Murtha Does it Again: Disrespect for PA-12 Voters

From CentralPA.com:

Congressman John Murtha makes another comment that's upsetting some of his constituents.

Murtha actually made the comments in a live interview last week. He was talking about his challenger Bill Russell. And he got a little heated at the thought that his challenger might win the election.

He called his opponent a carpetbagger and he swore on live television while he did it. Murtha has since apologized about his language. He said he's a former drill instructor and sometimes lapses into that type of language. He said it's also because he gets so worked up about this election. And Murtha said he doesn't really have anything else to say about it.

Getting "worked up" about this election, are we, Jack? Could it be because you hear that distant sucking sound, that sound of your years of tenure, years of corruption, years of buying votes with taxpayer money, years of unchecked porkbarrel spending, going up in smoke?

Are you getting "worked up" because for once in your 17-term tenure, a fine upstart, an honorable man, for a change, stands poised to unseat you?

Are you getting "worked up" because your constituents are finally tiring of the unending "Huey Long" type of corruption, not to mention your disparaging, condescending comments made toward them, and even one of their own in uniform that you disparaged with extreme prejudice, for purposes of cheap, political gain?

Are you getting "worked up" because the gravy train you've worked so long to engineer, courtesy of U.S. taxpayers, may be about to derail?

Are you "worked up" because the corrupt political empire you built may be crumbling, courtesy of a man of honor who seeks to take your seat?

Is that why you're getting "worked up," Jack?

Heh. Sucks to be you.

Rep. Murtha, Stop The Smears

Vets for Freedom sent Rep. John Murtha this letter telling him to stop smearing heroic Marines:

Dear Representative John Murtha,

In May 2006, you accused a group of United States Marines of killing “innocent civilians in cold blood”. You made these allegations during an ongoing investigation. In fact, a Marine Corps spokesman said that you made your statement a week before you had even been briefed.

You continued to accuse these eight Marines of "cold-blooded murder and war crimes”, even after the Marine Corps itself said your comments on the matter “would be inappropriate and could undermine the investigatory and possible legal process.”

As a result of the investigation, the charges were dropped against 7 of the 8 Marines and the other Marine is awaiting his day in court.

However, you have not withdrawn your statements or apologized for your defamatory remarks.

Marines implicated in the incident believe that you have committed slander and libel against them. These United States Marines, whose honor you have attacked, deserve to hear an apology from you.

We, the undersigned, implore you, Representative Murtha, as a man who serves the public in Congress, as a man who once served in the Marine Corps, to do the honorable thing.

You must apologize.

Signed,

Pete Hegseth, Vets for Freedom
Erick Erickson, Red State
Paul Mirengoff, Powerline
Marc Danziger, Winds of Change
Jim Hoft, Gateway Pundit
Roger L. Simon, Pajamas Media
Ed Morrissey, Hot Air
Alex Charyna, PA Watercooler
Eric Odom, Conservablogs
Michael Illions, Conservatives with Attitude
Scott W. Graves, Red County

Reading through VFF's letter felt like reading through my timeline post. This race is teetering on the brink. I know that because Murtha ran to MoveOn.org to fundraise. Here's the letter he sent out:

Dear Friends,

After decades of fighting for this country and our troops, I am up against the right-wing attack machine again.

Because of my work to end the Iraq war, they have thrown hundreds of thousands of dollars behind my opponent, who lives in Virginia with his family, not in my district in Pennsylvania. Now, I am suddenly being outspent 3 to 1.

They are up to the same old tricks, "swiftboating" me again as they did two years ago. So I am asking people who have stood with me on Iraq to stand with me again to stop them in their tracks.

Can you chip in $25 for me and a few other candidates at the link below?

https://pol.moveon.org/give/6days2.html?id=14796-4910505-NZUsM0x&t=3

This is a real emergency—with just 6 days left.

People like Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity are calling me a traitor and worse.

Initially, I brushed it off, because calling for a responsible end to the war was the right thing to do. Now, finally the Bush administration has started negotiating a timeline to bring our troops home, something I supported for almost three years.

This year I've spent most of my time campaigning and raising money for other Democrats, including Barack Obama, instead of myself. It worked in 2006 and we threw the Bush Republicans out. But now my own race is tight so I am asking supporters for help. Can you chip in?

When I ask for help, it is because I really need it. It is urgent. I will not back down from this fight, but I need you with me to repel the right-wing smear machine once again.

Thank you, God protect our troops and bless America.

–John P. Murtha
October 29, 2008

In reading through this fundraising letter, I spot 4 distinct lies:

1) I am up against the right-wing attack machine again.
2) They are up to the same old tricks, "swiftboating" me again as they did two years ago.
3) Because of my work to end the Iraq war, they have thrown hundreds of thousands of dollars behind my opponent.
4) People like Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity are calling me a traitor and worse.

Let's examine these one-by-one:

1) Rep. Murtha isn't "up against the right-wing attack machine." He's up against his own big mouth. He first called his constituents racists, then 'explained' it away by saying that he didn't mean that they were racists. Rather, he explained, his constituents were merely rednecks. Rep. Murtha should've obeyed the first rule of holes. He didn't. Instead, he went off on this hate-filled diatribe:

Rep. Murtha isn't up against the "right wing attack machine." He's burying himself.
2) How is VFF swiftboating him? If anything, Rep. Murtha swiftboated the Haditha Marines. As Pete Hegseth points out in their letter, Rep. Murtha accused the Haditha Marines of "killing innocent civilians in cold blood" before the investigation had finished.

Isn't that the definition of swiftboating?

