A.G. Gancarski
Julia Fletcher, a Navy intelligence veteran who withdrew her candidacy in Florida’s 4th Congressional District in June, endorsed John Rutherford Friday.
“John Rutherford is a street-hardened realist with a record that demonstrates care for every citizen,” said Fletcher. “John’s honest, pragmatic, and altruistic service to our community and his willingness to examine the issues and to listen closely to the public’s questions and concerns sets him apart from the other candidates. I am proud to express my support for his campaign.”
Rutherford said Fletcher’s support “underscores my campaign’s seriousness about protecting our country against radical Islamic terrorism and securing our border against illegal immigrants.”
FloridaPolitics.com talked to Fletcher Friday morning, where she amplified her reasons for endorsing Rutherford.
Among them: the looseness of the rhetoric of certain opponents.
“It’s ironic to say that you can’t trust a sheriff to protect you,” Fletcher said, referring to the assertion of Hans Tanzler earlier this week that, since Rutherford opposes the death penalty, the former Jacksonville sheriff may not be able to be “trusted to protect America.”
Fletcher, like Rutherford, is a Catholic who is pro-life and opposes the death penalty, a traditionally Catholic position that “seems to be a point of confusion for other candidates” in the CD 4 race.
Fletcher does not see “death in war” and “state-directed executions” as being the same thing, as “on the battlefield, killing is justified.”
Assertions to the contrary, Fletcher added, are a “simplistic way to view warfare and view life.”
“The more experience someone has on these issues,” Fletcher said, “the less they blow smoke.”
