Today, CongresswomanCarol Shea-Porter released the following response to a recent press release by NewHampshire Republican Party Chair Fergus Cullen. In the release, Cullen alleges that in a recent speech Shea-Porter "question(ed) 'freedom and liberty' as American values worth fighting for." No such statement appears in her speech.

The Congresswoman called on the New Hampshire Republican Party to detract his statement and to apologize to the people of New Hampshire.

STATEMENT

It is outrageous that a political functionary, Fergus Cullen, has questioned my patriotism inverting and distorting my words in my recent speech on the Iraq war. This is a deliberate misrepresentation, and he demeans the democratic process and stains the reputation of his own party.

After listening to hours of debate on Iraq in the past few days, I find it both ironic and deeply distressing that some politicians who continue to support the President's war, who stood silently while our troops went into battle without the proper equipment, and those who - in the vast majority - did not serve their country - are the same ones who use the sacred words "freedom" and "liberty" to paper over their own failures to provide oversight.

Most Americans understand that the President's war was a tragic mistake. It has enriched...

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