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LewWaters
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Location: Washington State
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 Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2006 8:00 pm Post subject: Murtha’s War Hero Status Called Into Question |
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I ran across this article this morning. Much of what is called into question sounds vaguely familiar 
| Quote: | Murtha’s War Hero Status Called Into Question
By Marc Morano and Randy Hall
CNSNews.com Staff
January 13, 2006
(CNSNews.com) - Having ascended to the national stage as one of the most vocal critics of President Bush's handling of the war in Iraq, Pennsylvania Democratic Congressman John Murtha has long downplayed the controversy and the bitterness surrounding the two Purple Hearts he was awarded for military service in Vietnam.
<snip>
A Cybercast News Service investigation also reveals that one of Murtha's former Democratic congressional colleagues and a fellow decorated Vietnam veteran, Don Bailey of Pennsylvania, alleges that Murtha admitted during an emotional conversation on the floor of the U.S. House in the early 1980s that he did not deserve his Purple Hearts.
"[Murtha] is putting himself forward as some combat veteran with serious wounds and he's using that and it's dishonest and it's wrong," Bailey told Cybercast News Service on Jan. 9. Murtha served in the Marines on active duty and in the reserves from 1952 until his retirement as a colonel in 1990. He volunteered for service in Vietnam and was a First Marine Regiment intelligence officer in 1966 and 1967.
<snip>
"Pretending to be a big war hero and boasting about having medals is a slap in the face to our veterans who were seriously wounded or killed in action," Fox was quoted as telling the Uniontown Herald-Standard in the newspaper's Nov. 1, 1996 edition. "He campaigned as a war hero and I've never seen any documentation that he earned any of these honors," Fox reportedly stated.
<snip>
The Vietnam veteran even took a swipe at President Bush and Vice President Cheney, neither of whom have actual combat experience.
"I like guys who've never been there, who criticize us who've been there," Murtha said. "I like that. I like guys who got five deferments and never been there and sent people to war and then don't like to hear suggestions that what may need to be done."
Murtha discussed his own combat experience as a marine intelligence officer in his 2004 autobiography, "From Vietnam to 9/11: On the Front Lines of National Security."
"I had been awake more than twenty-four hours by the time we landed. A few hours into the battle, an on-again-off-again event, I could no longer keep my eyes open. I curled up next to a bunker and fell into a deep sleep for about an hour. Even the noise of frequent gunfire didn't wake me up. (One of my fellow officers told me the next morning that when he hadn't seen me for an hour or so, he assumed I was dead,)" Murtha wrote of one of his Vietnam combat experiences on page 14 of the 2004 paperback edition of his book. Murtha's two Purple Hearts are referenced on the back of the book. [What, no secret trips into Cambodia?]
<snip>
In the Jan. 9 interview with Cybercast News Service Bailey affirmed the contents of his 2002 letter.
"The issue here is this idea or pretense that [Murtha] knows combat and he's got two Purple Hearts. He's a phony and a liar," Bailey said.
Bailey also questioned why Murtha has thus far declined to release his full military records in order to clear up the controversy.
"The Marine Corps ought to be able to produce all the orders, the medical stuff, the citations and the orders granting [the Purple Hearts] and everything else. Where is that stuff?" he asked.
<snip>
The Murtha controversy is reminiscent of the flap surrounding the war record of 2004 Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry. But while critics like the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth attacked Kerry in 2004 because of his anti-war activism of the 1970s, Murtha's three chief accusers all made their allegations years and in some cases decades before Murtha emerged last November as a prominent anti-war activist. |
Murtha Article
I believe there appears to be a pattern developing, or at least, being exposed. War hero Politicians with questionable medals?
