This thing's got quotation marks all over it!

And he wasn't even talking about "global warming."

U.S. Rep. Jim Marshall's emailed statement in response to retired Maj. Gen. (and Republican hopeful in the 8th Congressional District) Rick Goddard's comments earlier this week.

It's amazing what some people will say or do to get elected. In his political attack, General Goddard said I was absent for "the debate" on the Farm Bill because I was traveling "overseas" and failing to do my "duty."

First of all, the General obviously doesn't know how things get done in Congress. Before I left for my long scheduled "overseas," trip the Farm Bill debate was over in the Ag Committee - the bill was drafted and noses counted. And I knew I'd be back in time to help move the Farm Bill through the full House.

But the General's "overseas" and "duty" references are arguably unbecoming. He knows I was embedded with a Special Forces A team in a remote base along the Pakistan border. But he just calls that being "overseas." And if he doesn't think that's my "duty" as a Member of the Armed Services Committee, the General's not ready to represent Georgia in Congress. This isn't San Francisco.

I wrote a five-part series about my trip to Afghanistan. And I hope the Moultrie Observer will print it. That will let people know why it was my "duty" to make that "overseas" trip.

Folks, I don't know Congressman Marshall as well as some, but when I hit the San Francisco reference I thought to myself "This is as pissed off as Jim Marshall gets."

As for the five-part piece referenced, it ran in The Telegraph, on our viewpoints page. It's not particularly well archived, so it's not simple to link here. But you can find it by searching at www.macon.com.

I've got a call into Gen. Goddard, but don't know if I'll reach him this evening.