Posted by editor on 4 June 2010 at 9:06 pm UTC
By W. Thomas Smith Jr.
Larry Richter, the former judge and S.C. state senator now running for Lt. Gov. of S.C., is wasting my time and that of anyone else within earshot of his self-serving buffoonery.
During a live noon broadcast today on NBC-affiliate station WMBF, which covers the Pee Dee and the Grandstrand of S.C., Richter was on the air with Bill Connor, a combat veteran and front-runner in the Lt. Governor’s race, when he (Richter) suggested that Connor might not have experienced combat.
I’m not kidding folks. This is almost as bad as Jake Knotts’ “raghead” comment, and it’s particularly insulting to combat veterans because it’s (a) coming from a man who conveniently skirted military service during the Vietnam War, and (b) it’s wrong.
Richter knows he’s wrong, but he also knows that it doesn’t matter whether he’s right or wrong – and by the way he’s 100 percent wrong – just as long as he can create enough doubt before Connor has a chance to prove how wrong he [Richter] is. Richter knows that any doubt only has to last less than two business days. That’s when voters go the polls in the Republican primary.
As I say, Richter is wasting my time, and he is, because someone has to set the record straight about his little deception. After all, those of us savvy enough to smell a rat, and quick enough on-the-draw, have an obligation to tell the truth about Richter’s underhandedness despite the obvious obstacles of editorial lede times, and despite the fact it’s late on Friday afternoon.
He’s wasting everyone else’s time because he’s attempting to create doubt in the minds of voters despite the unimpeachable service record of one of S.C.’s heroes in the global war on terror.
No need to get into the sterling specifics of Connor’s combat service except to say he was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB). And according to U.S. Army Regulation 600–8–22, a soldier must meet the following three requirements in order to be awarded the CIB:
First, he must be an infantryman satisfactorily performing infantry duties.
Second, he must be assigned to an infantry unit during such time as the unit is engaged in active ground combat.
Third, he must actively participate in such ground combat. Campaign or battle credit alone is not sufficient for award of the CIB.
Bill Connor not only met those requirements, but exceeded them.
According to official documentation, Connor – a recipient of the Bronze Star and the combat infantryman badge – has been described by his superiors as “a fearless, consummate combat leader” who “performed well under intense enemy fire and always led his men from the front.”
Beyond that, I have personally spoken to soldiers who have served “in action” with Connor, and in one instance Connor literally had to fight with his pistol against fanatics with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades who were trying to wipe out a convoy (Connor was leading) with a series of complex ambushes one-after-another for 4.5 miles of isolated highway in Afghanistan.
Keep in mind, Richter is the same guy who mocked Connor’s combat service weeks ago at a meeting of the West Metro Republican Women in Lexington, when he suggested his life-and-death decisions sending five people to the electric chair where “deliberate,” as opposed to a combat-commander’s decision-making which he (Richter ) said is only “abstract,” “reflexive,” and “reactionary” – a clear belittling and a gross misunderstanding of combat leadership which enraged combat veterans around the state.
Columbia Star business editor John Temple Ligon, a former Army Ranger officer and also-decorated artillery forward observer during the Vietnam War, says, “For a person who knows absolutely nothing about combat – particularly combat leadership and decision-making – to make such statements is unconscionable.”
Apparently, controversy is not new to Richter.
An April 4 article in THE STATE newspaper (Breaking down the state’s top political fights) listed all six candidates running for the office of Lt. Governor, one of whom, Krista Cogdill, has since withdrawn and now supports Connor.
Regarding Richter, THE STATE says, “He [Richter] comes with baggage.”
Frankly, Richter’s latest ugliness isn’t too far removed from the maniacal rantings of state senator Jake Knotts who called gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley “a raghead” on a Thursday talk show.
Knotts, by the way, endorses Richter.
No surprise there.
— Visit W. Thomas Smith Jr. at uswriter.com.
NOTE: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author, and do not represent the opinions of World Defense Review and its affiliates. WDR accepts no responsibility whatsoever for the accuracy or inaccuracy of the content of this or any other story published on this website. Copyright and all rights for this story (and all other stories by the author) are held by the author.
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