It's Goddamn Inspiring to Meet an Honest Politician

Today I got a chance to meet Southern California Congressional candidate Russ Warner.
That's Russ in the center of the photo, with the tie. For those of you who are curious, that's me in the upper right hand side looking very, very serious.
I had a great time meeting some experienced bloggers like David Dayden, Tom Beeton, Jane Hamsher and Howie Klein. Jane was gracious enough to link me on her page.

Russ Warner had some things to say about America's current state that I thought were ballsy and spot-on, like how The Soviet Union had already tried what America's doing these days. They went into Afghanistan and ended up running themselves dry by, among other things, trying to take over the country.
And what is America doing these days? We're running ourselves dry by over-extending our military and financial reach.
Now the economy is so far south that it speaks with a Southern Drawl and eats grits.
Our military is stretched so thin that soldiers are sometimes out there for well over a year without any leave to go home.
Can you imagine what it must be like for a hormone-crazed 19 year old to be stuck in a desert for over a year?

What I liked most about Mr. Warner was that he wasn't just spitting out party rhetoric- he believes the words that he says. Finding a politician who does this is harder than finding a Chinese river dolphin.

Warner told an amazing story about his son, Greg, during the party that gave me chills.
Greg gave Warner a call while he was in Iraq to see how the family was doing. Halfway through the conversation Warner heard loud noises and shouting in the background. Of course, like any father, he became frantic and asked his son what was going on. Greg came back on the phone and calmly said:
"Oh, it's alright, Dad. They weren't shooting at me."

Greg was in Iraq for seventeen months. Seventeen months! I haven't even kept a girlfriend for longer than twelve months, and Greg's job was to be shot at in the most dangerous country in the world for SEVENTEEN MONTHS. You have to write that in all caps.

Warner said that phone call with his son was a life changing experience for him, one that made him push even harder for ending the war.
When he says that he wants to bring the troops home - he means it.
Not because it's the party line.
Not because it will get votes.
Not because he has a vendetta.
But because he knows that there are sons and daughters over there, dying, for a reason that no one can seem to stamp down.

When Greg got home from Iraq he sat down with his father and asked him to do something to help end the war. So Russ Warner is running for congress against David Dreier.
Imagine that.
A politician running to fulfill a promise he made to his son.
If you don't think that's awesome then get the hell off of my internet.