In 2006, Democrats ran a slew of veterans for office under the moniker “Fighting Dems.” It wasn’t a terribly successful effort — out of almost 60 candidates for office just five were elected, Virginia Senator Jim Webb and four more in the House.

Perhaps the Fighting Dems’ lack of success is in some way attributable to the fact that their opposition to the Iraq war was, well, militant.

Appearing across the street from the U.S. Capitol at a Vets for Freedom press conference, the organization’s chairman, Pete Hegseth, wants to make sure the voice of pro-war veterans is heard in Congress. According to Hegseth, winning in Iraq is a position that’s much more representative of the views of veterans.

“In 2006, the perception in the media was that it was the antiwar veterans, the guys who came home disgruntled, that were running for Congress and running to end the war,” Hegseth said. “That is not the case in 2008.”

Hegseth also noted that there are twice as many vets running for office in 2008 as 2006. And compared with 2006, twice as many of them favor finishing the mission in Iraq.

To demonstrate this commitment of pro-war veterans running for office, Hegseth arranged quite a backdrop: standing behind him at the podium in Upper Senate Park were 14 congressional candidates — all veterans, and all in support of winning in Iraq.

And while the pro-war vets were mostly Republican, Hegseth drew a sharp distinction between the goals of Vets for Freedom and the explicitly partisan Fighting Dems. “Nowhere on our dog tags did it say Republican or Democrat,” he said, adding that winning the war is a matter of “standing up for principle and country before politics and party.”

To that end, the Vets for Freedom press conference featured Rep. Jim Marshall, a Democrat from Georgia. Marshall is also a decorated Vietnam vet — he’s in the Army Rangers hall of fame — and one of the few Democrats in Congress consistently supportive of the war effort.

Of course, that the majority of congressional Democrats have been persistent in their opposition meant that some of those present would speak out. In addition to Marshal, the Vets for Freedom press conference featured veteran and senator James Inhofe (R., Okla.), who blasted Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) for publicly proclaiming that America was losing in Iraq. However, Inhofe made it clear that his patriotism — not his party — was offended. “That can’t happen in America — but it did,” he lamented. Also in attendance at the press conference was Tom Manion, one of the candidates in the race for Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District. The race in the 8th has attracted national attention because both candidates in the race are veterans and the campaign narrative hinges on the Iraq war. Manion’s opponent is incumbent Patrick Murphy, one of the few Fighting Dems elected in 2006. A decorated Iraq war veteran, the 34-year-old Murphy is one of the youngest members in the House. He’s also one of the most stridently anti-war members of Congress: he opposed the surge and co-sponsored the Iraq War De-Escalation Act of 2007 along with Rep. Mike Thompson (D., Calif.) and Sen. Barack Obama (D., Ill.). The one-term congressman now faces a tough November challenge, and it looks as if, this time, he’ll stay and fight. A successful business executive at Johnson and Johnson, Col. Tom Manion has served in the Marine Corps for 30 years — 11 on active duty and 19 in the reserves. Last year, Col. Manion’s son — Marine First Lieutenant Travis Manion, an Annapolis graduate and a nationally ranked collegiate wrestler — died in Iraq. The younger Manion was struck by sniper while providing covering fire for an already wounded Marine. Tom Manion’s presence at the press conference was significant in another respect. The previous day, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee began running ads in Minnesota on behalf of Al Franken which feature the grieving parents of a dead Iraq war veteran. In the ad, the parents blame their son’s death on Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman’s support for the “bad policies” of George W. Bush. Asked about the ad, Hegseth — a Minnesota native — condemned it. “It’s unfortunate that they are stooping so low,” he said. “The vast majority of those Blue and Gold Star families will stand up [for victory in Iraq].” Veterans generally support the Iraq war effort — the counterexamples of Webb and Murphy notwithstanding. That’s a big part of the reason why Hegseth wants more veterans in Congress. Hegseth noted that currently only 25 percent of congressmen are veterans — down from 50 percent in 1991, and 75 percent a decade before. “We are at a crucial time in the global war on terror, and these candidates are what this country needs to complete the U.S. mission in Iraq.” Hegseth is convinced that the U.S. military’s current strategy and leadership will secure victory in Iraq. But staying the course on that strategy and standing behind that leadership may first require other victories, closer to home, this November. – Mark Hemingway is an NRO staff reporter.