I don't know much about the Marines, but I don't recall Army Intelligence Officers "out in the field (we called it the bush, btw) nearly everyday. My cousin was an Army Intelligence Officer in Xuan Loc while I was up in the Central Highlands. He was in an air conditioned trailer pouring over intelligence everyday. |
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AMOS
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Joined: 30 Jul 2004
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Location: IOWA
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| Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2006 9:15 pm Post subject: Well, I do. |
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Well Lew, I know about the Marines in Vietnam. I "played" in the I Corps South of the DMZ 1968. Until recently I believe it was a little known policy of the Navy/Marines that if two Purple Hearts are awarded (notice I didn't say "earned"), the recipient is allowed to leave the "bush" for the less dangerous rear area. Should he somehow be awarded a third Purple Heart he is allowed to return to stateside, ala John Fony sKerry. It also could be a policy that officers are required to recommend each other for the much awarded Bronz Star before leaving Vietnam. Seems to be a lot of them. Probably a required course on that in OCS.
Why was Martha awake for more than 24 hours? Asleep during a fire fight? How is that done? "Where were you, I thought you were dead". He was hiding, that's all.
Finally, if I recall correctly, Martha served in the Marines for 37 years. Thirty-seven years and he retires as a Colonel! I'm impressed. Probably a Major after thirty, huh?
Fakes a couple of "Hearts" to get out of the bush, sleeps during a fire fight and makes Colonel after half a lifteime for some...............I think what we have here is what the Marines call a "S**tBird". Every platoon has one and every Marine will tell you that.
Martha, shut yo mouth and crawl back into that hiding place from which you emerged a while ago, lest the Swiftvets expose you like they did Fony sKerry.
Golly, I'm windy today.
Amos. Semper Fidelis. |
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I B Squidly
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| Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2006 6:53 am Post subject: |
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Here's the full story inked on Freepers:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1557630/posts
The snips above leave out some of the juicier lines and tidbits. Apparently Murtha was implicated in ABSCAM as well.
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Doll
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| Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2006 12:50 am Post subject: |
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If this keeps up it looks as if the Swiftvets will have another smoking gun to put out like that flip flop fool skerry. I am really confused about Murtha. All these years of silence. I do not recall him coming out with one word of support for skerry in 2004. Why even join the military if you are going to 'hide'?
| Quote: | Murtha's War Hero Status Called Into Question
cnsnews.com ^ | 1/13/05 | By Marc Morano and Randy Hall
Posted on 01/13/2006 11:53:53 AM PST by paltz
(CNSNews.com) - Having ascended to the national stage as one of the most vocal critics of President Bush's handling of the war in Iraq, Pennsylvania Democratic Congressman John Murtha has long downplayed the controversy and the bitterness surrounding the two Purple Hearts he was awarded for military service in Vietnam.
Murtha is a retired marine and was the first Vietnam combat veteran elected to Congress. Since 1967, there have been at least three different accounts of the injuries that purportedly earned Murtha his Purple Hearts. Those accounts also appear to conflict with the limited military records that are available, and Murtha has thus far refused to release his own military records.
A Cybercast News Service investigation also reveals that one of Murtha's former Democratic congressional colleagues and a fellow decorated Vietnam veteran, Don Bailey of Pennsylvania, alleges that Murtha admitted during an emotional conversation on the floor of the U.S. House in the early 1980s that he did not deserve his Purple Hearts.
"[Murtha] is putting himself forward as some combat veteran with serious wounds and he's using that and it's dishonest and it's wrong," Bailey told Cybercast News Service on Jan. 9. Murtha served in the Marines on active duty and in the reserves from 1952 until his retirement as a colonel in 1990. He volunteered for service in Vietnam and was a First Marine Regiment intelligence officer in 1966 and 1967.
Murtha and Bailey, once allies, were forced to run against each other in a Democratic congressional primary in 1982 following redistricting. Murtha won the election.
Murtha has, in the past, publicly dismissed any questions about whether he deserved his two Purple Hearts, noting during his 1994 congressional campaign that "I am proud of my service in Vietnam."
In his Friday, Jan. 13, response to the Cybercast News Service investigation, Murtha again defended his military record.
"Questions about my record are clearly an attempt to distract attention from the real issue, which is that our brave men and women in uniform are dying and being injured every day in the middle of a civil war that can be resolved only by the Iraqis themselves," Murtha wrote in an email response.
