Is Murtha in Trouble at Home?
There are troubling signs building for the anti-war, anti-military hawk...
Warren "Bones" Bonesteel Sgt USMC 1976-1983 writes in explaining the position the Representative Hawk finds himself in:
Diana Irey is becoming a serious contender.Texas Rainmaker has Murtha's latest reassurance to the terrorists.
Vets for Irey has video of Diana and a place for veterans to sign up to help in her campaign to "Dump Murtha."
The primaries for the 12th District were held on the 16th of May. Most of Murtha's public words and appearances about Haditha occurred afterwards. His allegations are since proving to be less than accurate.
In a portion of the state of Pennsylvania where people have ancestors and family members who've fought in every war from Phillip's War to Iraq, such words and public statements by Mr. Murtha will not be well received. (Think: Patriotic "Zell Miller" Democrats.) Mrs. Irey is quite properly bringing that issue to the voter's attention.
Also, with a quick Google search ("Veterans Irey"), you will see many Veterans and Veteran's groups around the nation who are beginning to mobilize for Diana's Irey's campaign. What is currently to be found on Google tells less than half the story. A number of individual Veterans and groups are presently preparing to visit the district in order to work with and for Mrs. Irey's campaign.
Among other things,
1.) as neither Murtha nor Irey were opposed in the primaries,
2.) and in view of Murtha's ongoing and virulent attacks against (Pennsylvania) military service members after the primaries,
3.) and in view of Pennsylvanian's willingness to "throw the bastards out" over the last two years...
4.) and with her stand on taxation and family issues,
5.) and in view of the fact that on the morning of the 14th of June, the RNC chariman's daily report contained a brief on her campaign,
6.) and that Grassroots.org and other PACS and 527's are now aware of and considering support for her campaign,
7.) and that her campaign has received individual contributions from 46 states,
8.) and that many Veteran's and Veteran's groups and other civilian activists around the nation are mobilizing support for her campaign,
9.) and that a number of members of Free Republic, as well as a growing number of other conservative websites, groups, lists, blogs and newsletters, who have expressed support for her campaign,
10.) as well as evidence arising that questions Murtha's publicly claimed military record,
...Mrs. Irey may just have more of a chance than many might think...
NOTE:
14 June, 2006: Free Republic "Live Thread" with Diana Irey gets 16,000 page views in less than 24 hours.
(average thread gets less than a thousand page views.)
14 June, 2006: Vets for Irey reports individual grassroots contributions to Irey's campaign have been received from 46 states.
DIANA IREY for CONGRESS
600 Park Avenue
Monongahela, PA 15063
http://www.irey.com/
Phone: 724-258-2300
Fax: 724-258-8600
Email: Diana@Irey.com
Warren "Bones" Bonesteel
Sgt USMC 1976-1983
Austin Bay has more thoughts on this defeatist democratic.
posted by Gateway Pundit at 6/16/2006 04:10:00 AM
35 Comments:
Just sent my $199 to Irey's campaign ...
dump murtha!
I've been reading "Charlie Wilson's War" and see that Senator Murtha was implicated in the ABSCAM scandal. I wonder if people know this.
Murtha is right now white bread. He will soon be toast. Heh!
If the wikpedia entry is correct, Murtha was one of the few officials to refuse the bribe right off.
Let's stick to criticizing where he's actually wrong, eh?
"If the wikpedia entry is correct, "
In the case of a controversial person revered by the Left, one can safely disregard the Whackypedia.
On the other hand, allegations like the above against Murtha, or anybody, should have some substantiation.
The fact that she is a total babe doesn't hurt.
Here's some background.
And she is Irey mon!
Total babe is right! I have a late addition to the "Hottest Woman in U.S. Politics" poll over at politics1.com. If she wins, just how long do you think it will take the GOP to make sure Irey gets some prominent speaking duties (e.g., at the 2008 national convention)?
