Seth Moulton, Iraq War Veteran and a staunch supporter of people’s rights
Photo: Seth Moulton Campaign
By: TRT Editorial Team—
Democrat Seth Moulton, has been on our radar since he won an upset primary victory against nine-term incumbent John F. Tierney in the run to represent Massachusetts 6th Congressional District.
A story by The Boston Globe characterizes Moulton as humble when it comes to referring to his acts of military heroism—underplaying a candidate’s accomplishments is not something that often happens in Washington. In an interview with The Globe, Moulton, an Iraq war veteran, explained that his desire to keep this part of his life private had to do with feeling “uncomfortable calling attention to his own awards, out of respect to many others who did heroic things and received no awards at all.’’ Let’s not forget that in his five years of service in the Marines, Moulton was awarded the Bronze Star medal for valor and the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation medals for valor.
Described as a progressive democrat, Moulton shares many of the political views that Tierney did, but he is a new face, with a past of service to his country and an innate tendency to be open to change—a trait that is not characteristic of politicians nowadays. Moulton opposes sending U.S. troops back to Iraq, but thinks that U.S. policy should be “to defeat” ISIS. [pullquote]If you are one of a large number of Massachusetts’ independent or still undecided voters, consider that a win for Tisei enables (as reported by a former TRT story) the “Republican Party’s Young Guns and Tea Party extremists to advance their emphatically hostile anti-gay, and anti-women agenda.”[/pullquote]
Enter Richard Tisei. An opponent of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), this is Tisei’s second run for the House. His first, he lost to eight-term then incumbent Rep. John Tierney of Salem. Like Tierney, Moulton is also from Salem.
If you are one of a large number of Massachusetts’ independent or still undecided voters, consider that a win for Tisei enables (as reported by a former TRT story) the “Republican Party’s Young Guns and Tea Party extremists to advance their emphatically hostile anti-gay, and anti-women agenda.” That is where equality is at stake and where Democrats have mostly voted to provide the LGBT community and women with just the opposite. An LGBT vote for the gay candidate may sound right, but there is more to this election than the desire to elect one of our own. When it comes down to it, Tisei is still a Republican candidate, and Republicans traditionally have not had the will of the people at the forefront of their priorities. Women, LGBTs, racial and ethnic minorities, immigrants, the elderly—they have mostly been tossed aside by the GOP, more than once. Tisei is a good gay Republican candidate, but he is not the voice of the people—especially not the voice of those who are oppressed and who are still struggling for equality and their rights, who need ACA for their healthcare and can’t afford any other form of insurance. Under Tisei, you wouldn’t have ACA as an option. Change comes from candidates who serve our community and commonwealth needs. A person does not have to be gay to do that. They have to know and understand the will of the people. Moulton is that candidate!
In addition, Moulton is a staunch supporter of equal rights for all Americans. At the forefront of many LGBT issues is the transgender community, who are fighting for equal protection under the law as it relates to gender identity. Aaron Bartnick, Seth Moulton Campaign Spokesman, said to TRT: “Seth is a firm supporter of transgender rights and will fight for the equality of all Americans in Congress.” Including transgender rights is in his agenda is another reason why TRT endorses Moulton. [pullquote]Tisei is a good gay Republican candidate, but he is not the voice of the people—especially not the voice of those who are oppressed and who are still struggling for equality and their rights, who need ACA for their healthcare and can’t afford any other form of insurance.[/pullquote]
Lastly, of the “Issues” listed on Tisei’s website, there is a glaring absence of LGBT, immigrant, or women’s rights. In contrast, Moulton’s online page devotes time to explain where he stands on controversial issues that matter, such as the ISIS threat, women’s rights, LGBTQ rights, veteran rights, immigration, gun control, the environment and even fishing. He does not play it “safe” trying to cater to the political machine. That is an asset. Again, it’s Moulton!
Earning the endorsement of big-name politicians is not an easy feat for a newcomer to politics. Yet, Moulton has managed to be endorsed by a plethora of prominent leaders of the commonwealth, such as: Governor Deval Patrick, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senator Ed Markey; Congressman Richard Neal, Congressman Jim McGovern, Congresswoman Niki Tsongas, Congressman Joe Kennedy, Congresswoman Katherine Clark, Congressman Mike Capuano, Congressman Stephen Lynch; State Senator Joan Lovely (Salem), State Senator Tom McGee (Lynn), State Representative Lori Ehrlich (Marblehead),State Representative Ann-Margaret Ferrante (Gloucester), State Representative Ken Gordon (Bedford), State Representative Jerry Parisella (Beverly), State Representative Ted Speliotis (Peabody); Mayor Ted Bettencourt (Peabody), Mayor Mike Cahill (Beverly), Mayor Kim Driscoll (Salem), Mayor Donna Holaday (Newburyport) and Mayor Carolyn Kirk (Gloucester) among many, many others.
Another endorsement came from former U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, who recently stated: “The Republican Party’s control of the House clearly means that nothing that I care about is going to get advanced, including LGBT rights. You’ve got a very conservative control of the Republican Party, and it really, unfortunately, doesn’t matter what some individual Republicans say.” We concur.