"I volunteered for a year's duty in Vietnam. I was out in the field almost every single day. We took heavy casualties in my regiment the year that I was there. In my fitness reports, I was rated No. 1. My record is clear," Murtha added.
However, another source, World War II Navy veteran Harry M. Fox, previously indicated that Murtha in 1968 personally asked Fox's boss, then-U.S. Rep. John Saylor (R-Pa.), for assistance in obtaining the Purple Hearts, but was turned down because Saylor's office determined that Murtha lacked sufficient evidence of wounds. Murtha later challenged Saylor for his House seat in 1968 and lost. Fox said he personally viewed Murtha's military records in 1968 as Saylor's aide.
When Saylor died in 1973, Fox attempted to succeed his boss in Congress, but was narrowly defeated by Murtha in a 1974 special election.
"Pretending to be a big war hero and boasting about having medals is a slap in the face to our veterans who were seriously wounded or killed in action," Fox was quoted as telling the Uniontown Herald-Standard in the newspaper's Nov. 1, 1996 edition. "He campaigned as a war hero and I've never seen any documentation that he earned any of these honors," Fox reportedly stated.
On Friday, Jan. 13, Murtha's congressional communications director provided Cybercast News Service with a copy of a letter from the commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, citing Murtha's request of Sept. 26, 1967, seeking Purple Hearts. Cybercast News Service did not authenticate the letter.
"The records of this Headquarters show that you are entitled to the Purple Heart and a Gold Star in lieu of a second Purple Heart for wounds received in action against insurgent Communist Guerrilla forces on 22 March and 7 May 1967 in the Republic of Vietnam," according to the letter signed by an individual identified only as A. Gardoni. Gardoni's title is not listed on the letter.
Cybercast News Service attempted to contact Fox for this article, but learned that the health of the 81-year-old was too poor to allow him to communicate. But in a 1996 newspaper article, Fox questioned whether Murtha deserved his Purple Hearts, alleging that there was insufficient evidence of injuries and that Murtha was never confined to a hospital.
"Of course Congressman Saylor wanted to help if he could, but there was nothing in the service record to indicate the wounds were of any severity and the documents specifically indicated that next of kin was not notified in either instance," Fox told the Herald-Standard in 1996. "We were amazed that Mr. Murtha was asking for Purple Hearts for superficial lacerations," he added.
Murtha's accounts of his Vietnam War wounds may also conflict with the available U.S. Marine medical records obtained by the media.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on May 12, 2002, reported that "Marine Corps casualty records show that Murtha was injured in 'hostile' actions near Danang, Vietnam, on March 22, 1967, and May 7, 1967.
"In the first incident, his right cheek was lacerated, and in the second, he was lacerated above his left eye. Neither injury required evacuation," the Post-Gazette reported.
But an Oct. 26, 1994, article in the Herald-Standard quoted Murtha as describing two different injuries.
"I was wounded in the arm with shrapnel from a bullet that hit the motor mount of a helicopter. In the other, my knee was banged up and my arm was banged up when a helicopter was shot down from a very few feet," Murtha told the Herald-Standard.
A June 1, 1967 report in the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat quoted a letter that the newspaper indicated was sent by Murtha to his wife that same year. The letter apparently detailed yet another version of how Murtha qualified for one of his Purple Hearts. According to the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat, Murtha's injuries involved his being "struck in the ankle" by a "shot that ricocheted off the helicopter."
Murtha, a 16-term congressman from southwestern Pennsylvania and the senior Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, drew national attention on Nov. 17, 2005, when he called for an immediate withdrawal of American forces from Iraq.
The Vietnam veteran even took a swipe at President Bush and Vice President Cheney, neither of whom have actual combat experience.
"I like guys who've never been there, who criticize us who've been there," Murtha said. "I like that. I like guys who got five deferments and never been there and sent people to war and then don't like to hear suggestions that what may need to be done."
Murtha discussed his own combat experience as a marine intelligence officer in his 2004 autobiography, "From Vietnam to 9/11: On the Front Lines of National Security."
