Here's what REALLY bugs me about the Dems not supporting Murtha

[Doctor_J]

Hary and Nancy could have been just as non-committal while at the same time firing on Smirk. - "Well, I'm not sure what the consensus will be on this, but off the bat I would say that Congressoan Murtha is a lot more qualified to speak out on matters of our military than either Mr. Bush or Mr. Cheney".

Done. Jab at the losers in charge while hedging your bet. We suck at this.

[stepnw1f]

1. Who Is Not Supporting Murtha?

What are ya talking about?

[Mass]

4. This morning, Russert put out one liners seeming to indicate that

some Dems do not agree with Murtha. Of course, we dont have the context at all, so who knows what they really meant.

[patrice]

6. F---- Timmy.

Shill.

I don't see what others see in this putz, Russert.

I can think of so many other people I'd rather be listening to and/or looking at. Honestly, he gives me the creeps - little moldy, Pillsbury Dough-Boy. Media Aristocrat!

Whore.

Have you seen Good Night! Good Luck! Where ARE those kinds of guys?

[Warren Stupidity]

13. Timmy Russert?

The lying whore pig boy russert? That Tim Russert? OK. Fine, whatever. How about we let Democrats speak for themselves rather than having the whoremedia tell us what they do or do not support?

By the way, is calling it the whoremedia an insult to hardworking honest whores?

[sandnsea]

17. So we're listening to the whore media again?

How many times do we have to go through this. The only words that come to mind can't be typed.

:banghead:

[Mass]

19. Watching Murtha.... All we have is the whore media... But we should be

able to sort thru that, shouldn't we?

[Mass]

2. If you are referring to MTP this morning, note that Russert did not

bother to tell us what went before or after, or even the question that they were answering to.

Except if you have the contest, dont make too much of it.

[patrice]

3. You obviously didn't see what I saw yesterday.

And what I saw is not based on opinion.

[Doctor_J]

5. No, I am talking about the immediate aftermath

when our leaders' instinct was to distance themselves from Murtha's unilateral statement.

[ray of light]

7. Sorry to disagree

but the dems have definately rallied around him. They did not distance themselves from him; infact quite the opposite.

Had they rallied around Max Cleland and JK this way, things would have been different beginning in 02!

Murtha is cool, but the dem bashing and kerry bashing and Dean bashing, (and so on...) based on tv propaganda and rightwinged spin is really making this place an awful place to be.

[Rose Siding]

8. Nancy didn't distance herself, that I can tell

snip>
Ms. Pelosi. Today, I think we should all savor the very thoughtprovoking statement that Mr. Murtha made. He made it with great knowledge. He made it with great passion. He made it with great determination. I think it is something we have to take into consideration very seriously.

Q Politically speaking, does that hurt Democrats to not come out with one voice? Obviously, the President is not doing well in large part because of the public concern about the war. Does it not put pressure on you as Leader to get your Caucus or work with Senator Reid to get one message so that the public sees an alternative?

Ms. Pelosi. I guess where you and I differ on this conversation, when it comes to war I don't think we should be politically speaking. This is about protecting the American people, and we have to do the right thing.

Q But politics puts people in charge.

Ms. Pelosi. That's right. And the President is in charge, and it's his war. It's Mr. Bush's war, and he should be held accountable for it.

Q To what extent are Mr. Murtha's views shared within the caucus?

Ms. Pelosi. The courage of his statement, and the eloquence with which he presented it, and the passion and knowledge that he brought to the conversation were met very positively by our colleagues. What that means in terms of their votes remains to be seen.

link

That last bit is as far as she could go without co-opting the opinions of others.

The Post reported that she said something like she was going to let him "have his day" in not coming out forcefully herself, and I thought that was smart. Her rep is more liberal and part of the power in Murtha's message was that he's more centrist.

[patrice]

9. Thanks Nancy! More PLEASE. Murtha IS right.

He would not have said what he did if it were against the collective wisdom of most of a life-time's worth of Military professionals.

[serryjw]

21. I think you got it

IMO, If Pelosi or Jk said something they would be 'liberals' talking. He is the perfect flag bearer. He is a retired Marine, 2 tours in Vietnam and DID vote for the war. He admits TODAY is a lot different than one year ago. He was brilliant and so are the dems for saying quiet.

[BJW]

14. nobody "distanced" themselves--they all voted in union

against the faux Hunter "resolution"

The Murtha resolution wasn't even considered.

The actual litmus test of whether other Dems are publicly supportive of Murtha's proposals contained in his resolution come when the MURTHA resolution is actually brought to the House floor, and the repugs have prevented this so far.

Other GOOD news is that on the first vote on the faux Hunter "resolution" there were several repugs voting with the Dems!

[BJW]

25. oops--sans 3 dems

[sandnsea]

18. Who are you?

:shrug:

[stray cat]

10. Support doesn't mean you have to agree with every detail in a plan

Thats what I dislike about the repubs. They show no independent thought and act like clones. I want politicians who can think and lead and that means they are free to respectively disagree with details of a plan.

[sojourner]

11. Check out this link...

to see what Dems were really saying about Murtha. And stop believing what you hear on TV News. Gov't sponsored shills and liars all.

http://www.canofun.com/blog/viddate.asp

[Mass]

12. From MTP's transcripts, Murtha's answer

REP. MURTHA: Well, it's not--this is not a party issue, Tim. This is something that I'm offering as an individual, and it's only been out there for two or three days. Let me predict this: We're going to be out of there, we're going to be out of there very quickly, and it's going to be close to the plan that I'm presenting right now.

He understands perfectly well that the issue is important enough that people should not change their minds just because he said so. He understand that people need to discuss this because it is important.

[Warren Stupidity]

15. Murtha represents the reality based community

Certified Whoremedia Professional Russert is a spokesperson for the other side, the 'stay and die' delusional creeps running our nation.

[emulatorloo]

16. DEMS SUPPORTED MURTHA - Pelosi and Murtha planned strategy

don't get your news from Russert.

Dems supported murtha and apparently had a plan w Murtha as the centerpiece of it. There is a fineman piece in Newsweek describing Pelosi and Murtha planning strategy. If I find a link i will post it but it is floating around in GD

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10118733/site/newsweek/

,snip

Now, Murtha mused, it was his turn to confront a president with harsh truths.

Which was precisely what the Democratic leadership wanted Murtha to do. A close ally, Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, was anxious to open a second axis of attack on Iraq—and was aware of his growing antagonism toward the war. The two met and agreed that he would make his case in private to the party conference. After that, on his own, he would introduce a resolution calling for withdrawal of troops from Iraq "at the earliest practicable date."

snip

[BJW]

23. THANKS FOR LINK--some of the DU posters

have been driving me beyond BATTY lately over the Murtha resolution, because of a seeming lack of ability to interpret and understand the subtleties involved in basic strategizing.

P.S. Murtha supports Dean, and so does Pelosi.

[meg]

20. What?

Don't believe what little Timmie implies.

[Cha]

22. What Dems are not supporting

Murtha? There was a letter around here somewhere from the DNC and Dean asking us to sign a very detailed letter of support for Jack Murtha.


edit And there was a thread on the Dems in Murtha's district supporting him, too.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2261274

"Dean: Shame on Them"


I want to tell you about John Murtha. He's a Democratic Congressman from Pennsylvania. He's also a combat veteran and retired Marine Corps colonel.

Murtha spent 37 years in Marine Corps, earned the Bronze Star, two purple hearts, the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, and the Navy Distinguished Service Medal. And for the last thirty years he's been one of the most respected voices in Congress on military issues -- universally respected by Democrats, Republicans and military brass alike.

Until now.

Republicans have disgraced themselves by viciously attacking John Murtha with such disrespect that not only veterans, but every decent American should be angry.

What did Murtha, a decorated combat veteran, do to draw fire from a White House led by a president and vice president who evaded service in Vietnam? He questioned their management of the war in Iraq. Here's part of what he had to say:

The war in Iraq is not going as advertised. It is a flawed policy wrapped in illusion. The American public is way ahead of us. The United States and coalition troops have done all they can in Iraq, but it is time for a change in direction. Our military is suffering. The future of our country is at risk. We cannot continue on the present course. It is evident that continued military action is not in the best interests of the United States of America, the Iraqi people or the Persian Gulf Region. ...

For two and a half years, I have been concerned about the U.S. policy and the plan in Iraq. I have addressed my concerns with the Administration and the Pentagon and have spoken out in public about my concerns. The main reason for going to war has been discredited. ...

I have been visiting our wounded troops at Bethesda and Walter Reed hospitals almost every week since the beginning of the War. And what demoralizes them is going to war with not enough troops and equipment to make the transition to peace; the devastation caused by IEDs; being deployed to Iraq when their homes have been ravaged by hurricanes; being on their second or third deployment and leaving their families behind without a network of support.

Shameless Republicans immediately went on the attack. Dick Cheney, who has said that he had "other priorities" and collected 5 deferments while people like Murtha served in Vietnam, called Murtha's comments "irresponsible" and regretted that "the president and I cannot prevent certain politicians from losing their memory, or their backbone." The White House spokesman, who has also never worn the uniform, pronounced himself "baffled" that Murtha, who volunteered for two wars, wanted to "surrender to the terrorists". A Republican Congressman said Murtha and others "basically are giving aid and comfort to the enemy".

Shame on them. Every one of us -- right now -- needs to let Jack Murtha know that we respect his service, respect his leadership, and respect his right to speak the truth. This man has spent his life serving us. The very least each one of us can do is let him know that no matter what dishonorable smear campaign Republicans wage we will be there with him."

[BJW]

24. And another thing--how come the questions aren't framed...

this way.

Are the repug House reps who voted with the Dems against other repugs on the initial question of whether to consider the HUNTER resolution BUT then voted with the repugs to kill the Hunter resolution traitors, cowards or playing politics with the trooops?

or how about...

Are the repug House reps who voted to consider and "debate" the HUNTER resolution but the voted it down enaged in crass political theater at the expense of our soliders?

or how about...

Are the repugs who refuse to allow the MURTHA resolution to the floor for debate afraid of having to take a stand on the issues?