Who says Jack Murtha is conservative?

[IronLionZion]

http://www.house.gov/murtha/issues.shtml


http://www.ontheissues.org/PA/John_Murtha.htm


Obviously people who don't know jack. (pun intended)

# Voted NO on protecting the Pledge of Allegiance. (Sep 2004)
# Voted YES on constitutional amendment prohibiting flag desecration. (Jun 2003)
# Voted YES on Constitutional amendment prohibiting Flag Desecration. (Jul 2001)
# Voted NO on banning gay adoptions in DC. (Jul 1999)
# Voted YES on Amendment to prohibit burning the US flag. (Jun 1999)
# Voted NO on ending preferential treatment by race in college admissions. (May 1998)
# Supports anti-flag desecration amendment. (Mar 2001)
# Rated 50% by the ACLU, indicating a mixed civil rights voting record. (Dec 2002)

# Voted YES on allowing school prayer during the War on Terror. (Nov 2001)
# Voted YES on requiring states to test students. (May 2001)
# Voted NO on allowing vouchers in DC schools. (Aug 1998)
# Voted NO on vouchers for private & parochial schools. (Nov 1997)
# Voted NO on giving federal aid only to schools allowing voluntary prayer. (Mar 1994)
# Reduce class size to 18 children in grades 1 to 3. (Mar 2001)
# Rated 91% by the NEA, indicating pro-public education votes. (Dec 2003)

# Supports a Constitutional Amendment for school prayer. (May 1997)
# Voted YES on limiting medical malpractice lawsuits to $250,000 damages. (May 2004)
# Voted NO on limited prescription drug benefit for Medicare recipients. (Nov 2003)
# Voted YES on allowing re-importation of prescription drugs. (Jul 2003)
# Voted NO on small business associations for buying health insurance. (Jun 2003)
# Voted YES on capping damages and setting time limits in medical lawsuits. (Mar 2003)
# Voted NO on allowing suing HMOs, but under federal rules & limited award. (Aug 2001)
# Voted NO on Prescription Drug Coverage under Medicare. (Jun 2000)
# Voted YES on banning physician-assisted suicide. (Oct 1999)
# Voted NO on establishing tax-exempt Medical Savings Accounts. (Oct 1999)
# Rated 89% by APHA, indicating a pro-public health record. (Dec 2003)

# Collect data on birth defects and present to the public. (Apr 1998)
# Voted NO on reporting illegal aliens who receive hospital treatment. (May 2004)
# Voted YES on extending Immigrant Residency rules. (May 2001)
# Rated 0% by FAIR, indicating a voting record loosening immigration. (Dec 2003)

# Voted NO on end offshore tax havens and promote small business. (Oct 2004)
# Voted NO on $167B over 10 years for farm price supports. (Oct 2001)
# Voted NO on zero-funding OSHA's Ergonomics Rules instead of $4.5B. (Mar 2001)
# Rated 100% by the AFL-CIO, indicating a pro-labor voting record. (Dec 2003)

# Voted YES on raising 401(k) limits & making pension plans more portable. (May 2001)
# Voted NO on reducing tax payments on Social Security benefits. (Jul 2000)
# Voted YES on strengthening the Social Security Lock-box. (May 1999)
# Rated 100% by the ARA, indicating a pro-senior voting record. (Dec 2003)

If that's conservative then great! More elected officials should be so conservative!

He looks like a moderate populist Catholic patriotic Democrat to me. :patriot:

And here he is actively endorsing our Chairman Howard Dean http://www.hillnews.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/010505/murtha.html


My name is IronLionZion and I'm supporting my congressman Jack Murtha (D-PA).

[Midnight Rambler]

1. It's one thing to be a conservative

It's another to be a hawk, which so far is the only thing I've heard about Murtha... that he's a former hawk who just turned against the war, and hard. I don't really tink being a liberal and being a hawk are necessarily mutually exclusive.

[IronLionZion]

3. Exactly,

He is a hawk and believes a strong military is the best defense. That doesn't make him conservative any more than being pro-choice would make Bill O'Reilly a liberal.

[Dogmudgeon]

2. He's a "Conservative", or Labor Populist, Democrat

Not a flaming reactionary, but enough to get some of the DU hotheads screaming that he's a traitor. Which, of course, he isn't.

I've disagreed with his votes on more than a few occasions, but from what I've heard about him since I can remember, he's a decent fellow and an asset to state and party alike.

Today we're finding out that while we may differ on many policy points, we're united on the basics. We must stand with Representative Murtha against the war in Iraq, and especially against the quickly devolving Republican Party.

"If we don't hang together, we'll surely hang separately." That's a lesser-known epigram from the "liberty ... security" guy, Ben Franklin.

--p!

[meow2u3]

4. Blue Dog Dems are the real conservatives

Not those red ink Repukes who hate the poor and reward the rich who kick back money to the GOPee by cutting their taxes while sticking us and our kids with the bill. :grr:

[IronLionZion]

6. Yes, I'd rather have a blue-dog Democrat

than a neo-con or corporate conservative any day.

[Cha]

5. And Surprise! Murtha backed Dean

for the Chairmanship..I'm so proud of that..

"Murtha? GIVE DEAN DNC CHAIR"

"Several lawmakers said support by the hardscrabble, old-school Vietnam veteran, who endorsed former Rep. Dick Gephardt (D-Mo.) in the presidential primaries, would compel the DNC to take a second look at the firebrand governor and not simply write him off as an extreme avatar of the party’s antiwar wing.
At Dean’s request, Murtha wrote to Pennsylvania’s seven delegates to the DNC last week explaining why he is endorsing a candidate with whom he shares so few positions.

“I am not with him on all the issues, but he understands the party’s problems, what we need to do and how to get there,” said Murtha. “And he has executive experience. … A lot of people in the party don’t understand just where we are. We need a change. We need something different.”

One senior lawmaker, who asked not to be named in order to speak more candidly about internal party matters, said his colleagues would be shocked to hear of Murtha’s support for Dean. The lawmaker added, “Maybe we’ll all have to take a second look. A lot of us will.”

Murtha said he contacted Dean to tell him of his support.

“We’re thrilled that Murtha has decided to endorse us. This is someone who is an expert on defense issues and it just shows Governor Dean’s broad appeal to Democrats,” said Laura Gross, spokeswoman for Dean."


More..
http://www.hillnews.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/010505/murtha.html

Murtha's the Best..I didn't really know who he was before yesterday but now I do!

[IronLionZion]

7. To err is human, to forgive, divine

Sure it was a tragic mistake to vote for the Iraq war resolution, but he is such a good and decent man that he admitted his mistake and is trying to end the occupation. It takes a lot of courage to stand up to the powerful pro-war crowd. One vote does not destroy a lifetime of military service and socially responsible voting record.

This is a good American. :patriot: