issues on which the race should be decided.

Instead, it looks like the rude, far-left ravings of the type of blame-America-first crowd who trashed our American service members at the time of the Viet Nam war are simply a little older, have gray hair and gray beards and are just as nasty when they want to show its not all poetry and love for our ‘murdering military trash’.

Glaser, like many left-wingers, only likes to spend your money.  Campaign finance records show that he donated $30 to Democrat Commissioner President Jackie Russell and $25 to Judge Mike Stamm over a period of ten years with no record of donations to Bohanan, whom he pretends to support.  He was appointed Poet Laureate by Republican Governor Bob Ehrlich in 2004 and is now retired from St. Mary's College.

Just like Willie Horton in 1988 changed that election, this incident will only serve to harness increasing voter dissatisfaction with incumbents in general, Democrats in particular and the Marxist-socialists as the loonies that they truly reveal themselves to be.

Candidates can never be held fully responsible for their supporters but while they are happy to have the assistance given them, the negatives weigh in as well, with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's words revealing the extremist church that Obama belonged to in Chicago. 

That's politics.

John Bohanan can kiss this election goodbye as you can load up all those who might identify with Dr. Glaser’s remarks into an old Volkswagon bus and drive over a cliff and the rest of the voters will be cheering.

Former College President Maggie O'Brien said it best when Glaser was selected to be Maryland's Poet Laureate: "Glaser can say more in a few words than anyone I know".

(Editor's Note: Here is the response from Republican House of Delegates Candidate Erik Anderson and Del. Bohanan's reply to the incident follows that of Anderson.  Should Dr. Glaser see fit to provide a public apology to Anderson, space will be made available.)

“Shoots Taliban – Fights Taxes”

"While campaigning at the wonderful St. Mary’s River Concert Series this past Friday, July 9th, a prominent Democrat Party member, Dr. Michael Glaser, accused me of being a “war mongering murderer” in front of a large number of people. When I politely asked him if he was willing to please have a seat so that he could tell me his views, he responded “I will never sit down with murdering military trash like you” and after a few more comments he walked away.

I left his statements and accusations behind me because it is part of being a political candidate. I will be attacked on many fronts and this is no exception. But more importantly, I will always respect the freedom of speech we enjoy in the United States. It is his God given American right to say such things. Additionally, it is my duty to listen to my future constituents, no matter how outlandish the comment. However, when I shared what happened with my wife later on that night it brought her to tears. She feels the burden of my military service and takes such comments not as an attack on me, but as an attack on our family. As a result, I feel that I need to explain what the sign means.

First and foremost, when you read it, you remember it. It is unlike any other campaign sign you have ever seen. You are left with several different thoughts depending upon your background. For many of the people I have met, they are proud of my call to duty. By my count, only four people have told me they were offended. While many others are left wondering what I meant by the sign, what was the message that I am conveying, and what will I do as a leader. It leaves the public wanting to know more, and it is this quest for knowledge and insight that is so critical to the future success of our nation.

What is the meaning of “Shoots Taliban”?

It means that I have been on seven major deployments around our world. I have seen the ravages of civil war in Bosnia, delivered humanitarian aid to El Salvador, and helped bring comfort to Haiti. It means that I will not sit idly by while men and women are executed by the Taliban because they are Christians, and I will not sit on the sidelines while children are tortured. I have personally seen the aftermath from a mother that was executed by the Taliban because her husband was teaching her how to read. Then to get back at the father, the Taliban took the hand of his four year old son and ran it through the drive belts of a tractor. I have seen what happens when boys are thrown into fires and little girls are dropped of the roofs of houses head first by the Taliban. I have seen the mass graves in Kabul filled with thousands of Afghan women that were executed by the Taliban for being educated.

 Many soldiers, and many of my personal friends, have risked and lost their lives trying to save countless children, women, and men in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Army did not spend a million dollars teaching how to be the best Apache Attack Helicopter Pilot I could be just so that I would miss my target. I fought for those that were unable to fight for themselves. I fought for the oppressed. . I fought against tyranny. I fought to save humanity from those that are committed to atrocious evil in our world I fought to preserve our American way of life.
This picture of the Apache Attack helicopter was taken nearly seven years ago by my wingman in the Afghanistan valley between Jalalabad and Asadabad. I’m in the front seat and CW4 Kurt “J” Cunningham, was in the back seat. I am proud of my military service and I proud to have been blessed with the required skills and call to duty to enable me to fight for justice in a land of chaos.

The second part of the sign reads “Fights Taxes”. This means that I will carry those same convictions of military service with me to represent the citizens of St. Mary’s County with my duty in the Maryland General Assembly in Annapolis. I will fight to hold the line against ever increasing oppressive taxes. I will fight to reduce the budget and future burden on our residents. I will fight to create a sound economic climate where business’s will succeed and can hire more employees. I will fight for energy independence and sound environmental policy. I will fight to return our state to the basic principles of being ‘Of the People, By the People, and For the People’.

If prominent Democrat Party members, such as Dr. Michael Glaser, refuse to listen and reasonably communicate with those that live, fight, and die to give them their freedom of speech then I truly feel sorry for them. But as I had mentioned, it is their American right to exercise their freedom of speech and as a political candidate I will always listen.

Make no doubt about it; I am part of the next generation of Republicans fighting for smaller government, lower taxes, and personal accountability. We are environmentally conscious and taking action with new and innovative energy sources. We are looking for ways to move America forward and preserve the greatness that is the United States. We have very serious budget problems that must be addressed. We have an erosion of our education base and we have unacceptably high unemployment. Our county is being lead into failure and I will not sit idly by and watch this happen. Our children deserve better, our students and schools deserve better, our business deserve better, and our state deserves better.

Am I a “War Mongering Murderer”? No, I feel these are but some of the actions that form an American Patriot.
I am Erik Anderson and I will not apologize for my duty to county and humanity, I will not back down, and I am here to represent the citizens of Maryland."

Response from Del. John Bohanan:

 
Del. John Bohanan   ST. MARY'S TODAY photo

"I commend and thank Mr. Anderson for his service to our country. No one should question the service of any US veteran, regardless of any individual's feeling about the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.

- I have spent almost 30 years working with and supporting the work of the US military. I deeply believe in the importance of the military to defend our borders and our values but also recognize the importance of the military to our county.

- This election is about the issues facing St Mary's County and the State of Maryland -- not the war in Afghanistan or the Presidential helicopter program. We are still battling a national economic crisis that is affecting our community. We need to be talking about the county's future, including economic opportunities that will create good jobs, transportation and traffic pressures, our education system, policing and public safety, and infrastructure needs. These are the issues that I am focused on in Annapolis and, I believe, these are the policy debates we should be having in this election."