Ehrlich on Washington column, November 23, 1997

( 1 407 York Road, Suite 304 Lutherville, Maryland 21093 MEWS FROM Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. Second Congressional District of Maryland 3 1 5 Cannon House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 1 EHRLICH ON WASHINGTON Week of November 23, 1997 By Congressman Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. LISTER’S COMMENTS AN INSULT TO MARINES, MILITARY Like you, I am often annoyed by the dumb comments that emanate from the Clinton Administration, such as the President’s remark that Virginia voters were “selfish” for wanting to eliminate the state’s oppressive property tax on cars and trucks. But when former Assistant Secretary of the Army Sara Lister called the U. S. Marines “extremist” and “a little dangerous,” I hit the roof! My father is a retired Marine who served with honor and distinction during the Korean War. He is very proud of his service, and I am proud of him, too. When Mrs. Lister, a Clinton appointee, uttered her defamatory comments, she insulted my father and every man and woman who has ever worn the proud uniform of the Marines. Upon learning of Mrs. Lister’s remarks, I demanded her immediate resignation. Ultimately, Mrs. Lister did resign, and not a moment too soon as far as I am concerned. While I am pleased that Mrs. Lister is gone, I am still bothered by one nagging question: how did someone with such outrageous views ever wind up in such a high-ranking Pentagon job? Mrs. Lister’s views are better suited to a 1960s-era campus radical than an Assistant Secretary of the Army, so why did President Clinton pick her for this sensitive post? C In other words, the Lister affair reopens lingering questions over just exactly where President Bill Clinton stands when it comes to our men and women in uniform. As a graduate