I appreciate John Murtha speaking out against an illegal, stupid, un-winabble and hideously costly (in lives and money) second Viet Nam war.

However I will never support him for anything else because he supports everything else that I detest—right to life, no gun control and a number of other conservative faves.  He is NOT my kind of Democrat and I will never support him if he does not support a woman’s right to choose.

When Murtha says Redeploy !
.
Dems take governorships, state legislatures, the House and the Senate.
Redeployment takes on a new and iridescent meaning.
Thank you John Murtha.

(cognitorex blogspot com)

The Europeans who are saying “America has finally come to her senses” with the new Democratic majority are going to be surprised when foreign policy does not change.  Unfortun-ately Congress has little power there except by cutting off funds, which was what we finally had to do in Viet Nam.  We must not be afraid to do so again, as stated by a previous commentator. That is the best way we can really “support our troops”!

“Big Oil” companies hold us hostage?
(comment #39029 by:  by Eleanore Kjellberg)
How about taking some personal responsibility?  The truth is “big oil” earns 4.5 cents a gallon on gasoline delivered in the USA.  The Feds take 18.9 cents a gallon, my State takes 23 cents a gallon, the Feds take another $3 a barrel on importsd oil. There is a cost of $1.33 per gallon @ $56 a barrel)for raw light sweet crude which must be refined.

Since 1963, (when I was pumping Sinclair regular then priced at 22.8) the cost of gasoline has risen in price at about the same rate as a Buick (my 1963 LeSabre cost $2,643) a gallon of Milk, and the taxes on my home.

The price of a ticket to the movies (from 75 cents in 63 to over ten bucks today) has been a bit steeper.

I no longer go to the movies, I wait for a les expensive venue.

Hydrogen powered cars don’t polute, hydrogen is a widely available fuel, and we wouldn’t even have to abandon the internal combustion dinosaur under the hood.

Want cheaper transportation?  Beat up on your automotive engineers… The oil companies are only producing what you (the public) demands.....and in the privledged USA they sell product for far less than Europe, Asia, or most of Africa.

Be informed,

Murtha 20-some years ago was caught on tape being offered tens of thousands of dollars in a bribe and he didn’t doing anything about it.  He’s not the kind of person that needs to be in a leadership role in the next Congress.

thank you for recognizing this true patriot!!

I don’t believe that Murtha is necessarily for pulling our troops out of Iraq, or for bringing the war to a close. He’s just “positioning” himself, and the democratic party, politically.
It’s apparent that the Democrats are positioning themselves to cover all the options where the war and foreign policy is concerned.

Unfortunately, larger issues currently at stake. If the embrace of pro-life and anti-gun control legislators is what’s required for a bulwark against President Bush on Iraq, then so be it. On a global scale, nothing could be more important right now.”

Yes, nothing is more important then the rapid departure of American troops from Iraq—-the invasion was a mistake, and protracting our involvement only compounds the mistake by making the blunder even bigger.

War profiteers and oil companies, would prefer us to stay the course, but that is the same course which was followed by the Captain of the Titanic--the American public has spoken in the last election, and they want an end to Iraq War.  Hopefully, the Democrats know that, or they will face the consequences in 2008.

We better start thinking about, alternative energy sources and energy independence, or the U.S. will continually be held hostage by “big oil” companies who are has patriotic as, Benedict Arnold.

What does victory in Iraq look like? Peace? There is no such thing as absolute peace. We accomplished our goal: take out Saddam. The rest should have been left up to the people of Iraq. We fought a civil war, remember?

What if France had attacked us in 1850, shouting “You slave owning oppressors!”

It is never one countryt’s job to alter the government of another, unless that government is actively seeking to spread its tyranny.

The United States is not GOD. We are a country of Independence, right? So why do we think we should impose our way of life on anyone else?

Hypocrites, I tell you.

“But Democrats need to come to a reckoning with the fact that if the party is to retain its majority past 2008, it will need to embrace social conservatives like Murtha—and, indeed, like incoming Sens. Bob Casey (Pa.) and Jim Webb (Va.).”

You’re right, that’s the only way the Demos are going to retain their majority in Congress.  An agenda of pushing only hot button social issues will doom the Democratic Party to minority status forever.

Murtha gave the Demos credibility in opposing Bush’s war as the GOP couldn’t stick him with the “Lefty” label and dismiss him. He was a decorated Marine officer who has a long record of supporting DOD bills and had the credibility to support the troops while attacking Rummy, Cheney, Bush and the neocons.  Though I disagree with Mr Murtha on many issues, I admire his courage in opposing the Iraq disaster.

Your partisan article is beneth what I expected for this site.. Your argument that we should embrace “social conservatives” so we can end the war reminds me of the days when Italians said “Well, hell Benito Mussolini made the trains run on time.”

I am NOT willing to give up my rights and freedoms for any one cause.

Social conservatives are scum… Republicans have an accronym for party members who do not fit their ideology R.I.N.O. means Republican in name only....what do we call unDemocrats?

