"Noriega, citing U.S. deaths in Iraq, stills Web site" article

There was an article in the Austin Statesmen yesterday entitled "Noriega, citing U.S. deaths in Iraq, stills Web site". Rick Noriega (I appologize for not mentioning this in my last post) is Texas' Democratic senate nominee. The article is about how he's using his website to bring awareness to the deaths of US soldiers in Iraq and his opposition to the war. It spurred two comments, both critisizing Noriega. The main comment was from a veteran who has returned from Iraq. He's accusing Noriega of exploiting the deaths for his own political gain. Maybe the commenter is right, but my first reaction is actually the opposite. I feel Noriega is probably using his public notice as a candidate to speak about an issue that's important to him. First, Noriega served in Afganistan. Second, I'm not certain, but I don't think opposing the Iraq war is something that will get you a lot of votes in Texas. A lot of Noriega's campaign focuses on how he's a good old boy from Texas, even though he's a Democrat. I'm not sold that he's exploiting the soldier's deaths, when he's calling out to end the war and spare those who have not yet died.