3) People haven't "thrown hundreds of thousands of dollars behind" his opponent solely for his opposition to victory, though that's certainly part of it. People have also "thrown hundreds of thousands of dollars" at Lt. Col. Russell becausse people don't want an ethically-challenged person like Rep. Murtha wandering the halls of Congress any more. Finally, they're also contributing to Russell's campaign because they're incensed that a guy who touts himself as pro-military swiftboated the Haditha Marines based, at least in part, by a despicable Time Magazine article.

4) To the best of my recollection, Rush Limbaugh didn't call Rep. Murtha a traitor. Neither has Bill O'Reilly. I don't think that Sean Hannity has either but it's possible. Mentioning talk radio and FNC is a standard response for liberals, especially in fundraising letters. Just say those magic words and the rest of the sentence is irrelevant. The cash just pours in. FNC, Bill O'Reilly and talk radio is the 2008 equivalent of Halliburton.

I'd also add that what little was left of Rep. Murtha's credibility disappeared when he hinted that "calling for a responsible end to the war was the right thing to do." John Murtha didn't propose a "responsible end to the war." He called for losing the war, saying that we'd done all we could militarily. Later, he called for a plan to redeploy a rapid response force...in Okinawa.

That isn't responsible. That's plain stupid.

Finally, this must be a real emergency because Democratic leaders are donating money from their campaign and political action committees:

Rep. John P. Murtha is cashing in on his extensive network of House connections to help fend off a surging Republican challenge for his 12th District seat in Pennsylvania. The 17-term incumbent has raised more than $170,000 since Monday, a large slice of it from his Democratic colleagues.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California kicked in $7,000 from her campaign and political action committees, as did Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel of Illinois and Rep. James P. Moran of Virginia, a fellow member of the House Appropriations Committee.

Murtha's seat was considered safe until he made comments earlier this month referring to his home region as "racist." The widely publicized statement drew attention and support to his well-funded GOP challenger, William Russell, and led the National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee to jump into the race, pledging $84,000 in coordinated spending. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee responded yesterday with $2,400 to help pay for phone banks.

I don't have trouble believing that Murtha didn't have a phonebanking operation. Like he said, he didn't take Lt. Col. Russell seriously. I don't think anyone thought he'd be in a tight race, much less in a race he could easily lose.

The thing for conservatives to do now that Pelosi, et al, have donated to Mr. Corruption, is to donate to Lt. Col. Russell's campaign. It isn't likely Rep. Murtha will ever be this vulnerable again so let's make the most of this opportunity.

Technorati: John Murtha, Corruption, Haditha, Marines, Nancy Pelosi, Okinawa, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, William Russell, Election 2008

Cross-posted at California Conservative

Pork Over Principle: The Johnstown-Democrat gets out the defibrolator.

Pork over Principle.

The Johnstown Tribune-Democrat, truly living up to its name, has once again thrown its scruples (if it had any to begin with) under the bus to try to resuscitate Jihad Jack Murtha's sorry political career. After falsely labeling William Trower Russell as a "carpetbagger," the two-bit call-girls on the editorial board of the Tribune go on to say,

• He is virtually a one-issue candidate, repeatedly attacking Murtha on his comments concerning Marines in Haditha, Iraq.

Yeah, I know... it's no biggie that Jack Murtha put 8 Marines and their families in a state of living hell for over two years with false accusations (for his own political aggrandizement), without so much as a subscription to the Jelly of the Month Club for the trouble he put them through. It's no big deal that he, an elected official sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States, threw their Constitutional right to the presumption of innocence out the window. Yep... the same guys who put their lives on the line to defend that very Constitution.

But yes, I know. Pork over Principle.

The lemmings at the Tribune-Democrat go on in a lame, rambling attempt to rationalize their "principled" decision to back Jihad Jack:

For some politicians, “experience” simply means too many years drawing a comfortable salary and nice benefits on taxpayer dollars without giving much back.

That is not the case with Murtha, who has provided leadership and sparked the development of new programs in key areas, especially in the health-care arena:

• He helped increase funding for Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., where service personnel returning from combat are treated for their injuries.

Yep... Jihad Jack cares so much about those who defend our country that he refuses to apologize to the Haditha Marines--not even to Justin Sharratt, who just happens to be Murtha's constituent! They go on to say,

• He has increased awareness and helped fund programs aimed at two of our region’s deadliest afflictions: Breast cancer and diabetes.

Pork, pork, pork, and more pork. There are beyond a doubt more pork projects with Jihad Jack's name in the Johnstown area than there were buildings with Caesar's name during the height of the Roman empire.

The Tribune Democrat then employs some feigned indignation at Murtha's arrogance against his own constituency:

We have been troubled by Murtha’s statements in recent weeks about racism in his district. He first said that “western Pennsylvania is a racist area,” then tried to clarify that a week later by saying there are a lot of “rednecks” in the region. We would like to see our congressman use better judgment and not attempt to lump all of his constituency into one category.

Yeah, I know.

Pork before Principle.

And, beyond all of that, Murtha’s social positions reflect those of his region much more so than those of his party. He opposes gun control and is pro-life, both positions that put him in step with most voters in our region.

Yep. Pro life and anti-gun control. I wonder if that's why he was pal-ing around with the likes of Nancy Pelosi and Code Pink. If Jihad Jack Murtha is so "in step" with how he sees most voters of PA-12, I wonder if he sees a "racist" or a "redneck" when he looks in the mirror. Likewise, I wonder if the editorial board at the Tribune-Democrat see the same thing when they take a shave in the morning.

Further, would most voters in PA-12 have the temerity to play judge, jury and executioner to those who defend freedom without the benefit of due process?

Somehow I doubt it.

But then again, Pork over Principle, right?

Once upon a time, when there wasn't an election on the line, the editorial board at the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat wrote:

We can’t accept the congressman’s earmark dollars with one hand and brush off his alleged transgressions with the other.

When he steps in mud, or when others throw mud at Murtha, we all get dirty.

