Vince Micco

Vincent "Vince" Micco was in the U.S. Army Reserve "for nine years when he was called to active duty in February 2003 shortly before the U.S. invasion of Iraq" and served a "twelve month tour of duty in Iraq starting in March of 2003", working "mostly in the Sunni Triangle as a counter-intelligence officer."

In 2006, after being recruited by the GOP, Micco "unsuccessfully challenged" five-term Democratic incumbent Rep. Steve Rothman, receiving only 28% of the vote in New Jersey's 9th Congressional District. Micco ran as a "pro-life, pro-lower taxes veteran of the war in Iraq who is willing to say that we should not abandon the people of the Middle East to Fascism." He is currently 3rd Vice President of the Rutherford, N.J., Republican Club.

On August 28, 2007, identifying himself as "Sergeant", Micco announced in an email that he is "leading New Jersey's chapter" of the pro-war in Iraq Republican front group Vets for Freedom, "which is trying to counter the message of anti-war protests," Micco wrote.

2008 Congressional Republican candidate
George Ajjan wrote June 8, 2007, about the strengths and weaknesses of Micco as a candidate for the 2008 congressional election:


 * Pros:
 * conservative credentials - Few would challenge Micco's dedication to conservative causes. He's a respected veteran and the "RINO hunters" around the county would find little to target.
 * party involvement and loyalty - Micco has been a loyal Republican foot soldier for years, a Bergen County Young Republican officer (when the group was functional), plus he took on Steve Rothman in 2006.
 * youth - Micco is young, and thus his selection would represent somewhat of a changing of the guard and an investment in the up-and-coming generation of Republican leadership, dovetailing nicely with the wins of Scott Rumana and Jay Webber, as well as the promotions of O'Toole and Bill Baroni to name a few.


 * Cons
 * fundraising - some would suggest that Micco did not rock the boat raising money for his 2006 congressional run, and therefore he wouldn't be successful raising money as Chairman. While this is true, it reflects more the dynamics of the race than it does Micco's abilities - he would have raised much more than that had he chosen to run in D36.

2006 Congressional Republican candidate
Campaign profile: Micco "[a]ttended college but did not graduate"; was an "Honor graduate of U.S. Army Intelligence Academy" and was a "Sergeant in the Army who served in a counterintelligence unit"; is a "former executive director of the Bergen County Republican Organization" but "has never held public office."

His now inactive website states:


 * "Micco, who has been active in Bergen County Republican politics for years and served two terms as the head of the Bergen County Young Republicans, said he has the endorsement of the county Republican organization.

Micco "said he decided to run after Rothman called for a rapid pullout of U.S. troops from Iraq, saying that the war had hurt the military, the war on terrorism and the economy."

Compared 9/11 to Pearl Harbor
At the end of December 2006, the Iraq death toll for U.S. military surpassed that of September 11, 2001. Micco "compared the Sept. 11th attacks to the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor."


 * "'We surely lost more people in any given battle in World War II than we lost on Dec. 7,' he said. 'President Bush said it was going to be a long war. It's going to be a long war like the Cold War. Iraq is just one battlefront in the wider war on terrorism and there have been a lot of successes.'"

On leaving Iraq
"'It would be a grave mistake for America to turn and leave when we are driving al-Qaeda out of key areas and creating safe areas for Iraqis,' Micco said ... 'Retreating now would give al-Qaeda the safe-haven it seeks and embolden our enemies to launch new attacks against Americans at home and abroad.'

"Micco called Vets for Freedom a 'pro-victory' group and criticized 'defeatist activites' sponsored by moveon.org, which he said 'are organized by paid political organizers, often sent in from out of state.'"

Profiles
Micco is a mortgage banker from Rutherford, N.J., at the Kearny Federal Savings Bank of Wood Ridge, N.J.

Contact information
URL: http://www.miccoforcongress.com

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Freedom's Watch
 * Vets for Freedom: Opposing John Murtha and Supporting Joe Lieberman
 * war propaganda

By Vince Micco

 * Press Release: "Micco For Congress," PoliticsNJ.com, April 7, 2006.
 * News Release: "Murtha&mdash;The Jane Fonda of the Iraq War," Micco for Congress (NJReporter.com), June 7, 2006.
 * News Release: "Iraq War Vet Congratulates U.S. Troops on Killing Terrorist Leader. Says Democrat Cut-and-Run Strategy Would Have Prevented Taking Out al Zarqawi," Micco for Congress (NJReporter.com), June 8, 2006.
 * News Release: "Iraq War Veteran Supports Isreal's Defense Against Terrorists," Bergen County GOP, July 17, 2006.
 * News Release: "Rothman's Impeachment Comments Only Embolden Terrorists. Congressman Would Paralyze Nation For Political Gain," Micco for Congress (Hudson County Politics), August 25, 2006.
 * News Release: "Iraq War Vet Says Terrorist Are Trying to Influence U.S. Elections," Bergen County GOP, October 25, 2006.
 * News Release: "Micco Calls for Anti-Menendez Television Ad to Be Pulled," Bergen County GOP, October 25, 2006.
 * News Release: "Micco Calls State Supreme Court Ruling on Gay Marriage 'Disappointing' and a Bow to Political Correctness," Bergen County GOP, October 26, 2006.

About Vince Micco

 * "BCRO Chairman Guy Talarico Speaks Out," Ridgewood Republican Club, March 6, 2006.
 * Rebecca Santana, "Iraq veteran who supports war running for Congress (Republican)," Associated Press (Free Republic), March 28, 2006.
 * "Micco takes on Rothman for Congress," The Leader (N.J.), March 29, 2006.
 * "Iraq War Vet Fighting The Good Fight At Home," RiehlWorldView.com, June 15, 2006.
 * Xpatriated Texan, "Republican Disgraceful Attack Hits New Jersey," JohnEdwards.com Blog, June 17, 2006.
 * KnightHawk, "The Enemy In New Jersey," Your Two Sense Blog, June 19, 2006.
 * PocketAces, "Vince Micco & Todd Riffle Latest Republicans to Challenge Murtha's Courage," BlueJersey.net, June 22, 2006.
 * Ellen, "FOX News Plays Handmaiden To Karl Rove With 'Special Investigation' Into John Murtha," News Hounds, June 22, 2006.
 * Ellen, "Hannity & Colmes Panel Discussion Smearing Murtha Does Double-Duty Promoting Republican Candidate," News Hounds, June 23, 2006.
 * missreporter, "NJ Rep. goes on the record supporting impeachment investigation," The Daily Kos, August 8, 2006.
 * Ron Kessler, "Iraq Vet: Pullout Ratifies bin Laden's View," NewsMax, September 8, 2006.
 * Brendan Conway, "A Vet Runs in New Jersey. The longshot effort of a Republican challenger," The Weekly Standard, October 23, 2006.
 * Cindy Capitani, "GOP Micco hopes to unseat Rothman for Congress," The Leader (N.J.), November 2, 2006.
 * Melanie, "Memo to Neil Cavuto: Go to Iraq and Show Us All the Good Things You Claim the 'Liberal Media' is Ignoring," News Hounds, February 7, 2007.
 * Tom Jenneman, "Three Horse Race Developing for Bergen GOP Chair," Campaigns & Elections, June 19, 2007: "Also, it is possible that other candidates could throw their hats into the race before the committee takes a final vote. One possibilities is Vince Micco, who challenged incumbent U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman in 2006."

External resources

 * Political Campaign Contributions: Vincent Micco, United States House of Representatives (Congress), Campaign Finance Information '06 Election, CampaignMoney.com.