On Election Day, Emir Hadzic went to the nation’s capital to participate in democracy.
He wasn’t casting a vote but asking a few Republican senators to change theirs.
Hadzic is a veteran, but he’s so much more than that. My friend and neighbor, he’s a Bosnian immigrant, a Muslim, a police officer, a beer drinker, a father, a husband — and a voter who tends to lean Republican.
Last week, the Wildwood resident was angry when Republicans in the Senate blocked known as the PACT Act, which would provide free health care services to veterans who were exposed to deadly toxins during their service.
People are also reading…
Hadzic says “it was the fist-bumping†of Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and others celebrating the defeat of the bill, that “pissed me off.â€
As a Marine gunnery sergeant in Afghanistan, Hadzic worked around one of the infamous burn pits where those toxins were rampant.
Hadzic’s health is fine, but millions of veterans have suffered sickness or death because of burn pits and exposure to other chemicals. Last week’s vote on the PACT Act — its full name is the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxins Act — failed because Republicans who had previously supported the bill flipped their votes. They were apparently angered over Democrats announcing an unrelated compromise on an inflation-fighting bill that includes money to combat climate change.
Among the Republicans who voted “no†on the bill were Missouri’s senators, Roy Blunt and Josh Hawley. After the failure of the bill, veterans and their top cheerleader, comedian and activist Jon Stewart, decided to rally on the Capitol steps until the bill came up for another vote. The veterans camped out on the Capitol steps for five days.
Hadzic decided he needed to be with his brothers. He took his teenage son along for the ride, to see American democracy in action.
“This country of ours promised to take care of us if we served in combat,†Hadzic said on the drive to Washington, D.C., in a video he posted on Twitter. “And it’s time to do it.â€
On my way to D.C. to make my voice heard by the US Senate. .
— Emir Hadzic 🌻 (@hadzic_emir)
Make Veteran’s voices heard!
Save me a spot !
By early Tuesday afternoon, he had met with Stewart and fellow veterans, and he had spoken to the offices of Blunt, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa.
He was having a harder time with Hawley, who was in ºüÀêÊÓƵ posting pictures of himself touring flood damage. “Hawley’s phone line had me on hold longer than Delta Air Lines,†he texted me, “so I’ll try again later.â€
This is why the votes on Election Day matter so much. Whether a county council person or a U.S. senator, the people we elect city by city, and state by state, ultimately take the votes that mean the difference in health care for veterans or women, in money to battle rising floodwaters, in determining how well we take care of the most vulnerable among us.
Hadzic is one voter, but he is not a veteran whom Hawley or other senators would be wise to ignore. Hadzic is a living, breathing example of the American dream, a man whose family came here to escape war before he signed up to go to battle for his new homeland. So when he says “this country of ours,†he means it in a way that people like me sometimes take for granted.
My family has lived in the United States for generations. I’ve never served in the military. When Hadzic talks about service, his voice resonates with power and credibility.
Last week’s vote on the PACT Act, where 25 Republicans changed their previous “yes†votes to “no†and then came up with lies to explain the switch, was a maddening example of our nation’s broken politics. It took the clear voice of somebody like Stewart, who relentlessly challenged the false narrative that something in the bill had changed on Fox News, Twitter and the steps of the Capitol. He shamed Republicans to the point that they planned to switch their votes again — back to “yes†— so veterans could get their health care and the negative press could stop.
A Message to and from Mister Senator Ted Cruz...Attorney at Law
— Jon Stewart (@jonstewart)
“I think we’re gonna win this tonight,†Hadzic texted me on Tuesday from the Capitol, after posting a video with Stewart and encouraging other Missourians to call Hawley and Blunt.
The win came a few hours later. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., brought the bill back up for final passage late Tuesday evening, and this time the PACT Act passed overwhelmingly, 86-11. Blunt and Hawley flipped their “no†votes to “yes.â€
“Activism works,†Hadzic told me in a phone call from the Capitol. “This was a win for veterans and their families. This was a win for America.â€