That’s why, when questions are raised about possible improper activities at a Murtha-created organization, we get anxious.

And when a watchdog group rates our local congressman as being among “the most corrupt” lawmakers in Washington, we are embarrassed.

We don’t like being characterized as folks who support questionable activities, or who endorse troubling behavior by our elected officials.

Yet when the rubber hit the road, the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat found it fit to swallow their embarrassment and sell whatever remained of their principles to once again endorse a decidedly crooked politician to represent their readership in Washington.

Pork over principle, I guess.

We Heartily Concur

Speaking for MMGers everywhere, we heartily agree with Michelle Malkin's NRO column. It's time that we booted Murtha for being a spinmeister, a corruption machine, an EX-Marine and for being the most dovish hawk in the House of Representatives. This paragraph is the perfect encapsulation of the choices the voters of PA-12 have:

The Democrat supports the pork-stuffed, debt-exploding government bailout for the banking industry. The Republican opposes it. The Democrat supports a raft of illegal-alien amnesty measures. The Republican opposes them. The Democrat supports race-baiting campaign rhetoric and contemptuous smears against both American troops and gun-owning, Bible-respecting citizens. The Republican opposes those divisive tactics and reckless slander.

Let's hope that the people in PA-12 have finally realized that Rep. Murtha hasn't helped their district that much. Yes, he's brought home a ton of bacon but most of that money goes to a few select cronies. It certainly hasn't helped the masses in PA-12.

I think that Rep. Murtha's statements calling his constituents racists, then explaining that they weren't racists, that they were rednecks instead, is proof that he's rattled. I think Murtha's feeling the heat from the Russell Brigade. I think that pressure is causing a number of Murtha misstatements. In turn, I think that's exposing the true John Murtha.

While you're thinking about Murtha's plentiful ethical lapses, stop past Brigade HQ and contribute to Russell's victory.

Technorati: John Murtha, Corruption, Earmarks, William Russell, Reformer, Election 2008

Cross-posted at California Conservative

PA-12 Residents Weigh In

PA-12 voters are starting to register some disgust with Jihad Jack's seditious and arrogant antics. A good friend of mine from Pennsylvania writes,

"My cousin lives in Johnstown and she cannot stand Murtha. The sentiment is thick there now. I don't think he'll make it this year. Too many think he is senile."

Here are some LTE's From the Tribune-Democrat

Vote for a change of congressman

U.S. Rep. John Murtha has for many, many years been a good man and a good legislator.

I am a conservative Republican who has voted for him many, many times.

But it is time to vote Murtha out of office.

He was always a square shooter, but then he threw in with the Speaker of the House and apparently decided to do her will for political gain and power. He has abandoned his worthiness.

Turning his back on the Haditha Marines – who except for one man have been cleared of any wrongdoing – was very low.

Now, Murtha has called his constituents racist. That is a flat-out lie.

Murtha is trying to make excuses for the Democratic standardbearer, who is about to lose.

The reason western Pennsylvania won’t vote for Barack Obama is simply because no one knows who he is, other than a elitist liberal and big-time socialist.

The Associated Press can send 40 dirt-diggers to Anchorage, Alaska, but has not reported much about Obama.

If the qualifications of the two presidential candidates were reversed, there would be no racist talk.

All the racist talk is coming from the Democrats. This is planned so that when Obama loses he can do an Al Gore and send in his attorneys to throw out votes for his opponent.

On Nov. 4, vote for Republican Bill Russell.

David A. Murphy

New Florence

Racism comments insulting to voters

How dare U.S. Rep. John Murtha call his constituents racist (“Murtha: Western Pa. racist, but Obama should win the state,” Oct. 16), echoing what the rest of the Democratic party and the news media have been saying for months now.

Does Murtha think we’re too stupid to know he’s trying to subliminally sow the seeds of doubt in our minds and have us question ourselves about whether we’re racist or not?

He must believe that if he’s successful, he’ll trick us into voting by skin color rather than by the issues just so we can “prove” to ourselves that we’re not racist.

Murtha should know that many of us are smart enough to do our homework and vote issues rather than party.

We’ll vote issues rather than skin color as well.

Why don’t I read anything about the94 percent of black voters who support Obama being racist?

I’m a registered Republican, but I vote issues first.

I’ve voted for Murtha in the past as well as for state Rep. Tom Yewcic, another Democrat.

Murtha shouldn’t insult me or my neighbors like this.

It’s underhanded and manipulative, and for that I’ll not vote for him this year but instead I’ll support Bill Russell.

Darryl S. Hauck

Colver

Interestingly, there were no pro-Murtha letters at the site.

Two years ago, a fine candidate by the name of Diana Irey ran against Murtha. Although PA-12 voters gave her an impressive percentage of the vote, they weren't quite ready to give up their cash cow.

But now, more than ever, the stench of corruption and malfeasance has evidently become too much to bear.

PA-12, you will have good, honest representation in the name of William Trower Russell!

Going....Going.... Russell leads Murtha by Double Digits!!

Michelle Malkin reports:(emphases added)

A Pennsylvania source has just leaked me brand spanking new poll data showing GOP upstart Bill Russell leading John Murtha among over 800 probable voters by 48-35.

This comes on top of the Susquehanna poll showing Murtha ahead of Russell by 4 points, within the margin of error.

The new poll is from Dane and Associates, which surveyed over 800 probable voters, randomly selected to reflect the district makeup, on Wednesday night.

I guess insulting the intelligence of your constiuents can get you only so far, eh Jack?

BTW, it probably wouldn't hurt to drop by Bill Russell's site and send a few bucks his way, just to nail Murtha's ass, but good.

A little look at history...