"I had been awake more than twenty-four hours by the time we landed. A few hours into the battle, an on-again-off-again event, I could no longer keep my eyes open. I curled up next to a bunker and fell into a deep sleep for about an hour. Even the noise of frequent gunfire didn't wake me up. (One of my fellow officers told me the next morning that when he hadn't seen me for an hour or so, he assumed I was dead,)" Murtha wrote of one of his Vietnam combat experiences on page 14 of the 2004 paperback edition of his book. Murtha's two Purple Hearts are referenced on the back of the book.
In addition to his Purple Hearts, Murtha received the Vietnamese Cross for Gallantry and the Bronze Star with combat "V" for service in the 1st Marine Division in Vietnam. Murtha also served in the Marines during the Korean War but did not serve in Korea, according to his book.
'He's a phony and a liar'
Bailey said during the time Murtha was being investigated for his role in the Abscam FBI sting in 1980, Murtha made a confession on the House floor.
... you admitted, back in our corner, that you didn't earn your purple hearts (sic) (you indicated you had small scratch on your cheek that wasn't even directly related to an APC [Armored Personnel Carrier] that ran over a small antipersonnel mine that was behind you). The other purple heart [sic] you even declined to explain," wrote Bailey in an open letter dated May 5, 2002.
Bailey is also a decorated Vietnam combat veteran. He served in the U.S. Army's 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions and was awarded a Silver Star and three Bronze Stars.
"At the time (of Murtha's alleged admission), you were feeling particularly vulnerable because it wasn't too long after you had called me crying and sobbing, thanking me for 'saving your life' before the ethics committee (on Abscam-related charges). There was no doubt in my mind that you were expressing to me that you did not believe you did anything sufficient to earn the purple heart [sic] and that you didn't want to be active in my efforts to laud Vietnam veterans that served with us," Bailey wrote in his May 2002 letter.
"You may deny that all you wish -- but you and I know that that conversation took place," he added.
In the Jan. 9 interview with Cybercast News Service Bailey affirmed the contents of his 2002 letter.
"The issue here is this idea or pretense that [Murtha] knows combat and he's got two Purple Hearts. He's a phony and a liar," Bailey said.
Bailey also questioned why Murtha has thus far declined to release his full military records in order to clear up the controversy.
"The Marine Corps ought to be able to produce all the orders, the medical stuff, the citations and the orders granting [the Purple Hearts] and everything else. Where is that stuff?" he asked.
According to a May 16, 2002, edition of the Washington, Pa., Observer-Reporter, Murtha "produced military paperwork indicating he was entitled to the awards," and a Murtha spokesperson was quoted as saying that "the media for years has investigated 'and found nothing.'"
But Murtha's paperwork did nothing to sway Bailey's opinion.
"You may fool a few reporters into believing that merely because you got some perfunctory paperwork made out by a friend, that that means you earned the purple hearts [sic]. But even if you were awarded the medals later, there should be affidavits from witnesses. These things should be easy to get," Bailey wrote in his letter while demanding an apology from Murtha for questioning his credibility.
Murtha could end the controversy at any time, Bailey added, simply by calling a press conference and producing the evidence of his wounds.
"Explain where you were and what you were doing when you got the purple hearts.[sic] Explain who was with you and treated your wounds, but most important, Jack, describe your wounds or the lack thereof, as you did for me, years ago," Bailey wrote.
"Unless the Marine Corps gives out medals for unsubstantiated noncombat-related telltale scratches, procured for use in political campaign -- then show me the money, Jack," Bailey added.
Murtha: 'I'm proud of my service in Vietnam'
During the 1994 congressional campaign against GOP opponent Dr. William Choby, Murtha's two Purple Hearts became a political issue.
"Explain your Purple Hearts. He (Murtha) used them to get elected," Choby charged in 1994.
In responding to the charges, Murtha claimed that he "didn't ask for the Purple Hearts.