Has anyone seen any polling here? While I'd like to believe that Murtha is in trouble, I see no reason to actually believe this. (Pageviews on Free Republic? Sounds to me like you've got nothing better.)
I'm maxing out to Irey's campaign.
Consider this a blogspot trackback:
Unlawful Command Influence. Which is mostly about how Murtha is in trouble over his Haditha comments.
Send Mertha a burka.
He talks more like a neutered Arab than an American.
TraitorCrat John Murtha--Phony Hero--Genuine Traitor--Aiding and abetting the terrorist enemy--undermining the US Military at every opportunity. He is a typical liberal who I call a TraitorCrat.
From what I understand apparently anyone can write an entry for Wikipedia and, then, anyone can edit or change that entry. Thus Wiki, it seems to me, is more a barometer of the current state of play than a serious reference source.
In theory a great idea, in practice an invitation to "put some lipstick on that pig," create an alternate reality or otherwise rewrite or bury inconvenient real history.
I totally agree that Murtha has to go. Please excuse a little editorial nit-picking here, but I found your reference to "anti-war hawk" confusing, since the "hawk" designation has traditionally meant Congresspersons who are "pro-war" ("dove" meant "anti-war"). Possibly you may be trying to make it sound like he is a warrior for the anti-war side, but it is as confusing as the MSM's designation of all the socialist U.S. states as "blue" and the loyal ones as "red."
Otherwise, fabulous blog post and go get 'im.
Here's probably an accurate summary of Murtha's unindicted actions as a co-conspirator with Abscam from Townhall.com
According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "Murtha was one of eight members of Congress lured to a Washington, D.C., townhouse by a team of FBI agents posing as representatives of a fictitious Arab sheik. They handed out briefcases filled with $50,000 in return for helping the sheik gain residency in the United States."
Noting that Murtha "is not squeaky clean," the Brattleboro, Vt., Reformer reported that the congressman "did not take the cash" offered by the agents. Instead, "he asked the fake sheik to consider investing some money in his struggling home town, Johnstown."
The Washington Post referred to the incident as "an ethical scrape" in which Murtha was "named as an unindicted co-conspirator and testified against two House colleagues."
But, a videotape of a Jan. 7, 1980 Abscam-related meeting involving Murtha shows that the congressman's rejection of the offered bribe was less than definite. "I'm not interested. I'm sorry," Murtha told the FBI agent, but added that he meant "at this point. See Video.
"You know, we do business for a while, maybe I'll be interested, maybe I won't," Murtha said on the FBI videotape.
The congressman told the undercover FBI agent that he was a member of the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct and acknowledged: "If you get into heat with politicians, there's no amount of money that can help."
In November 1980, the Justice Department announced that Murtha would not face prosecution for his part in the scandal. "I did not consider that any money was offered, and certainly none was taken," Murtha told reporters. "The FBI who taped the entire conversation knows damn well no money changed hands."
Just hours after the July 1981 House Ethic Committee vote sparing Murtha from charges, E. Barrett Prettyman, Jr., special counsel for the panel's Abscam investigation, abruptly resigned. At the time, Prettyman refused to discuss with the press his reasons for stepping down.
When contacted by Cybercast News Service regarding the investigation, Prettyman called the Murtha situation "very interesting," but declined further comment, citing the need to maintain attorney-client privilege.
Similarly, when Prettyman was interviewed by the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call in 1990, the former special counsel declined to comment on why he had resigned. But when pressed on whether the resignation was due to the Ethics Committee's vote on Murtha, Prettyman said that would be "a logical conclusion."
http://www.townhall.com/news/ext_wire.html?rowid=46427
I disagree with John Murtha on the war - however, he is an American hero and a man of incredible character, and those of you calling him a traitor could likely never hope to equal a tenth of his contributions to our country.
I resent your assertion that Zell Miller is anything other than a liar and a scoundrel.
I love anonymous commenters who call former marines cowards because of policy disagreements. Its so brave. Murtha may be right, he may be wrong, but a lot of military people still respect him. So are they traitors too, just because they respect Murtha?
