Cleland to Lead Anti-Boot Murtha Rally

Max Cleland has announced that he'll lead a vets rally for John Murtha the day before the Boot Murtha rally. Here's part of his statement:

The Murtha for Congress Committee said that former U.S. Sen. Max Cleland (D-GA) announced last night he's leading a large-scale effort among his veteran brothers to support U.S. Rep. John P. Murtha (D-PA), who is coming under attack from "radical right-wing forces in the veterans' community" aimed at "swift-boating Murtha, like they did former Democratic nominee for president Sen. John Kerry."

Sen. Cleland, Is it a "radical right wing" thing to demand that John Murtha not betray his oath of office by ignoring the Constitution's due process and fair trial guarantees? If it is, then I'm guilty as charged. And proudly so. Murtha, on the other hand, is too interested in playing cheap political politics with the military to be concerned with Constitutional guarantees these days.

Sen. Cleland, Is it a "radical right wing" thing to expect our elected officials to not demoralize our troops by saying that we can't win in Iraq? Rep. Murtha owes our troops an engraved apology for the things he's said.

Sen. Cleland, Is it a "radical right wing" thing to demand that our representatives to tell the truth about troop morale? If it is, then count me among the "radical right wing." If you think that Rep. Murtha hasn't lied about it, I suggest you read this article. Here's the transcript of Sgt. Seavey's statement:

"Yes sir my name is Mark Seavey and I just want to thank you for coming up here. Until about a month ago I was Sgt Mark Seavey infantry squad leader, I returned from Afghanistan. My question to you, (applause)

"Like yourself I dropped out of college two years ago to volunteer to go to Afghanistan, and I went and I came back. If I didn't have a herniated disk now I would volunteer to go to Iraq in a second with my troops, three of which have already volunteered to go to Iraq. I keep hearing you say how you talk to the troops and the troops are demoralized, and I really resent that characterization. (applause) The morale of the troops that I talk to is phenomenal, which is why my troops are volunteering to go back, despite the hardships they had to endure in Afghanistan.

"And Congressman Moran, 200 of your constituents just returned from Afghanistan. We never got a letter from you; we never got a visit from you. You didn't come to our homecoming. The only thing we got from any of our elected officials was one letter from the governor of this state thanking us for our service in Iraq, when we were in Afghanistan. That's reprehensible. I don't know who you two are talking to but the morale of the troops is very high."

Frankly, Sen. Cleland, I don't know how anyone can defend John Murtha's actions the past six months. Sen. Cleland, I don't know why you'd even try. Is it because you're doing it only for political purposes?

He continued, "Semper Fi is not a slogan to Jack Murtha, it's a way of life, in uniform and in the halls of Congress where he's put the full force of his unyielding support of our military into real leadership for our troops and military families for over three decades in Washington. There's a reason why Congressman Murtha is one of our most trusted voices on national security and America's standing in the world, he speaks his mind, he speaks his heart, and he's willing to speak truth to power."

It's insulting to hear Sen. Cleland say that Semper Fi isn't a slogan to John Murtha. Murtha's actions don't speak loudly of his support for our troops. These days, they speak more of betraying the troops. As for the senator's claim that Murtha is "one of our most trusted voices on national security", I'd just suggest that he take a look at Murtha's advice to President Clinton on Somalia:

The Pennsylvania Democrat announced that President Clinton had been "listening to our suggestions. And I think you'll see him move those troops out very quickly."

"They're subdued compared to normal morale of elite forces," Murtha said. "Obviously, it was a very difficult battle. A lot of Somalis were killed, but it was a brutal battle." Murtha said the U.S. had to no choice but to pull out now, explaining, "There's no military solution. Some of them will tell you [that] to get [warlord Mohamed Farrah] Aidid is the solution. I don't agree with that."

In a 1998 interview with ABC's John Miller, Osama bin Laden said that America's withdrawal from Somalia had emboldened his burgeoning al Qaida force and encouraged him to plan new attacks.

"Our people realize[d] more than before that the American soldier is a paper tiger that run[s] in defeat after a few blows," the terror chief recalled. "America forgot all about the hoopla and media propaganda and left dragging their corpses and their shameful defeat."

After reading bin Laden's statement, it's obvious that we can't afford much more of Murtha's 'sage advice' on national security.

That's why Murtha Must Go.

That's why it's time to Boot Murtha.

---

Posted Sunday, August 27, 2006 11:56 PM

July 2006 Posts

Comment 1 by DTW 06 at 28-Aug-06 12:03 AM

I saw Cleland on Bill Maher "Real Time" this Friday evening. He is a great American with a sense of humor. We need more like him in government.

Please check out the following post:

Crazy Extremists

These Islamic extremists have some serious anti-social issues. It is unfortunate that too many people in this world are willing adherents to rigid dogma.

It is disturbing how many willingly sacrifice their lives for someone else's objectives, all in the name of religion. Or could it be something else?

Could it be for the state and a sense of patriotism?

Could it be over land and/or other resources?

Or could the objective be to settle an old score? After all if it is always about and "eye for an eye" we will have constant war. Yes, there sure are lots of ways adherence to rigid dogma and unquestioning loyalty lead to bloodshed.

Please check out OhioDem1's How to Sell a War for more on this topic.

QuestionItNow Blogs