It's unofficial: Russell's on the ballot!

Bill Smith reports that despite efforts by the Murtha campaign along with those of two local RINO republicrats to get William Russell taken off the ballot, Col Russell reports that he has more than the required write-in ballots to put him on the November ballot as the Republican-endorsed candidate for U.S. Congress!

Read the whole thing.

Murtha's Office Calls Police on Iraq Vet's Mother

The first thought I had when I heard about this story was that John Murtha's staffers need to get their asses handed to them. Here's the gist of this outrageous story:

I had seen an absolute enough disappointed Marines walk by and tell me that John Murtha did not see them and could not see them. When I asked how did it go, they all reported pretty much the same answer “Didn’t have time for us.” Could this be the same John Murtha who had all kinds of time to badmouth these Marines even before he was officially briefed on what occurred in Haditha?!!! The mother and protector in me could not let this disrespect go by. I believe these Heroes need someone to speak up for them because they cannot and I can no longer sit and be silent. I headed down to John Murtha’s office with two mothers of Soldiers, one who’s Son currently serves and one who’s Son has served proudly. We entered the office and I asked to see Murtha.

John Murtha talks all the time about visiting the wounded vets in Walter Reed to show that he cares about these wounded veterans. It's inexcusable and disgusting that he won't take the time to listen to pro-war military veterans. John Murtha loves doing photo ops. It's equally apparent that he won't talk with people who think this war is winnable. Isn't it his responsibility to meet with people with various perspectives, not just those who agree with him?

“Do I have an appointment?” a young man asked. I gave him my card and told him I was outraged that several Marines had been in to see Mr. Murtha and were refused. This young man stood up and told me that “people” cannot just come in there and expect to see the Congressman without an appointment. I was outraged by his pompous attitude and insulted that he didn’t seem to understand that these brave Warriors are not just “people!” I clearly saw the problem here and was so deeply offended that he didn’t seem to understand, and I informed him that these fine Marines are not just people, THEY ARE SOLDIERS, THEY ARE HEROES, and MR. Murtha needs to show them respect and further, he needs to apologize to everyone of them. The last thing I said was “He is a Coward” because I believe that he is. A white haired lady asked us to leave and we did, and as we walked down the hall, the white haired lady called us “Cowards.”

It's apparent that anti-war sentiment in Rep. Murtha's office isn't limited to Rep. Murtha. It's apparent that his staff shares their boss' perspective. This woman is entitled to her opinion. What she isn't entitled to do is hurl mean-spirited epithets at people she disagrees with. That's unacceptable. She's supposed to be a public servant, just like Rep. Murtha is supposed to be a public servant.

Simply put, this staffer should be fired immediately for calling Bev Perlson a coward. Rep. Murtha owes Mrs. Perlson an immediate apology, too. As disgusting as this is, the story isn't finished yet:

As I just reached the Cannon Bldg., 3 or 4 Police cars with flashing lights pulled right up near me. I think I saw 6 or 7 Policeman around me and was asked to step aside to speak with one of the Officers. I was asked if I had just been in the Rayburn Bldg and what was my business there. I explained to the Officer what transpired in Mr. Murtha’s office, I was asked for my driver’s license and that was it. I did tell the nice Policeman I was not at all sorry for what I said in Murtha’s office and that I have NEVER been arrested. I did tell him that I was very sorry if I caused him any trouble or a lot of undue paperwork. If Mr. Murtha’s purpose in calling the Police on me was to scare me or intimidate me, his bullish tactic did not work and I say he is lucky my father wasn’t around! I am angry that this man, who accuses our military of using excessive force, sent 3 Police Cars and 7 Officers to intimidate me. Had me chased down like a fugitive! I know one thing for certain: John Murtha does not respect our Soldiers and he sure doesn’t respect their mothers. You are shameful John Murtha.

There's only one reason why the police were called: This white-haired Murtha staffer wanted to intimidate Bev Perlson. That's a boneheaded move. It doesn't take rocket science to realize that it's almost impossible to intimidate a member of the Band Of Mothers.

More importantly, the thought of intimidating her shouldn't have crossed this staffer's mind. But it did.

We need to turn up the heat on Rep. Murtha and the House leadership. It's time that we flooded Rep. Murtha's offices with calls for this staffer's termination. Here's the number to Rep. Murtha's DC office:

1-202-225-2065

Here's the number to Rep. Murtha's Johnstown office:

1-814-535-2642

It's time that we unabashedly told Rep. Murtha that he and his staff had better treat Americans with far more respect than they've been treated thus far.

Technorati: John Murtha, Iraq War, Anti-War Activists, Staffers, Intimidation, Walter Reed, Bev Perlson, Band Of Mothers, War Veterans

Cross-posted at California Conservative

Murtha Criticizes McCain

Speaking at a Hillary campaign rally this afternoon, John Murtha declared that John McCain was too old to be president. Watching the clip of it brought a smile to my face. Specifically, here's what Rep. Murtha said:

"I've served with seven presidents," Murtha told a union audience. "When they come in, they all make mistakes. They all get older."

"This one guy running is about as old as me," he said, drawing laughter and applause. "Let me tell you something, it's no old man's job."

It's worth noting that Rep. Murtha is 75 going on 110 while Sen. McCain is 71, going on 51. Let's just say that Rep. Murtha looks less than fit. Meanwhile, Sen. McCain looks as fit as anyone still in the race. What's most fascinating to me is that Murtha actually gave Sen. McCain a nice opening when he said that "When they come in, they all make mistakes."

Sen. McCain is right in pointing to his experience as a reason why he won't make as many mistakes as someone as green as Obama and Hillary. That's something Sen. McCain did earlier this week:

Earlier this week, McCain was asked about his age and he joked about it, at first feigning sleep.

“Watch me campaign. We keep a heavier schedule. We campaign harder,” he said Monday during The Associated Press annual meeting. “People will judge me by my performance. I am confident that my energy, my intellect, my experience, and my judgment is what American people will, hopefully that they will view me as qualified to be president of the United States.”

Here's Sen. McCain's specific response to Rep. Murtha's attacks:

McCain, in an interview with FOX News on Wednesday, said, “I invite John to come out with me on the campaign trail. I out-campaigned everybody else and that’s why I’m the nominee of my party. I can certainly out-campaign either Senator Obama or Senator Clinton.”

This is a losing attack for Democrats. It isn't difficult to spot John McCain's vitality and energy. only an old fart like Murtha wouldn't notice that.

I suspect that Sen. McCain loves the thought of John Murtha shooting his mouth off in this race. Sen. McCain looks positively youthful compared to Murtha. Additionally, Rep. Murtha is the poster child for Washington corruption while Sen. McCain has a reputation of integrity. It can't hurt that Rep. Murtha is campaigning for another ethically challenged candidate in Hillary Clinton. That's a contrast that the McCain campaign should welcome.

Technorati: John Murtha, Hillary, Corruption, John McCain, Integrity, Election 2008

Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog