Wednesday, June 2, 2010

The Miller Military Records: McGroarty played it right, Liberatore played it wrong

Yesterday 42nd Congressional candidate Phil Liberatore commented on the Harper's Magazine story on Rep. Gary Miller's military service. Liberatore issued his release several hours after the article was published. He also put up a statement on his Twitter page that said, "What disrespect! Miller lied about his military record."

Lee McGroarty waited until after a local newspaper story was posted to issue a press release. McGroarty was able to know the medical reason for the discharge and have the knowledge of more comments from Miller. McGroarty was able to look more thoughtful and not appear to be doing it for political expediency.

Liberatore, on the other hand, looks very political in his actions. So much so, that McGroarty said that Liberatore was "grandstanding." He also looks like he was so quick to put something out, hoping that the media would give him attention, that he has errors in his release.

First, Liberatore's release states, "according to the Harper’s article, Miller was discharged after just 49 days of enlistment in 1967." Problem is that the article doesn't say that.

The article states, "According to his military record, he spent about seven weeks in boot camp at Fort Ord, California between early-September and late-October 1967, at which point he was discharged."

Now Rep. Gary Miller has released his records so we can see how many days he served. According to Miller's Military Service Certificate, and a look at a 1967 calendar, he served 54 days.

So where did Phil Liberatore get 49 days from? Did Liberatore really put out a press release that distorts Miller's military service, while accusing Miller of doing the same thing?

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Secondly, Liberatore's release says, "This truncated enlistment appears to fall far short of Private Miller even finishing boot camp." Liberatore attempts to make it seem like Miller or the article state something different.

However, the Harper's article states Miller, "spent about seven weeks in boot camp at Fort Ord, California between early-September and late-October 1967, at which point he was discharged. "

The comments on Miller's campaign site today says, "While in boot camp, Army doctors learned he had a childhood ulcer, which made him ineligible to serve so therefore he received an honorable discharge." Miller acknowledges not finishing boot camp, so why is Liberatore trying to make an issue out of it.

Both McGroarty and Liberatore called on Miller to release his records. It was how they asked that set them apart.

McGroarty was very smart in how he handled this issue. If Miller didn't come up with military records, like he requested, he would have had the high ground to ask that Miller resign. Now that he has provided records, McGroarty looks like he wasn't just trying to score cheap political points. He will win votes because of it.

Liberatore, in contrast to McGroarty, has now opened himself to allegations of playing politics. McGroarty said in his release, "One of my opponents, who never served our country, is calling out Miller for his military service and is “grandstanding” on an issue he knows nothing about."

Liberatore has also bolstered the image that Miller has tried to paint him with. Miller has sent out mail piece after mail piece trying to make Liberatore look dishonest and untrustworthy. Liberatore's press release plays right into that.

16 comments:

  1. Wow, looks like Phil really has some egg on his face after this one. Wonder what his "Advisory Committee" thinks now. I still think that Miller was happy to use the "veteran" tag line until fairly recently when all the other scandals broke. I'm almost sure that I saw something on his Congressional website or his re-election website early in the campaign and it is not there now. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I'd sure like to find out if the site was changed and when.

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  2. Except that when you are counting the first and last day seven weeks would be fifty days, not 49 days. For example one week from today, if you counted today and next Wednesday, would be eight days.

    But why would would you try to count the days if you are citing an article to back up your point? The article says "about seven weeks," not exactly seven weeks. Why would a candidate for US Congress guess at how many days he served?

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  3. It think everyone seems to miss the point that Miller stated in his California Assembly Biography that he was a veteran from 1967-68 as stated in the Harpers article. Miller is a liar!

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  4. The fact remains miller claimed he served 2 years 1967-68. Why worry about 5 days?

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  5. "Why worry about five days?"

    Because your candidate put out a number that was incorrect and claims it was from Harper's. He could have just quoted the article but instead he made up a number and falsely cited it.

    Now the question is will he correct it. He called on Miller to come clean. He knows it is wrong but Liberatore has not corrected it yet.

    Regarding your biography comment. According to the Harper's article, which you cited, the guide says he served from 67-68. You said, "Miller stated," which is incorrect. It is a publication and it got it wrong. If Miller had been quoted in the guide saying he also served in 68 the Harper's article would have said that.

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  6. Check this out.

    www.nh.gov/revenue/munc_prop/documents/vetservverif.doc

    Read the last few lines. Miller's Form NA 13038 states that he was honorably discharged, yet his form doesn't supply any proof to that end, which is necessary to verify that his document is valid. More loose ends in an increasingly complicated situation....

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  7. "Miller spent about seven weeks in boot camp in the fall of 1967, at which point he was discharged (due to the fact that he had ulcers at the age of ten, he now says). Yet the publications cited above and a number of others — like the official members’ guide to the California State Assembly, where Miller formerly held a seat — reported that he served in the military between 1967 and 1968."

    I guess you forgot how to read Lucky.

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  8. Frank,
    Where did that quote come from? Not Harper's, which what you cited, and I replied to.

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  9. 42nd,
    The form you link to are the New Hampshire standards for tax breaks. How is that a federal standard?

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  10. Frank, as much as I want to join you in putting Gary's head on a pike, I think this is a dead end issue. I have yet to find anything that shows Miller flaunted his service. The only old thing I found said when he was asked directly about his military record he stated he didn't talk about it. While I still find the quote from the book laughable, Miller seems like he did serve honorably.

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  11. The state assembly record bio is an official statement by Gary Miller. Gary is dead to rights!

    That quote is from the Harper's Story!

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  12. Where does the article say it is a statement from Miller? If it is then that would be the proof. Obviously the author was looking at the guide.

    "Gary is dead to rights! That quote is from the Harper's story!"

    I wonder if you wrote the Liberatore press release because neither of those statements are from the story.

    Below is the only mention of the Assembly guide.

    "In 1996 and 1997, Miller had a seat in the California State Assembly. His biography in the official guide to members for both of those years says he served in the Army between 1967 and 1968."

    No where does it say it was his "statement" or "Gary is dead to rights!"

    Maybe I need to be clearer. When you say something is a quote, it needs to say those exact words. Not what you think it says.

    The Harper's article we cite above does not contain the "quotes" you wrote.

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  13. uhhhh...am i missing something? this is the first thing that popped up on Google search... research much?

    http://harpers.org/archive/2010/06/hbc-90007154


    "Miller spent about seven weeks in boot camp in the fall of 1967, at which point he was discharged (due to the fact that he had ulcers at the age of ten, he now says). Yet the publications cited above and a number of others — like the official members’ guide to the California State Assembly, where Miller formerly held a seat — reported that he served in the military between 1967 and 1968."

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  14. First, I have seen that article. But that is not the article we cited in this article, so how was I suppose to know he was referencing a different article when he said "the Harper's article." Duh

    Just a friendly reminder that we will block multiple user names from the same IP address.

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  15. Frankthetank,
    We blocked you because you kept guessing names, which you continue to do, not because we were just looking to block your comments.

    By the way, to answer your question on your twitter page, Peterson lost the "Ag Commish" election.

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