"I'm proud of my service in Vietnam. I don't know if he (Choby) served in the service at all. I left my family and my business to serve in Vietnam. My family made great sacrifice for me to make that service in Vietnam, so I'm very proud of that," he told the Uniontown Herald-Standard in the newspaper's Oct. 26, 1994 edition.
"I am disappointed that a guy (Choby) would say something like that when I volunteered in the reserves and I felt it was important that I go. What's the point in all this? It's irritating," Murtha added.
Choby also challenged the validity of Murtha's Bronze Star with Combat 'V' during the 1996 congressional campaign.
"I find it very curious that Combat 'V' doesn't even exist in any of the materials he had distributed," Choby was quoted as saying in the Herald-Standard of Oct. 13, 1996. "His military record improves over the years," he added.
The Murtha controversy is reminiscent of the flap surrounding the war record of 2004 Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry. But while critics like the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth attacked Kerry in 2004 because of his anti-war activism of the 1970s, Murtha's three chief accusers all made their allegations years and in some cases decades before Murtha emerged last November as a prominent anti-war activist.
Choby told Cybercast News Service on Jan. 5 that Murtha's entire political career is based on his war record. "Without that credibility of those combat medals, he would have never been elected to office," Choby said. |
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chemical_boy
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| Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2006 4:29 am Post subject: |
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This may be a Trojan Horse, as the main source for the accusations is former representative Don Bailey (D-Pa.)
http://www.mudvillegazette.com/archives/004050.html
| Quote: | | House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said, "The Swift Boat-like attacks on an American hero, Congressman Jack Murtha, are despicable and have no place in politics." |
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Doll
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| Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2006 5:37 am Post subject: |
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| chemical_boy wrote: | This may be a Trojan Horse, as the main source for the accusations is former representative Don Bailey (D-Pa.)
http://www.mudvillegazette.com/archives/004050.html
| Quote: | | House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said, "The Swift Boat-like attacks on an American hero, Congressman Jack Murtha, are despicable and have no place in politics." |
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That is a joke right? Who does "Bela" Pelosi think she is? She is no paragon of virtue. What does she know about American heros let alone the Swiftvets? Swift Boat-like attacks? What does she know about truth? Does she even know what that means? "To EXPOSE The TRUTH". That witch needs to shut up. 
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sixdogteam
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| Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 2:27 pm Post subject: |
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Apparently to "Swiftboat" somebody is to bring to light their padding of their Military resume. I think that's a hoot. It only shows that this site and movement have had great impact in outing these jerks. If they would only do a 180, it would settle the question, eh? By the way, when is Sen. John Skerry, D-Hanoi having his Treason Court Martial?
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BuffaloJack
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| Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 5:07 pm Post subject: |
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I no longer consider Murtha a "hero". He gave all that up when he began his campaign of troop demoralization and condemnation. If he were a true hero he'd support our men in uniform.
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I B Squidly
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retire05
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| Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2006 2:45 pm Post subject: Murtha Medals? |
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Look, I don't care if Murtha got his puple hearts from paper cuts from an EZWider. That is not the point.
The point is this: while the Democrats touted Kerry as a "hero" he has never produced his entire record. But yet they insisted that Bush was a liar about his and wanted to see even the x-rays from his dental exams.
Do we not have the same right to question the Dhimmicrats records when they use it to promote their agenda?
Murtha retired from the Marine Reserves He mustered out in 1990 but became a Congressman in 1974. So for 16 years he was reserve.
Did he complete his reserve requirements? They demanded Bush prove he did, can we not expect the same from Murtha? Where are the records of his weekend duties? Where are the records of where he was during his two week requirements every year? Or does he also get a pass because he was a "hero"?
I fear Mr. Murtha's actions against the military and the president were nothing more than a smoke screen. To cover up the investigation about him and his brother's lobbying firm. Why did that all of a sudden fall out of the public eye?
Just another Dhimmicrat screaming "how dare you question me. I am a war hero". |
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mtboone
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| Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2006 2:33 am Post subject: |
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This is a email the Swifties are receiving tonight from a fellow Swifty close to Kerry during the last election. It was rumored that if Kerry won that he would become the next Sec of the Navy. And you will recognize the person being interviewed.
