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Republicans defend troops' appearance at Bush rally

By REID MAGNEY / La Crosse Tribune

Published - Friday, June 11, 2004

Republican officials are defending the attendance of Fort McCoy troops at President Bush's rally in La Crosse. Advertisement

A group of local Democrats and others have filed complaints with the Pentagon about the circumstances under which hundreds of soldiers participated in the campaign rally May 7.

The group, calling itself Coulee Region Concerned Citizens, also has complained that local police, working with Bush campaign staff, infringed on their First Amendment rights to protest at the event. The La Crosse County Sheriff's Department is investigating whether La Crosse police violated policies and procedures.

State Rep. Mike Huebsch, R-West Salem, said Democrats and protesters have "turned the event into a black eye for our community."

"If the president does come back (to this area), the city of La Crosse will be dropped lower" on the list of possible locations, Huebsch said. "The city has worked hard to make sure he wasn't welcome."

Bush would be more likely to appear in Onalaska or West Salem, Huebsch said.

Raymond G. Boland, the former garrison commander of Fort McCoy and the retired Wisconsin secretary of veterans affairs, said he is "disappointed in the tone this has taken."

Boland, who attended the rally and sat behind President Bush with Col. Danny Nobles and Fort McCoy executive officer Ron Fournier, said the troops "wanted to be there," and were not ordered to attend the rally.

CRCC and Fort McCoy civilian attorney Al Novotne have alleged Nobles violated military prohibitions against partisan political activity by wearing his uniform to the rally. Novotne also has questioned whether the soldiers were there freely or under the control of senior noncommissioned officers.

A Fort McCoy spokeswoman said Thursday it is "not possible" for Nobles to comment because the complaints are under review.

Boland called the allegations "sensitive stuff" and said they come at a bad time. He said people should focus on the positive aspects of having soldiers at the rally.

"The most inspiring thing to me was how (the troops) were recognized and supported by the people," Boland said. "Those soldiers were inspired" by the people and the president, said Boland, who is Wisconsin state veterans chairman for Bush-Cheney '04.

Huebsch also shed some light on the Bush-Cheney campaign's awareness of rules against soldiers being in uniform at a campaign rally.

Huebsch said 48 hours before the rally, he was contacted by a Bush campaign official from Milwaukee asking where they could find T-shirts for the Fort McCoy troops to wear because they couldn't be in uniform.

Huebsch said he gave the campaign the names of some local companies, but doesn't know where the U.S. flag shirts actually came from.

Bush-Cheney spokeswoman Merrill Hughes Smith has said the campaign is "honored by Col. Nobles' support." She declined to comment on the appropriateness of soldiers wearing military uniforms to campaign rallies.

Video shot by WKBT-TV Ch. 8 at the "Ask President Bush" event at Cabela's in Prairie du Chien, Wis., shows Bush shaking hands with an unidentified uniformed soldier in the front row. The video also shows several men who appear to be wearing battle fatigues sitting in front-row seats.

Meanwhile, Bush supporters are taking aim at CRCC members, who include Karen Dahl of Viroqua, Third Congressional District Democratic chairwoman; Maureen Freedland, a La Crosse attorney; Democrat Hank Zumach of Stoddard; Guy Wolf of Stoddard, a peace and environmental activist who is not a Democrat; and Barbara Frank of La Crosse, a Sierra Club official.

"Are these truly concerned citizens or Democratic political activists?" said Milvia Stokes of Sparta. "Brave men and women from Fort McCoy about to go in harm's way in Iraq are criticized by this obscure group for attending their commander in chief's visit to La Crosse. How low!"

Holmen resident Les Davis said he thinks Novotne is the one who should resign from Fort McCoy, not Nobles.

"It's obvious Mr. Novotne does not support President Bush and doesn't want troops anywhere their commander is speaking," Davis said.

"If Mr. Fournier wants to attend such an event I really don't see a problem with it nor do I have a problem with the highest-ranking military officer in the area showing up to recognize his commander and chief," Davis said.

Novotne acknowledged that he is a Democratic Party member, but said his politics have nothing to do with his position.

"If this was soldiers attending a (John)Kerry rally, I'd do the same thing," Novotne said.

Reid Magney can be reached at [phone] or [e-mail].

Copyright 2004 La Crosse Tribune

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