With the Boot Murtha rally now behind us, it's time that people admit that Murtha has some serious weaknesses to overcome. Let's start with this quote:
Technorati: Election 2006, Murtha, Patriot Act
As 22 anti-war protesters held up signs across the street from the War Memorial, Democrat Bob Fiffick, a retired steelworker, was wearing a button on behalf of Murtha’s Republican opponent this fall, Diana Irey, a Washington County commissioner, as he waited for the "Boot Murtha" rally to start. "I’ve been a Democrat for 35 years. I was a big union man. This past year they [Democrats] lost touch with me."There's alot of that going around lately. In fact, Diana Irey's focus has been on how Murtha's lost touch with PA-12 values. Can voters picture John Murtha tolerating Code Pink's endorsement in 1990? He not only tolerates it now; he revels in it.
Albion Wilde of Takoma Park, MD, who works with the wounded as a volunteer at Walter Reed Hospital and who was wearing an Army windbreaker given to her by a veteran, said of Murtha, "I think he has been disloyal to the United States, the military." She said the nation has been under attack by terrorists for the past 20 years, a fact that Murtha ignores.It'll be difficult for Murtha to defend a number his statements, starting with his accusations of the Haditha Marines. Here's a quote from the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat:
Terry Pennington’s son, Rob, is being housed in a Marines Corps brig in Camp Pendleton, Calif., for alleged war crimes. Rob Pennington is among those being investigated in the deaths of Iraqi civilians in Haditha in the spring. "I got a phone call," Pennington said. "My son was calling from the brig, telling me he was being charged with war crimes. My son and others are in jail because of the comments of John Murtha, and the overreaction by the U.S. government."John Murtha's purely political ploy will backfire because it's touched a nerve with people because they know it's unfair to convict a soldier without evidence, without first having been briefed on the subject, without a hint of due process rights. That's what Murtha is about.
Michael L. Young, a retired public affairs professor from Penn State University, Harrisburg, who now runs an opinion research firm, has said there is no indication Murtha will lose his seat.Mr. Young should consider how Murtha's accusations are playing with military families. Mr. Young should consider that Murtha's voting against reauthorization of the Patriot Act won't fly in military communities. If he considered those things, he'd realize that issues matter and that Mr. Murtha is on the wrong side of every big issue.
Technorati: Election 2006, Murtha, Patriot Act