By muddying the waters, the smear merchants hope to sink a decorated patriot -- John Murtha
Friday, January 20, 2006
Before 2004, I'd never been involved in politics and considered my duty done at the ballot box. My memory of a man I served with in combat in the Mekong Delta -- Lt. John Kerry -- became my sole reason for coming off the political sidelines in the last presidential election. Watching the assault on his military record by partisan operatives armed with falsehoods was a shock.
Jim Rassmann, a U.S. Army Special Forces officer in the Vietnam War, lives in Florence, Ore.
Perhaps I was naive. Watching those same tactics used against another decorated Vietnam veteran, Rep. John Murtha of Johnstown, has been a reminder of not just why I felt compelled to get involved, but why I must remain involved. I can't in good conscience remain silent in the face of the "Swift Boating" of Jack Murtha for daring to challenge President Bush's policy in Iraq.
Today I see that the very same smear tactics the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" used against John Kerry are now being unleashed against Rep. Murtha, a retired Marine colonel who served in Vietnam.
The radical right Web site Cybercast News Service, formerly the Conservative News Service, has attacked Mr. Murtha, claiming he was fraudulently awarded Purple Hearts for wounds received during two tours in Vietnam.
Since it is unseemly for a leadership that never served its country to attack the patriotism and veracity of decorated soldiers and sailors who did, this administration has returned to its proven tactic of finding surrogates to do its dirty work. Today, neoconservatives are hoping that by muddying the waters of Jack Murtha's military record they can neuter another of their most passionate and sincere critics.
It's an all too familiar pattern. White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan once described Rep. Murtha's stance on the war as "endorsing the policy positions of Michael Moore and the extreme liberal wing of the Democratic Party." Republican Rep. Jean Schmidt quickly followed in lockstep with the White House by saying on the floor of the House, "Cowards cut and run, Marines never do." Copying the administration's change of tactic, Rep. Schmidt almost immediately reversed herself and gave Rep. Murtha several apologies.
It was clear to most observers that the Republican strategy of ad hominem attacks failed -- seeing the danger in attacking a hawkish Democrat like Rep. Murtha, the White House quickly followed suit with perfunctory praise from President Bush who described him as, "a good man who served our country with honor and distinction as a Marine in Vietnam and as a United States congressman." Vice President Cheney referred to Rep. Murtha as, "a good man, a Marine, a patriot."
How laudable. This rapid reversal by the White House appears, at first glance, to be remarkable given their penchant and near universal insistence for uniformity of message. It isn't at all remarkable though. I believe it was engineered in the same way as the Swift Boat attacks on Kerry during the 2004 election campaign -- attacks are made, the public's attention is captured, the White House offers platitudes, the surrogates press on with the administration's covert support.
Now, like the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the Cybercast News Service is taking up the underhanded attack that the president and his henchmen can't afford to be caught doing themselves.
Like the attack last year on John Kerry's service, this administration has shown yet again that it is not above crude tactics for disseminating its message on the sly. The trouble is in so doing they attack the very military institutions that they've put in harm's way. If Jack Murtha's military record -- which the Republicans loved to tout when, for example, he was an advocate for the first Gulf war or higher defense budgets -- is now fair game for scurrilous attack, then who's next?
John Kerry and Jack Murtha both love their country and proved their patriotism in the crucible of war and on the battlefield of public service. But far more is at stake than even these good men's reputations. They have the honor of their service, as do the hundreds of thousands of Americans in uniform in harm's way today, and that's enough. The health of our democracy, the integrity of our debate, the voice of our free press and the true meaning of patriotism are under assault if a new generation of Swift Boat style smears are allowed into the public sphere today unchallenged.
For my country's sake, I hope brave Americans of good conscience will speak up and make it clear that we will not tolerate such smears today, just as we shouldn't have tolerated them in 2004.