John Murtha's history of being a robber-baron, playing free and easy with the toils of the taxpayers, is far from being a short one. Let me take you on a trip down memory lane to Murtha's challenge from another democrat opponent, Frank Mascara, in 2002

Murtha challenged Mascara to a debate early in the campaign. Mascara quickly accepted, but Murtha said he couldn't fit the debates into his schedule. So Mascara offered a $1,000 bounty to anyone who could convince Murtha to debate. The money went unclaimed.

While Mascara was trying to get Murtha to debate, Murtha was announcing millions of dollars worth of federal grants and projects throughout the 12th District.

As the second-ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, Murtha has control over military spending and has steered defense-related contracts to companies throughout the district. Murtha's slogan, "the congressman who delivers," became the theme of his campaign.

Murtha made immediate inroads in the new district. At one point, he dealt Mascara a blow in the heart of his 20th District by awarding a $2 million grant to a center that retrains unemployed coal miners at California University of Pennsylvania, Mascara's alma mater.

Mascara had enjoyed support from the United Mine Workers of America through the Greene-Fayette-Washington areas, but the union endorsed Murtha for re-election.

That's all Murtha had to do to win votes. A little pork here, a little pork there, paid for by the very taxpayers he supposedly serves. When asked about his opponent after the election, a gloating, self-aggrandizing Murtha declared:

"I usually don't take things like this personally, but I did this time. He was desperate. He wanted to win so bad he would stoop to anything. I haven't heard from him, and I don't expect to."

He would "...stoop to anything to win," eh Jack? You mean like your decision to betray your country during a time of war by starting an unprecedented negative propaganda campaign against our troops and their mission; just like the time in May of 2005 when you threw 15 Haditha Marines under the bus for your own political aggrandizement, just so you could win the House Majority Seat?

Seems like Mr. Mascara learned from the best...er worst. But let's face it-- on Mascara's meanest, most unscrupulous day, he could never stoop so low or be so ruthless as Jihad Jack Murtha.

Murtha's Grip Loosening?

Based on this article in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, it's apparent that John Murtha's steely grip on PA-12 has substantially loosened. Mike Wereschagin and David Brown do a great job of finding people that likely would've voted in virtual lockstep for Rep. Murtha. Now, many are either undecided or voting for William Russell.

Democratic Rep. John Murtha leads retired Army Lt. Col. William Russell by a little more than 4 percentage points, within the Susquehanna Poll's 4.9-point margin of error. The poll of 400 likely voters was conducted for the Tribune-Review on Tuesday, amid uproar over Murtha's statement that some of his constituents are racist.

Stanley Shemanski, 67, a retired meat cutter who lives in Apollo, said he's undecided about the congressional race. He doesn't know much about Russell, but he's upset with Murtha's comment that racism in the district could hurt Democrat Barack Obama's chances.

"I didn't like that at all. He shouldn't have said it," Shemanski said.

Most of all, the national economy concerns him. "I'm retired, but my daughter, she works for the bank, and I'm worried about that."

It's my opinion that, if this race were decided on policies and/or ethics, Murtha would've been defeated ages ago. He's a walking corruption zone. Until now, people were willing to overlook the corruption because he brought home the bacon.

While it isn't time to write Rep. Murtha off, it's certainly time to contribute to Russell's campaign. Think of it this way. Your contribution might buy the advertising that breaks the porkster's back and sends him into involuntary retirement.

Murtha's racist/rednecks comments haven't endeared him to his constituents. It's time to defeat him when he's most vulnerable. That's right now. It's unlikely that Rep. Murtha will be more vulnerable than right now. That's why it's important to go for the electoral juglar. It's time to put him out of our misery.

Technorati: John Murtha, Racists, Rednecks, Corruption, William Russell, Iraq War Veteran, Election 2008

Lt. Col. William Russell in the News

Check out the Russell interview here.

Also, Mark Hemingway does a bang-up job reporting about the Russell campaign here.

Jihad Jack Murtha: San Francisco Elitist (Wannabe)

For years, Congressman Jack Murtha had been a major behind-the-scences powerbroker in the U.S. House. He pretty much pulled the strings in all things defense, and nothing happened without it going through him first. But despite the power that Jack Murtha had, he was, in the end, still behind the scenes.

Tired of being the red-headed step-child of the democrat party, Congressman Jack Murtha (PA-12) devised a plan that he hoped would propel him to the ranks of the democrat elite. So back on a bleak November day in 2005, Jack Murtha took out his thirty pieces of silver, and traded them for what he hoped would be a seat at the movon.org power structure of the DNC. An ex-Marine, Murtha willingly gave cover to the democrat party in their bid to set into motion an unprecedented, unsrupulous, and unprincipled campaign to make political hay out of the war in Iraq by pushing to ensure its failure, damn the casualties. From that fateful day in November, 2005, Murtha (at least in his own mind) became the absolute toast of the democrat anti-war kook left.

Feeling stuck in a position of being a backroom powerbroker in D.C., Jack felt he deserved a more prominent spot at the table of power. Safe in the womb of his own district from years and years and millions upon millions in taxpayer-supplied pork spending, Murtha felt (and was at the time) invulnerable. Jack therefore felt it safe to cast his lot with the looniest of the leftists, in a whorish effort to gain favor with those who would nourish his already checkered political career. Betting that the U.S. Congress would change hands in the 2006 elections, Jack Murtha became more and more virulent in his anti-war rhetoric. he even went so far as to throw eight of his Marine brethren under the bus in May of 2006, when without evidence he played judge, jury and executioner in the Haditha incident; an incident in which all were exonerated (and for which Murtha to this day refuses to apologize).

