Rob Simmons picked up the endorsement of a prominent veteran and a national veterans groups this week, while another veterans organization went out of its way to dis the Republican running for U.S. Senate.
Iraq Veterans for Congress, a conservative PAC that gives money to candidates who are veterans, issued a press release denouncing Simmons for his previous support of card-check and cap-and-trade, as well as his support of abortion rights.
"I started following this race initially because I was excited when I learned that retired Army officer and former Congressman Rob Simmons was going to run for the U.S. Senate in Connecticut,'' the group's president, D. Patrick Mahoney, said in an interview. "Then I looked at Simmons' 16-year legislative record and his public statements."
But another veterans PAC, Vets for Freedom, has a different take.
"Through his years of uniformed service to our country, and his continued commitment to public service, Congressman (and more importantly, Colonel) Simmons demonstrates the best of America's warrior class,'' Pete Hegseth, the group's executive director, said in a statement. "Colonel Simmons would make an immediate impact in the Senate, by adding a much-needed veterans' perspective to crucial national security issues."
And Simmons also received the backing of retired Marine Lt. Colonel and POW Orson Swindle.
"As a Marine, a POW in Vietnam, and a public servant, I am of the opinion the greatest deficiency we have in government today is the lack of honorable, intelligent and dedicated public servants in Congress,'' Swindle said in a statement. "Rob Simmons life exudes these traits, and I am honored to support my fellow Vietnam veteran."