Ogonowski criticizes GOP leader
Republican congressional candidate Jim Ogonowski today unleashed rare criticism on fellow Republican John Boehner, saying the House minority leader should apologize for a comment he made recently in a CNN interview.
When asked by Wolf Blitzer how much money should be spend and how long troops should stay in Iraq, Boehner said, "The investment that we're making today will be a small price if we're able to stop al-Qaeda here, if we're able to stabilize the Middle East." Several others, including John Kerry and John McCain, have denounced his comments as minimizing the deaths of US soldiers.
"Your recent comment… was wrong and you owe an apology to our servicemen and women, their families, and the American people," Ogonowski said in a letter to Boehner, a representative from Ohio.
Ogonowski's response is part of a little political gamesmanship between him and his chief rival, Democrat Niki Tsongas. On Saturday, Tsongas called on Ogonowski to denounce Boehner's remarks.
Ogonowski, who recently retired after 28 years in the Air Force and Air National Guard, used the letter today to highlight a theme in his campaign that he is running as a non-partisan outsider.
"Right is right and wrong is wrong," Ogonowksi said. "I do not care who says something like that, Republican or Democrat, I'll call them on the carpet and hold them accountable. We should never let party interfere with doing what is right."