With his eyes ever on the prize, and with his rheteric growing ever more ruthless and reckless, Jack Murtha looked forward to the day when he, too, would be invited to all the right cocktail parties, and be seen as an equal with the rest of the anti-American elite democrat power structure. Visions of Soviet hammers and sickles danced in his head, and he probably orgasmed in his pants when his dream of a democrat takeover of Congress came through in November of 2005. Murtha was the pied piper of death and destruction in his role in sabotaging the war effort for the democrat party, and felt that he must be paid. Speaker Pelosi agreed, and placed upon Jack Murtha her impiratur for the coveted House Majority Leader spot. Nothing could stop Jack from finally achieving the apex of his congressional career, and was looking forward to being coronated as the second highest ranking member in the U.S. House.

Or so he thought.

You see, Murtha, like any member of the white limousine liberal kook-left plantation, was expendable. Not too many people liked him in the first place. Murtha proved his usefulness in handing the democrats a 2006 electoral victory. His usefulness gone, their victories won, the DNC power structure that Jack Murtha so wanted to be a part of, for which he sold his very soul, threw him under the bus like the sack of disposable diapers that he is. Like a college frat that uses a dweeb pledge to take the fall for a major prank and then dumps him, the DNC power structure rejected Murtha's bid, and nearly laughed in his face doing it.

Dejected, but not broken, Murtha continued his stint as major pork-broker in the U.S. House, and continued to line his political coffers with donations from the beneficiaries of Murtha's looseness with the publicly funded largesse.

But you see, to this very day, Jihad Jack Murtha wants to continue to endear himself to the tainted left, to be wanted and loved, and wanted so much to be considered relevant, that he is willing to throw not only Marines, but his very constituency under the bus. Calling PA-12 residents racists the other day, and then rednecks today, Murtha is trying desperately to continue to be accepted by the democrat D.C. power structure who continue to treat him like a house boy. Knowing that Obama will lose in a decidedly conservative military district, Murtha is striving to apologize for the very people who have placed him in power lo these 17 congressional terms.

Jack Murtha's story has all the makings of a Greek tragedy, only his actions have had some very real consequences, His megalomaniacal penchant for power has, in my opinion (and others') had the net effect of prolonging the war; and his aid and comfort given to our enemies have resulted in unnecessary and untold loss of life and subsequent grief to soldiers and their families.

Jack Murtha may never fit in with the San Francisco elite he is trying so desperately to emulate and to be a part of, but one thing is for sure: for his entire sorry political career, the only thing that has ever mattered to Jack Murtha, is and was, Jack Murtha.

From" Racists" To "Rednecks", Flattery Will Get You Nowhere Jihad Jackoff

Will he come out Wednesday and claim he really didn't mean to call them racists or rednecks, he really meant to say Jerry Springer loving White trash? Never know as his senility reaches new heights previously detected.

So at this juncture can someone take ol' Jack out to the proverbial woods like a suffering hound and possibly put him out of his obvious political misery and increasing dementia before he finally says something that gets someone hurt, just like it did to our 8 brave soldiers in Haditha, Iraq, likely getting other soldiers killed as a result, thanks to the apprehension they all must carry with them in the field of battle, afraid they'll become the next target of not Al Queda but their own government with Jihad himself driving the Humvee of innuendo and personal destruction.

Pennsylvanians, please tell me you've finally had enough of the Haditha Hog who needs to finally be sent to the butcher once and for all after this past week of insulting anyone and everyone he could manage. After all, what'll it take to finally raise the ire of you folks may I ask? Isn't being referred to as Rednecks and Racists just a little too much from your own congressman?

I sure would hope so.....otherwise if you don't send him packing now. I would have to say he may just be right about you all at the end of the day.

Murtha Calls Western Pa. 'Redneck' -

Pittsburgh News Story - WTAE Pittsburgh: "CHARLEROI, Pa. -- U.S. Rep. John Murtha is calling many of the people who put him in office 'rednecks.'

The news comes one week after Murtha claimed the area is racist, then apologized for that comment.

In explaining his comments about racism, Murtha told WTAE it's difficult for many in the area to change. Murtha said that just five to 10 years ago the entire area was 'redneck.'

Now Murtha said only certain segments of the population are holding on to those racist feelings.

Just days after classifying western Pennsylvania as racist, Murtha took a step back from those comments, albeit a small one.

'What I said, that indicted everybody, that's not what I meant at all. What I mean is there's still folks that have a problem voting for someone because they are black,' Murtha said."

Boy oh Boy.....

PA 12--Murtha says you're racist.

Yep... that's what he said.

U.S. Rep. John Murtha made a comment Wednesday about a region of his state of Pennsylvania that raised a few eyebrows.
Citing race as the lone factor why some voters in the western part of the state will not vote for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, Murtha said flatly the western part of the state is “racist.”
“There is no question that western Pennsylvania is a racist area,” Murtha said.

Forget that you in PA-12 may have your own reasons for not voting for Obama, reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with race. Your own elected U.S. Congressman thinks you're racist.

PA-12, isn't it time you sent this self-serving, senile old gasbag to retirement?

Who’s Investigating the Investigators?

One of the things that popped into my head as I read TMLC's statement was whether anyone was investigating the investigators or the military personnel making rulings at the various hearings. Here's what got me started wondering about that:

The investigation of the “Haditha Marines” by over 65 Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) agents is the largest investigation in that agency’s history according to the director of that agency.

It isn't possible that that many investigators objectively examined that much information, including videotape from UAV's that monitored the firefight and audiotape communications between the Haditha Marines and the command center, and thought that there was a basis for charges against the Haditha Marines.

Capt. Dinsmore testified via video from Iraq that they knew in advance that there was an insurgent attack planned for November 19, 2005. They knew that a white car would play an important role in the ambush.

Here's what I posted over a year ago from John Murtha's interview with Charlie Gibson:

GIBSON: Jonathan just mentioned, there’s no charges yet filed against any of the Marines that were in this outfit, but Jonathan mentioned a moment ago, defense lawyers are already saying, well, there’s drone video and there is actual radio traffic to higher-ups that will give a different picture than you have been talking about of this incident. What do you know about that?