Murtha is on list of 20 of the most corrupt congressmen as offered by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics. read all about it at
http://www.citizensforethics.org/press/newsrelease.php ?view=178

Mr. Truly how do you propose to cut off funds???  The Dimocrats are extreme right wing. Unfortunately Mr. Kucinich doesn’t have much influence.  To cut off funds we would need a revolution.  For starters we need to get out in the streets and raise hell.  The best activist organization is the World Can’t Wait. Unfortunately as usual the left is badly splintered

I’m disappointed that you would support an obviously corrupt and bribe-able person in your article. To ignore the fact that he is corrupt just because he supports single valid idea is ludicrous! 

We all need to toss out the labels, right, left, centrist, neo, liberal, conservative, people are either bad or they are good, or, they do things for themselves or they only consider that greater good. Murtha obviously is out for himself and his owners (There isn’t a politician that hasn’t been bought.). The people (sheep) that have continued to vote him back into office need immediate psychological observation!

The strings on all politicians is so obvious, nothing they say is original, it is all scripted to sway the ignorant masses towards some ultra rich tyrant’s point of view.

Impeachment?  Of course!  But first thingss first, which just happens to be TROOPS OUT NOW.  No problem though, since funds for the Iraq war will be cut off completely by the Kucinich bill.  We see to it that Congress passes this bill and impeachment jumps to the top of the national agenda.  And after that?  Empire collapses.  And then?  It’ll be up to us.

Murtha had the big-"ones “ to speak out and be a leader, we will not win Iraq and there is no victory to be had..
BushCo is to be brought to a halt and indeed show a bigger than life foreign policy. The Iraqi’s have no democracy or government, the militia has become that wheel of justice. Murtha brought to the fore the lacking of Iraq and our soliders serving and was a proponent of having a plan.. NOT stay the course and , Mission accomplished..

Lost? Hell, Murtha came out way ahead since he now is in charge of the committee that controls the military budget! His call for deployment of our troops now has some teeth!

Dick Cheney asks: “If we pulled out, what would that say to the enemy?”

It would say that you, Dick Cheney, lost because you’re an incompetent idiot, and that we’re not going to keep sacrificing lives in a futile attempt to salvage your pride.

George Bush asks: “What do you tell the troops?”

How about starting with “sorry?” I know you’re not good at that George, but you do in fact owe them an apology.

Dick Cheney says: “pulling out would validate al Qaeda” and Chris Matthews says: “wouldn’t they declare victory and celebrate?”

Guess what guys, they already know they’re winning and are patting themselves on the back, and they know that their strategy is working great so long as we are stuck in this quagmire.

Kucinich’s bill to cut off spending on the Iraq war is going to pass, no matter the House chain of command.  It’s out of their hands now.  Instead, it’s up to us. 

Sam Cassell (LA Lakers) said it well (today’s LA Times’ sports section, pD6), “The key is discovering why we lost and then going from there.  We’re trying to build a mansion so we’ll regroup like we always do.  We’ll go back out and put another brick in the wall.”

And with the cornerstone of our edifice being Troops Out Now?  Wow!  And we’re just that close.

Dont forget about the Bush family involvement in the Savings and Loan disaster…

AGREED

It is very hard to do but it is necessary to vote and behave strategically if we are ever going to be able to destroy capitalism/fascism.

Unfortunately most people can’t think clearly and try to get the greatest advantage out of any situation.  Further people don’t understand the concept of zeitgeist. It is crucial to winning.

In the long run only Bombs and Guns will defeat American Fascism. The government needs to be overthrown.

Watch out who you bed with you might wake up with a disease.

So...everyone wants to point to ABSCAM and attempt to besmirch Murtha.

Let’s go back to 1989 and the Keating 5:

In 1989, the Lincoln Savings and Loan Association of Irvine, Calif., collapsed. Lincoln’s chairman, Charles H. Keating Jr., was faulted for the thrift’s failure. Keating, however, told the House Banking Committee that the FHLBB and its former chief Edwin J. Gray were pursuing a vendetta against him. Gray testified that several U.S. senators had approached him and requested that he ease off on the Lincoln investigation. It came out that these senators had been beneficiaries of $1.3 million (collective total) in campaign contributions from Keating.

This allegation set off a series of investigations by the California government, the United States Department of Justice, and the Senate Ethics Committee. The ethics committee’s investigation focused on five senators: Alan MacG. Cranston (D-Calif.); Dennis W. DeConcini (D-Ariz.); John H. Glenn Jr. (D-Ohio); John S. McCain III (R-Ariz.); and Donald W. Riegle Jr. (D-Mich), who became known as the Keating Five.

Do you see the 2008 Republican Presidential Candidate’s name anywhere?

http://www.slate.com/id/1004633/

http://www.azcentral.com/specials/special39/articles/1 003mccainbook5.html

http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/004016.php

Let’s talk about McCain’s role in that particular scandal, shall we?