I hope Kerry and Murtha produce their 180 for all to see their records and put their word where their mouth is. But no, they are afraid of the people in this country to see the truth about their lies.
I tell you, I believe something is up in 2006 and 2008 to discredit the SBPT and that is why the site is still up and running. We should all be getting ready for another fight, but the MSM and others will be trying to whittle us down before than.
Our 'You ready to Rumble?"
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LewWaters
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| Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2006 4:21 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | For my country's sake, I hope brave Americans of good conscience will speak up and make it clear that we will not tolerate such smears today, just as we shouldn't have tolerated them in 2004. |
Isn't this exactly what the Swift boat Veterans for Truth did?
Weren't all Viet Nam Veterans "smeared" back in 1971 and forward by the likes of sKerry?
The "smear merchants" are those trying to hold up the likes of sKerry as a "hero" while trying to destroy the lives and reputations of real brave men like those that took their stand against sKerry.
Jack Murtha I had not heard about much, but am reminded that it was a fellow Deomcrat, as far back as 1981, that went public over his holding up Purple Hearts he too received for minor scratches.
I saw older NCOs I served with accept PHs for minor scracthes and realized the Army had it's 'Medal Hounds,' but these two running for Public Office leaning on Honorable Combat Medals they may not deserve astounds me.
I too hope both sKerry and Murtha sign Form 180s for FULL, COMPLETE, and PUBLIC viewing of their entire Military Records, not limited views to a couple sympathetic reporters. Let the whole world see just what is in their files and let the world decide! |
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GenrXr
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| Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2006 5:43 am Post subject: |
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| LewWaters wrote: | | Quote: | | For my country's sake, I hope brave Americans of good conscience will speak up and make it clear that we will not tolerate such smears today, just as we shouldn't have tolerated them in 2004. |
Isn't this exactly what the Swift boat Veterans for Truth did?
Weren't all Viet Nam Veterans "smeared" back in 1971 and forward by the likes of sKerry?
The "smear merchants" are those trying to hold up the likes of sKerry as a "hero" while trying to destroy the lives and reputations of real brave men like those that took their stand against sKerry.
Jack Murtha I had not heard about much, but am reminded that it was a fellow Deomcrat, as far back as 1981, that went public over his holding up Purple Hearts he too received for minor scratches.
I saw older NCOs I served with accept PHs for minor scracthes and realized the Army had it's 'Medal Hounds,' but these two running for Public Office leaning on Honorable Combat Medals they may not deserve astounds me.
I too hope both sKerry and Murtha sign Form 180s for FULL, COMPLETE, and PUBLIC viewing of their entire Military Records, not limited views to a couple sympathetic reporters. Let the whole world see just what is in their files and let the world decide! |
What the 2004 election taught me is that Dan Rather is a street walker and Bill O' Reilley is a high dollar whore.
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"An activist is the person who cleans up the water, not the one claiming its dirty."
"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to stand by and do nothing." Edmund Burke (1729-1797), Founder of Conservative Philosophy |
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LewWaters
Admin
Joined: 18 May 2004
Posts: 4042
Location: Washington State
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| Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2006 6:16 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | The health of our democracy, the integrity of our debate, the voice of our free press and the true meaning of patriotism are under assault if a new generation of Swift Boat style smears are allowed into the public sphere today unchallenged. |
The above actually should read, "The health of our democracy, the integrity of our debate, the voice of our free press and the true meaning of patriotism are under assault if a new generation of 'Kerried' style smears are allowed into the public sphere today unchallenged."
I have addressed being "Kerried" at my blog;
All Things Right |
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I B Squidly
Vice Admiral
Joined: 26 Aug 2004
Posts: 879
Location: Cactus Patch
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| Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2006 7:43 am Post subject: |
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I was struck by this curious statement:
| Quote: | | I hope Kerry and Murtha produce their 180 for all to see their records and put their word where their mouth is. But no, they are afraid of the people in this country to see the truth about their lies. |
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"KILL ALL THE LAWYERS!"
-Wlm Shakespeare |
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