Why hasn't NCIS come under closer scrutiny? They're responsible for this witch hunt. Why aren't they being held accountable?

As I said earlier today, Col. Steven Folsom dismissed all charges against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani on the grounds that there was "unlawful command influence" involved in bringing the charges against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani. This is about as serious a charge as can be brought against the convening authorities. Here's what USMilitary.org says about UCI:

UCI occurs when senior personnel, wittingly or unwittingly, have acted to influence court members, witnesses, or others participating in military justice cases. Such unlawful influence not only jeopardizes the validity of the judicial process, it undermines the morale of military members, their respect for the chain of command, and public confidence in the military.

It isn't a stretch to think that the influence in this instance was intentional. Putting it in betting parlance, the fix was in. If this happened in criminal court, the possible range of charges might include obstruction of justice, subornation of perjury, witness tampering and/or jury tampering.

Let's think of this from a civilian standpoint. The investigators would be part of the prosecution's team. They'd likely be a law enforcement organization like the FBI or a police or sheriff's department. If a judge ruled that a law enforcement organization had fixed a trial, rest assured that there'd be front page headlines in the local paper talking about the criminal activity.

The next logical question I'd ask is whether courts-martial trials were being determined by legislators. This deserves a full-scale investigation. I'd specifically want to know if John Murtha, Norm Dicks or Ike Skelton exerted pressure on NCIS investigators or on the Article 32 hearings. If they did, they should be immediately expelled from the House of representatives.

That type of behavior is unacceptable, especially when it involves true American heroes who followed the ROE.

Technorati: NCIS, Investigations, Article 32 Hearings, Haditha, John Murtha, Norm Dicks, Ike Skelton, Unlawful Command Influence, Perjury, Tampering, Obstruction of Justice

Cross-posted at California Conservative

Setting the Haditha Record Straight

I've been following John Murtha's attempted railroading of the Haditha Marines since May, 2006. After learning the details of what happened in Haditha, I then focused on what's been happening in the military injustice system. It's been difficult to watch the purely political machinations within the persecutions. This morning, the Thomas More Law Center (TMLC) issued a statement that their appeal to the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals court will be this Friday. Here's part of the text of their statement:

Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Law Center, commented, “For the last two and a half years, Lt. Colonel Chessani, has been investigated and prosecuted for his involvement in the so-called "Haditha massacre", a massacre the Government now knows never happened. This loyal officer who served 20 years defending our nation, including three tours of duty in Iraq, has been made a political scapegoat to appease anti-war Congressman John Murtha and the liberal press.”
Thompson continued, “The outcome of this case could have a negative impact on our national security. If the Government succeeds with this prosecution, every combat commander will know that difficult battlefield decisions can end up with a politically motivated criminal prosecution based on insurgent-driven propaganda.”

It's time that we turned up the heat on the powers that be and force an end to this charade. That means pressuring the politicians behind this persecution.

Lt. Col. Chessani is essentially charged with covering up a military crime. As Mr. Thompson notes, the military now knows that a military crime wasn't committed. That isn't opinion. It's a finding of fact evidenced by the dropping of charges against 5 of the 8 Marines. That's evidenced by the acquittal of another of the accused Marines. The only people who haven't been officially been cleared are Lt. Col. Chessani and SSgt. Wuterich. Again, it's time for this charade to end.

Here's another important portion of TMLC's statement:

Background of LtCol Chessani’s Case
On November 19, 2005, at approximately 7:15 a.m., a Marine convoy was rolling through Haditha, Iraq, a terrorist stronghold. Suddenly, a roadside bomb went off destroying a Marine Humvee, killing one Marine, and seriously injuring two others.

The Marines immediately received fire from the ambushing insurgents, who were shooting from nearby civilian-occupied homes. A four-man fire team responded as trained; they cleared several houses occupied by the armed insurgents. In the ensuing room-by-room, house-by-house gun battle, 8 enemy insurgents were killed.

Tragically 15 civilians also died, in urban combat, where insurgents purposefully use civilians as human shields, civilian casualties are tragic, but not uncommon. In fact, sometimes the insurgents themselves kill civilians to achieve a propaganda victory by blaming the Americans.

I talked about these events in this post:

That's one of the bullet points in Phil Brennan's June 7, 2007 article. Here's the full set of bullet points:

• Intelligence gathered by Marine S2 officers in advance of the events of Nov. 19th, 2005, revealed that it was known that an insurgent ambush was planned for the day.
• Although exact details of the planned ambush were not known, some important details were revealed, most importantly, that some 20 insurgents would take part, and a white car would play an important role in the ambush.
• The intelligence was made available to the officers and men of Kilo Company, including Sgt. Frank Wuterich who has been charged with, among other things, murdering the occupants of a white car that came on the scene following the IED explosion that killed one Marine and seriously wounded another. The evidence will show that Wuterich acted appropriately when he shot the passengers of the vehicle.
• Although the media continues to report that 24 innocent civilians were killed that day, the S2's testimony shows that eight of the dead, including four of the five occupants in the white car killed by Wuterich, were known insurgents and the dead civilians therefore numbered 16, not 24.
• The insurgents whose communications were intercepted and which revealed the planned ambush were the same two men who were the sources of the fallacious and dishonest Time magazine story, which was the source of the accusations against the Marines.
• As previously reported by NewsMax, the battalion S2 officer made a full and complete report based on his monitoring of the day's events and the intelligence he and others had amassed then and previous days. As we wrote at the time, the PowerPoint after-action report he sent up the command ladder proved to all the higher officers that the incident warranted no further investigation. None!