Send Murtha a burka! LOL! He oughta be supporting the troops instead of trying to get them killed.
Drop #10.
Thanks for the link to Diane's campaign. I made a modest contribution!
I love anonymous commenters who call former marines cowards because of policy disagreements.
Then you must really love ex-marines who - without evidence - call serving marines "cold blooded murderers" because of policy disagreements. Its so brave.
She looks like a solid, smart, and yes, very attractive candidate, but I'm far from convinced that's a competitive district. Nobody ran against Murtha in 2004. It's not on Sabato's Dirty 30 or even his 20 to Watch. Sabato's pretty casual about updating his lists, so maybe she does stand a chance, but I want to see some polling data first.
I knew fellows who received Purple Hearts while in 'Nam because they got hurt while playing touch football during break time!
Papajake
Murtha should be forced out of office. He is senile. This is from a 30 year veteran.
He's definately in trouble, latest polls indicate he's a goner. This race will show that stupid kos kids! They back losers, not winners like Irey. Join me in sending Irey money! Victory is assured.
GeorgiaMike
Actually, I didn't see anything on the page describing Murtha as a 'coward' at all. Did I miss something (always possible), or was that a straw-man argument ?
As for "traitor," which some people have called him, that is not a reflection of courage. I don't think anyone called Benedict Arnold a "coward."
What I'll call him is a dingbat who is either unhinged about the war, or so eager to score political points that he rushes to judgement in baldly accusing the marines of misconduct at a time when he could not, repeat not legitimately have substantive proof of their guilt.
And unless you're a witness to the crime or a prosecutor, you don't accuse someone of serious crimes without proof.
I'm not saying he's unhinged because of his stance on the war -- that would be a different post. But rather solely because of his statements about some marines who may have done something, that might have been bad, somewhere.
(That statement, by the way, is an accurate reflection of the facts at the time that Murtha opened his mouth the first time.)
Since the investigation had only BEGUN when that pompous blowhard (see, I am not calling him a coward) saw fit to impugn a warrior's honor, it's obvious to any rational person that Murtha's reality clutch is slipping.
I am not complaining about the USMC investigating -- that's SUPPOSED to happen. And any time an investigation demonstrates sufficient cause, a general court-martial should be convened. And any service member fairly accused and fairly convicted should do the time.
But when you are a political leader, the very idea of accusing folks who have not even been investigated yet is unconscionable.
Put another way, the prosecutor is allowed to call you a pedophile before the Grand Jury is even concluded. He's an advocate of the state and the accuser. But a judge is not allowed to act or speak the same way on the record.
Suppose allegations had been made that you, georgiamike, are a pedophile. Anyone can make such an accustion. And suppose that an investigation had started. What would be your response to having the mayor of your own town (a person who is not directly in the judicial chain, but is a very influential voice) saying
"Georgiamike raped at least 3 girls under the age of 16." ?
Now imagine that the Grand Jury had only just been impaneled that morning, and hadn't considered all the testimony and evidence yet.
How would you feel ?
As for Murtha's follies: It's not about courage. And it's not even about the war. It's about unfairly and precipitously accusing people of savage crimes before they are convicted, or even before they've been completely investigated.
Note carefully that in the accusations of rape made againt you, as in the case of blowhard Murtha, it matters not one bit whether or not you actually did rape someone. Even if you were convicted, that would not excuse the mayor from saying what he said when he said it, since he could not have had certain knowledge at the time (unless he were a participant or an eyewitness -- but that does not apply to Murtha).
(This principle, by the way, is enshrined in the federal rules of evidence. Ask an investigator about the 'rule of 40' sometime)
And don't even get me started on how irresponsible it is for any congressman to do this while a war is going on. Even if one opposes the war in Iraq, and wants to exit the war, giving "hearts and minds" ammunition like this to the folks that your own side is fighting against is quite literally rendering aid and comfort to the enemy. Murtha doesn't WANT the US in Iraq. He keeps calling for our withdrawal. Those actions are legitimate. But falsely providing statements with a high propoganda value to the enemy is (IMHO) the mark of a scum so eager to get his name in the news he'll do so by stepping on anyone who gets in his way. Even US Marines -- which as an ex-marine he's supposed to feel loyalty to.
