The PBS program NOW, recently came to Central Texas looking for election stories where the war in Iraq might impact Congressional races. They interviewed John last week, as well as Democrat Mary Beth Harrell. Mary Beth is running in Congressional District 31, against Republican incumbent John Carter. That district includes Fort Hood, and the District 31 race was the focus of the PBS TV program that aired Friday Nov. 3rd, entitled “Sway the Course”.
NOW program producers had so much good video they shot with John, but very little opportunity to air it all in one program. The producers decided to make John’s interview a web exclusive.
From the PBS NOW web site:
About John Courage
John Courage is one of the so-called “fighting Dems,” one of over 60 veterans from around the country seeking higher office as a Democrat. Courage is running for Congress in the 21st district in Texas, which includes the city of San Antonio, a city known as ‘military town U.S.A.’ His opponent is Republican incumbent Lamar Smith.
Courage, who believes U.S. forces should withdraw from Iraq as quickly as possible, hopes his military service will help him win. “Now is the time for Democrats, particularly veteran Democrats, to stand up and say, ‘You know we’re tired of being told we’re unpatriotic as a Democratic party,'” Courage told NOW.
You can go onto the PBS NOW website and view the web interview segment titled Vets for Congress
The video has very high quality production and is very focused on on the war issue. There’s a nice segment where two Vietnam veterans, Emilio Serrano and “Dutch” Berkley, speak out against the war. Their concern for our military is personal and well stated. They’ve served their country before and they’ve been down this same road before. They think it’s time to bring the troops home, and they’re stepping up to help John Courage get elected because John shares that military experience with them. Veterans supporting veterans. This is one of the most important issues in this race.
You can also read the transcript of the program on the PBS website.