Jeffrey Dinsmore's testimony at the Article 32 hearing shows two things: (a) that a massacre didn't happen and (b) that the officers reported everything that happened. Since it's now a legal finding of fact that the massacre didn't happen and that a detailed PowerPoint presentation was put together, then sent up the chain of command, it isn't a stretch to think that this continued charade is purely political theater.

If the military wants to convince us that the word justice means anything to them, they must immediately end this charade. At this point, I'm not convinced that justice is an important consideration for the military. If it was, Colonel Steven A. Folsom wouldn't have issued a ruling of unlawful command influence in the case of Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani. If justice was their primary goal, they wouldn't continue this charade.

Let's recognize that Rep. Murtha first lied about this on May 17, 2006. he then lied about where he got his information from, first saying that he was getting his information "from the commanders, it comes from people who know what they’re talking about.” It didn't take long before that story changed:

Murtha, a Pennsylvania Democrat, is being sued by one of the accused Marines for libel. He had told The Philadelphia Inquirer that Gen. Michael Hagee had given him the information on which he based his charge that Marines killed innocent civilians.
But a spokesman for the Marine Corps said Hagee briefed Murtha on May 24 about Haditha. Murtha had made comments on the case as early as May 17.

Rep. Murtha's version of events has changed frequently, which says he isn't telling the truth.

It's time that the military acted in the interest of justice towards Lt. Col. Chessani and SSgt. Wuterich. If they're interested in justice, they should correct their mistake ASAP.

Technorati: Haditha, John Murtha, Jeffrey Chessani, Frank Wuterich, Jeffrey Dinsmore, Time Magazine, Insurgents, Investigations, Article 32 Hearings

Cross-posted at California Conservative

Jihad Jack Murtha: Fashionably Corrupt.

Even liberal-leaning Esquire Magazine can't stand the stench, calling Murtha "..one of the "10 worst" incumbents in the Republic."

While the majority of Keystone State races get simple capsule endorsements, there's one PA lawmaker who gets singled out for particular attention. And that's U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-12th, who makes the magazine's list of the "10 Worst" incumbents in the Republic.

Murtha makes the list for his "breathtaking earmarks," for his Johnstown-based district ($100 million a year), and for his opposition to ethics reform in the House, which he labeled "total crap."

Congratulations, Jack. First you solidified your bonafides as a cheap opportunist with making the most corrupt politician in CREW's Top Ten; now you've made Esquire.

Hey PA-12... you embarrassed yet?

Arrogant Murtha to Americans: "Tough Shit."

Jack Murtha is undoubtedly not only the most corrupt member of congress, but the most arrogant.

When complaints arose that it is still difficult to find information regarding earmarks embedded in legislation, Murtha had a wonderful answer to those Americans who wish to know where their tax dollars are going:

Last year, Congress promised to shed light on the secretive process. But the lists of earmarks are still buried in obscure documents that are difficult to find and search. Until Congress put them online a couple of weeks ago, the House disclosure letters, linking lawmakers to companies, were thick volumes of paper kept in a cabinet in the offices of the House Appropriations Committee.

When a reporter for Congressional Quarterly pointed out how difficult it remains to pull all the information together, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., chairman of the committee that drafts the defense bill, had a quick answer: “Tough shit.”

"Tough Shit," Jack? Is that what you have to say to the cry for more transparency in government?

Much to your amazement, Jihad Jack, the people of PA-12 elected you to be a public servant, not an elite member of royalty.

PA-12, it's high time to say, "Tough Shit!" to his "royal heinous" at the ballot box. Say NO to Murtha, and say YES to William Russell!

****UPDATE****

Welcome Freepers, Just One Minute, and Calaveras Today Readers. We at MMG have been chronicling the misdeeds of Jack Murtha ever since he unjustly and falsely pronounced guilt over the Haditha Marines in May of 2006, without an official briefing.

Please click here for more information as to why Murtha Must Go!

Murtha and earmarks: Like Peas & Carrots!

Murtha and the rest of the corrupt congress continue to refuse to follow their own rules:

And Congress broke its pledge — and President Bush's challenge — to cut earmarks in half. Lawmakers cut the dollar amount of defense earmarks by about a fourth and the number by 19 percent.

The hidden earmarks range from $8 million for lighting sold by a financially troubled company in North Carolina to $588 million for a submarine the administration doesn't want.

After months of investigating the $459 billion 2008 defense bill, The Times found:

• The hidden $3.5 billion included 155 earmarks, among them the most costly in the bill. Congress disclosed 2,043 earmarks worth $5 billion.

• The House broke the new rules at least 110 times by failing to disclose who was getting earmarks, making it difficult for the public to judge whether the money is being spent wisely.

• In at least 175 cases, senators did not list themselves in Senate records as earmark sponsors, appearing more fiscally responsible. But they told a different story to constituents back home in news releases, claiming credit for the earmarks and any new jobs.

Lawmakers do not face penalties for failing to follow these ethics rules.

"The whole ethics bill was a sham," said Sen. Jim DeMint, a Republican from South Carolina, after being told of The Times' findings.

This continuing scandal shows the grubby little fingerprints of the Pork King, himself:

One congressman's fingerprints, however, weren't so easy to conceal. Latrobe sits in the congressional district of Rep. John Murtha, a Democrat who chairs the subcommittee that drafts the defense bill and wields the most power over defense earmarks.

Latrobe's officials have given $5,000 to Murtha's re-election fund in the past two years.

Also, Murtha had talked about giving taxpayer dollars to Latrobe. "We're trying to get together to see how we can work out an increased capacity for that particular company," Murtha said at a subcommittee hearing in April 2007. "I've talked to that producer. And what I'd like to see is them put some money in, us put some money in, and reduce the time it takes to get those spare parts out."

This spring, the Air Force carried out the earmark by asking companies to submit proposals for a $16.6 million research grant that would expand production of specialty steel made through "vacuum induction melting and vacuum arc remelting."

