womzilla: (Default)
womzilla ([personal profile] womzilla) wrote2005-11-20 12:19 pm

Murtha

This is the entire right-wing/left-wing divide in a single incident.

Rep. Murtha, a war hero, the first Viet Nam vet elected to Congress, and in general a hawkish Democrat, makes a speech declaring his hard-reached decision that it's time for the US to pull out of Iraq.

He is immediately denounced as a coward by Dick Cheney, who pulled five deferments to escape service in the 'Nam, and by Jean Schmidt, a representative who ran against an Iraq veteran by calling him a pacifist coward. The Rethugs then immediately introduce a bill taking Murtha's position and exaggerating it to the point where only three reps (none of them Murtha) could vote for it, thereby, apparently, proving that Murtha wasn't serious about the point they tried to shove into his mouth.

I love my country. Where has it gone?

[identity profile] smofbabe.livejournal.com 2005-11-20 05:35 pm (UTC)(link)
This was appalling behavior. At least Murtha gave as good as he got, pointing out the lack of military experience on the part of the people who were putting words and opinions in the mouths of the military and claiming to be experts.

[identity profile] nancylebov.livejournal.com 2005-11-20 06:38 pm (UTC)(link)
Those amazingly irresponsible Republicans at the top are Americans, and now part of America's history, but they are hardly the whole story about the country.

America is also all the citizens who've opposed the idiocy.

[identity profile] dotsomething.livejournal.com 2005-11-20 06:45 pm (UTC)(link)
I love my country. Where has it gone?

Wish I knew. I miss it.

[identity profile] thetalkingmoose.livejournal.com 2005-11-20 06:53 pm (UTC)(link)
I miss it. This behavior is part of the reason why Mrs. Moose and I have put America on double-secret probation.

[identity profile] del-c.livejournal.com 2005-11-20 07:04 pm (UTC)(link)
denounced as a coward [...] by Jean Schmidt

Not to mention that she did so, not in her own name, but in that of Ohio State Senator Danny Bubp, a Colonel in the Marine Reserves who has never been to Iraq, who indeed has never been stationed anywhere outside the USA. I believe that's what they call a "REMF".

He's been in a private law practice for the last twenty years. Earlier this month he and Representative Schmidt accepted the "Ten Commandments Leadership Award" from the Evangelical political activist group Faith and Action (http://www.faithandaction.org/) for fighting to keep religious monuments in courthouses.

[identity profile] barondave.livejournal.com 2005-11-20 08:58 pm (UTC)(link)
Republicans don't believe in Democracy, Conservatives don't believe in America. Osama bin Laden must be very pleased with his handiwork.