Look, if an investigation concludes that evil has been perpetrated, any congressman (or mayor, in my previous example) should "deplore the barbaric actions of a few bad actors like that pedophile XXX."
But "presumed innocent until proven guilty" is not just a phrase -- it's a philosophy.
One would think that a civic leader would show civic leadership skills. Or at least some sort of leadership skills. And I don't count demagogueryb among those skills
The idea crossed my mind that it might be a good idea for Veterans for Irey to march in a 4th of July parade in her district. Rather than making a lot of noise and looking like a pack of clowns as the Veterans For Peace do, these guys could put in a respectable, quiet, serious march as part of a parade on our Independence Day.
I realize this post is about Murtha, but, we can wrap up the whole stinking lot of them:
Here is what two of the House Democrats, Dumb and Dumber, said in the past few days:
House Minority Leader, Nancy Pelosi, Democrat, California, on the House resolution that was passed 256-153 vote that praised United States troops, linked the Iraq war to the global War on Terror and rejected an "arbitrary date for the withdrawal or redeployment." WITHOUT PELOSI (: "I will vote against this resolution because it is an affirmation of (President Bush's) failed policy in Iraq.....The war in Iraq has been a grotesque mistake .. stay the course? I don't think so, Mr. President"
Congressman Jack Murtha, the un-military hero Democrat from Pennsylvania ranted about the lack of success of our military, need for withdrawal, and compared Americans to Saddam Hussein:
Rep. John Murtha (D-PA): "We can't win this." (Rep. John Murtha, Congressional Record, 6/15/06, p. H4028)
Rep. Murtha: "We are causing the problem."(Rep.John Murtha, Congressional Record, 6/15/06, p. H4028)
Rep. Murtha Claims Americans Are Driving Iraqis Out Of The Country, Just Like Saddam Hussein.
Rep.Murtha: "Almost 900,000 people left when Saddam Hussein was there... The time we have been there, 900,000 people have left the county." (Rep. John Murtha, Congressional Record, 6/15/06, p. H4027) Source: GOP.Com
In the history of the world, every great society comes to an untimely demise because of ineffective leadership and whackos.
Presently, America is strong and resolute. We have a good President. However.....
Jack Murtha, John Kerry, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Joe Biden, Dick Durbin and the rest of the left can mismanage how to use the military and undercut the President's war on terrorism.
Ineffective "metro-males," Dhimmis, and liberal will probably continue to work against American society and our core values.
It is this humble blogger's opinion that the Donk Lefti, Dhimmis, et. al., joined with politically correct entities such as the 9th Circus Court and ACLU, work against "Mom, John Wayne, and apple pie." One might surmise that the left wing and their politically correct agenda are chipping away at the very fabric of our great country.
Are we in deep kimchee? Do we not realize it?
Murtha is a western PA Democrat. This is enough, by itself, to convince me that he is a coniving, crooked sumbitch.
This opinion, BTW, is the result of having watched the soft underbelly of politics as a child - my mother was a Dem ward committeewoman in Allegheny county.
Murtha's not the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree, and he pretty much does what the party bosses tell him. Pelosi's issued the marching orders; he's stepping out.
That he would spew lies for (what he thinks is) short term political gain is unsurprising.
P.S. georgiamike - if you're ever out to Oregon, let me know; we can have dueling DD-214's.
President Bush: "I support motherhood and apple pie!"
Nancy Pelosi: "The President's remarks are hurtful to couples who are unable to conceive a child, and offensive to people who are allergic to apples."
.
I haven't seen reference to Irey as a vet. Who can tell me what branch she served in?
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