Valerie Plame & Joe Wilson Return “Political Courage” Award

Alternet - “It is unconscionable in our view to tie political courage to partisan activities… Democrats are not the only ones who demonstrate political courage,” wrote a furious Joe and Valerie Wilson on Friday, returning their “Political Courage” awards to the influential Pacific Palisades Democratic Club of California. In 2003 the two were victims of Republican partisan revenge. Now, in an apparent act of Democratic partisan revenge that actor and celebrity Ed Asner has called a “circular firing squad,” the club has just withdrawn its “Political Courage” award offer from Military Religious Freedom Foundation head Mikey Weinstein, who has led the fight against efforts by radical evangelical Christian groups to take over the United States military.

On May 21st Hollywood’s Fair Game, starring Noami Watts and Sean Penn, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. The movie is based on the lives of Joe Wilson and Valerie Wilson, whose secret identity as a CIA agent working undercover against nuclear proliferation under the name “Valerie Plame” was in 2003 exposed by syndicated columnist Robert Novak.

That stunning outing of Plame’s identity was widely perceived as ultimately partisan, anti-patriotic payback by Vice President Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, and the Administration of George W. Bush, for Former US Ambassador Joe Wilson’s opposition to the United States invasion of Iraq. Joseph Wilson is author of the new book, The Politics of Truth: Inside the Lies that Led to War and Betrayed My Wife’s CIA Identity: A Diplomat’s Memoir

In their Friday, May 28th letter to the Pacific Palisades Democratic Club Joseph and Valerie Wilson wrote that Military Religious Freedom Foundation founder and head Mikey Weinstein has placed his life on the line in an ongoing campaign that has “almost single handedly” helped to blunt illegal and unconstitutional coercive evangelizing in the US military. Read more.