You know, Murtha may be a decorated vet, but the old saying "there's no fool like an old fool" seems to apply to him. What's in it for this guy, for him to want to undermine the troops? And as far as his being a "hawk", the man called the war "unwinnable" back in May '04 and voted against the War in Iraq Anniversary resolution, so this is really nothing new. He is just jumping on the bandwagon with all the other Democrats who could care less about what happens to this country. All they care about is THEMSELVES. Their only aim is to undermine the Bush Admin, with the hope that it will result in them regaining control of Congress. They don't look any further down the road than next year's election.
Do they really think the American public believes that they CARE about the troops? Do they really think the American public believe that the Democrats truly understand the nature of the enemy we now face? The truth is that they think the voters are stupid sheep that believe something just because its being repeated over and over again by the likes of Kerry, Kennedy, Pelosi along with some spineless Republicans, all of which think this puts them on the road to reelection.
I was flabbergasted too to hear it. If you go to ITM, there's a link over at Iraq The Model where the Egyptian Foreign Minister actually ENDORSES a prolonged stay of US troops in Iraq, at least till the country is able to defend itself.
No fool like an old fool, yes indeed. Is Mutha possibly a Vietnam War vet the way John Kerry and Max Cleland are?
OK, possibly not fair. Still, there are just 100 Senators in the States; And it's a country of 300 million. So I understand that to become a US Senator, you have to be a really, really CAPABLE personality. At least very intelligent. And then this doofus say something so utterly stupid, while victory is within reach... I was baffled.
Sorry Mike, but it was in the House, not the Senate. The bar is a bit lower there...
It was at least partially what the Democrats are claiming - a political ploy. It was a stunt, plain and simple. However, if the Democrats didn't so predictably howl in shocked outrage at the suggestion that they should put their money where their mouths are, such stunts couldn't work. They could pre-empt all future such stunts by saying what they mean, meaning what they say, and voting to prove it.
The bar is a bit lower there...
My bad. Ok, but still, there's what? something like 432 reps. So a US House representative is still not exactly your average guy.
It was at least partially what the Democrats are claiming - a political ploy.
Guess you mean what the Republicans are claiming?
I agree completely, Peter The Democrats seem to have gone completly irresponsible.
It was one thing when Michael Moore and International ANSWER said "Bush Lied, people died". It is quite another when supposedly mainstream Democrats start repeating the kookiest conspracy theories, and give Murtha a standing ovation for his disgraceful speech.
And Mike, thanks for the info about the Egyptian minister. I can see why he'd want the US to stay, because after his countrys long battle with the Muslim Brotherhood the last thing he wants is a terrorist state only a few hundred miles away. Or maybe I should say, "another terrorist state." Iran is bad enough.
Whether the GOP pulled a "stunt" or not depends I suppose on your perspective. But you make an excellent point about the Dems not putting their money where their mouths are. They set themselves up, and they got what they deserved.
It all goes to show that one, Bush needs to get his act together and reemerge as the leader he was up until recently, and two the Democrats need to get their heads on straight and stop acting like the party of George McGovern.
So a US House representative is still not exactly your average guy.
Actually, most of them are. Remember, the House is where Jim Trafficant was, and where Maxine Waters has served several (at least 6) consecutive terms...
Although both House Representatives and Senators are Congressmen, you'll find that Senators prefer to be called Senators. You'll also find that Representatives prefer being called Congressmen, in the hope that someone will confuse them for Senators... they have a wicked case of status envy.
Guess you mean what the Republicans are claiming?
You're right, they are too, it was just that I'd only heard it from Dems at that point.
Whether the GOP pulled a "stunt" or not depends I suppose on your perspective.
I disagree. They advanced a bill that they did not support, did not advocate, and did not vote for. It was tabled for the express purposes of failure and publicity. If the shoe fits, I don't think that one's perspective really matters.
Good post and comments...
The Vietnam cut'n run virus is still alive and kicking. Murtha seems to think that only military vets should be able to speak on war issues...OK-Here's some from a retired Marine.
Kerry's once again showing how full of himself he is by scolding republicans for "swift-boating" poor Murtha. I guess he's trying to genericize that phrase. Did anyone see any "swift boat" style attack?
Well, the msm is, of course, downplaying what Murtha actually said about troop withdrawal. If you listened to the most recent reports, all Murtha did was suggest that there be a timetable for getting the troops out. Well, I just read his speech (posted on his very own website) and it has what he said, right there, as follows:
My plan calls:
To immediately redeploy U.S. troops consistent with the safety of U.S. forces.
To create a quick reaction force in the region.
To create an over- the- horizon presence of Marines.
To diplomatically pursue security and stability in Iraq
What part off "immediately" does the msm not understand?
His proposal sounds just like the previous admin's policy of using our militaty in "police actions", the old "wait until something happens, then send in the marines".
Here is a good take on what the msm is doing.
As for the makeup of the House of Rep, there are an awful lot of NUTS holding office there.
The House Republican leadership should follow up the lopsided defeat of the "withdraw immediately" resolution with a "continue the fight in Iraq until the Iraqis can take up the fight themselves" resolution.
And the US Senate can undo some of the damage they did to the war effort last week by passing a similar resolution.
Let's find out which Senators and House members support victory in Iraq and which ones support allowing Iraq to become ruled by terrorists.
Stellar idea, Mark! If I had a conservative congress critter, I'd write them to suggest it. Maybe I'll write someone else's instead...
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