The money was aimed at alleviating the shortage of specialty steel.

But the foreign-steel ban proved so restrictive that the military and major defense contractors, such as Boeing, complained that they couldn't get parts. In December, Congress loosened the ban.

Latrobe has tentatively won the research grant, a Pentagon spokeswoman confirmed, although details are still being worked out.

The company would not comment on any discussions it had with Murtha. A spokeswoman defended getting the grant, saying it had been competitively bid. Even so, she acknowledged that Latrobe is the sole U.S. producer of certain specialty steels, a requirement for getting the money.

She said Latrobe was a few months away from completing the $62 million expansion while it waits for the government handout.

Through a spokesman, Murtha said the project was not an earmark because the contract was competitively bid. Last year at a hearing, however, Murtha talked of giving Latrobe funding because it was the only U.S. company that could make that steel.

I'm telling you, PA-12. There is a better way.

Murtha: Trying to Lose the War We're In

Not only did Murtha call for immediate surrender from Iraq as early as November 2005; not only did Murtha continually state that there was no way to win the Iraq war; not only did Murtha continually undermine the troops and their mission, calling them cold-blooded murderers, Jihad Jack Murtha continues even to this day to undermine our national security, not only for now, but in the future. As Tom Donnelly notes in the Weekly Standard,

Even as Gates was telling unpleasant truths to people in uniform--for it is they who will most bear the brunt of the Long War--congressional Democrats revealed how deeply they remain a state of denial. Rep. John Murtha, the chairman of the House appropriations defense subcommittee, announced his opposition to the Bush administration’s plan (and the supposed position of presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama) to increase the size of the active-duty Army and Marine Corps. Taking a page out of the Rummy pre-9/11 playbook, Murtha declared that the Pentagon “is going to have to cut personnel in order to pay for procurement.”

To be sure, the Defense Department faces critical budget problems. Procurement needs are genuine: Most current major U.S. weapons systems are products of the Reagan build-up. But, as Gates puts it, you have to win the war you’re in. The Bush troop plan is, if anything, a belated half-measure, a snail-paced increase that would bring the combined size of the Army and Marine Corps to about 750,000 in 2013, just 10 percent more than it was in 2005. Sen. John McCain has called for a larger, longer-term surge that would bring total land-force strength to 900,000.

The theme of Gates’s NDU speech was a warning about the limits of wonder weapons. While lauding “advances in precision, sensor, information and satellite technology,” he admonished the military to “never neglect the psychological, cultural, political and human dimensions of warfare, which is inevitably tragic, inefficient and uncertain.” He concluded his talk with words from one of the greatest American practitioners of irregular warfare, Gen. “Vinegar Joe” Stilwell, whose experience taught him “no matter how a war starts, it ends in mud. It has to be slugged out--there are no trick solutions or cheap shortcuts.” It is ironic that Gates, the soft-spoken former intelligence officer, better understands the need for boots on the ground than Murtha, the gruff former Marine.

But Murtha led the way when Democrats turned hard against the Iraq war in 2006; without his imprimatur, surely, Speaker Nancy Pelosi might have moderated her anti-war, San Francisco instincts. Apparently the Democratic strategy is now to limit the prospects for future mischief--that is, the prospects for successfully waging the Long War--by withholding the manpower that is needed. They’re doubling down on defeat.

Jack Murtha continues to lead the charge toward bringing the United States down to a third-world power. Murtha's actions and inactions are making it quite clear that he intends to utilize our national security as a political football instead of giving it the serious consideration it deserves.

Time and time again, Murtha has shown that he's dangerous, both to boots presently on the ground, as well as to our nation's future security.

PA-12, the nation looks to you. It's high time that MURTHA MUST GO!!

Americans, the choice is stark. Lt. Col. William Russell (ret) is a man of honor, and deserves our support!

Johnstown-Democrat..still in bed with Murtha...

With regard to the pending lawsuit by PA-12 constituent Justin Sharratt against Jihad Jack Murtha, the editors at the Johnstown-Democrat no doubt had a huge lump in their throat and a scowl on their face when they begrudgingly penned the following:

We certainly hope justice is done in this case.

That would mean that if Murtha truly damaged someone’s reputation with false accusations, that he face the music in court.

The rules should be no different for public officials than for the rest of us.

But the editors, still in love with their self-absorbed, repugnant, corrupt congressman from PA-12, couldn't help but add the following salt to the wounds of those already unjustly besmirched by Murtha:

We would also hope that the courts – military and civilian – are making every effort to be certain that those who are cleared of wrongdoing deserve that treatment. War means dangerous circumstances, but even in such a setting, crimes against civilians should not be tolerated.

There was no "crime" against civilians perpetrated by U.S. Marines. Period. If there was a crime against civilians, it was perpetrated by the terrorists, who, against the Geneva Convention and the rules of war, chose to utilize civilians as human shields in time of war and during a firefight. And the sycophant editors at the Tribune-Democrat go on to offer yet another "caveat" with regard to their faux consternation of Jihad Jack:

We also understand that there is a political side to this situation – although Geary said: “There’s no political motivation whatsoever. This is purely a legal endeavor.”

Republican challenger William Russell has made Murtha’s Haditha comments his rallying cry in attempting to unseat the longtime incumbent."

Damn right there's politics involved! It takes politics to unseat a dirty politician with a scandalous record a mile long, and it's high time that a man of honor in the name of William Russell has stepped up to the challenge. The editors go on to say,

While the courts ultimately will decide Murtha’s fate concerning the lawsuit, voters will have their say in a month.

You're damned right about that. And the fawning editors at the Johnstown Democrat will more than likely be crying in their coffee once their corrupt golden calf is sent to retirement on November 4th.

***UPDATE****

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