This is a rush transcript from “Hannity,” March 31, 2010. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
SEAN HANNITY, HOST: Our “Conservative Victory” Tour, defeating America’s radical agenda continues here in Salt Lake City tonight.
And as November approaches, we will be highlighting conservative candidates who have the ability to reverse the leftward course of events in Washington, D.C.
My next guest is one of them. He is a Marine who served on missions in Liberia, Cuban, Japan, Korea, and most recently, in Iraq and Fallujah. He also served as a CIA officer in the Middle East and in Washington, D.C.
And joining me now is Idaho congressional candidate Vaughn Ward.
How are you? Good to see you.
CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE VAUGHN WARD, R-IDAHO : Thank you, Sean. Thank you very much. Appreciate it. Thank you very much, Sale Lake.
HANNITY: I think you’re going pretty well. You have — you have entered the Marine Corp in, what, 1995.
WARD: I did.
HANNITY: You served all of those countries that I mentioned. And then you volunteered, as I understand it, to — to do a mission in Fallujah in Iraq?
WARD: I did, Sean. I returned back to active duty in 2006, and I led a company of Marines into a city called Fallujah. And we went through a rough combat tour there. I was very proud to serve.
And you know, I’ve seen the ultimate sacrifice in watching these young men proud of these young men laying down their lives and risk everything.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
HANNITY: I agree. Getting a standing ovation here.
WARD: Thank you.
HANNITY: You know what’s amazing? We were told at the time that the war is lost and the surge has failed. I mean, when you were hearing those words from Harry Reid — look it’s funny because President Bush couldn’t win for losing.
They said he’s too stubborn; he won’t listen to other people. So he announces the surge and we’re going to be victorious, and he criticized, well, the war is lost; the surge failed.
What was it like for you being there, battling, fighting, leading the effort, to hear politicians in Washington dismissing the hard work you’re involved in?
WARD: You know, Sean, we actually read some of that and heard about it. And we said we don’t think we’re losing. We’re doing pretty good here. They must be talking about somewhere else.
So we felt very good about what was going on over there. And we through that the tide was changed and things were starting to shift.
2006 was a rough year, 2007 was harder. But there was a change that was occurring, and the politicians — Harry Reid, Barack Obama, nobody, Hillary Clinton — they were not listening to what was going on. The on-scene commanders were saying, “We’re doing a very good job here.”
HANNITY: And the reason is they politicized the war.
WARD: Yes they did.
HANNITY: Can it be stated any more plainly?
WARD: No. And it was very frustrating to hear that and be a part of that, so.
HANNITY: All right. Now, so I called into my radio show the other day, goes, “Hannity, the president flew to Iraq over the weekend. And you — you can’t find one nice thing to say about Barack Obama, blah, blah, blah.”
All right. So I’m listening. And I said, “Wait a minute. Isn’t that the same Barack Obama who accused our troops in Afghanistan of air raiding villages and killing civilians?”
WARD: And the one that has changed the rules of engagement so we can’t actually go out and do the job we’re supposed to be doing? That the same gu?
HANNITY: We’ve got — those rules of engagement, good point. We’ve got to warn people. By the way, in two weeks on Tuesday at 2 p.m., we’re going to be searching your home. That’s a really smart. Is that a smart way to deal with —
WARD: It doesn’t work out very well with the insurgents. They get it.
HANNITY: All right. So you watched this. You’re serving your country. You come back, part of a very successful military effort. Now, you’re going to — really go to battle. You’re going to head to Sin City out there in D.C. Are you out of your mind?
WARD: You know, Washington, D.C., when I talked to Idaho, they talked about it. You know, it’s morally bankrupt. It’s corrupt. They’re out of touch.
This is what Idaho is talking about. Idaho wants to lead the way in reclaiming Congress. In Idaho One we can do that. We have an 18 point advantage in this seat. If there’s a chance of stemming the — turning the tide against Nancy Pelosi, it starts in Idaho One. That’s what we’re going to do.
HANNITY: It’s going to start in every district, really, all around — all around the country.
WARD: I agree. It’s going to be that tsunami we saw that started in Massachusetts.
HANNITY: Don’t forget Virginia and New Jersey.
WARD: You’re right, you’re right.
HANNITY: Who would have thought, you know, a New Jersey governor thrown out, massive — massive margins. The problem is states like California, New York, New Jersey are bankrupt. The problem is America is now risking its AAA rating.
WARD: I saw that. Moody’s was just talking about denigrating it.
You know, in Idaho we have — we have a Constitution that says — or a Constitutional provision says, “You must balance your budget.”
We should be balancing our — but do it at home; we do it in our small businesses. Why aren’t we balancing the budget in Congress?
HANNITY: Isn’t that the common sense is missing in America? I mean, very simple stuff.
If anyone here in Salt Lake City, if they hit tough economic times — and I had some tough economic times in my life, I really have.
WARD: I have, too.
HANNITY: Starting out — I mean, I was painting my — my landlord’s barn to survive and cutting his lawn and doing anything I could. So I know what it’s like to struggle to pay rent. And this happened for many years in my life.
Everybody here, if they tried to ran into financial trouble, what’s the first thing you do? You tighten your belt. You cut back on spending. You probably find another source of income, short of taxing your neighbor and stealing from what they’re making.
WARD: Sean, what are you talking about? You’re talking personal responsibility and self-reliance. For me that’s what the American dream is about. Get the government out of our way. Keep the government at bay don’t let them get involved. We’ll take care of ourselves through our churches, our families. These are the strong things we do.
HANNITY: We want to wish all the best. We’re going to be highlighting a lot of conservatives like yourself. And we appreciate you being here.
WARD: Thanks for your time.
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