In a shrill speech in the House of Representatives, GOP representative Jean Schmidt from Ohio made the following statement:
A few minutes ago I received a call from Colonel Danny Bop, Ohio Representative from the 88th district in the House of Representatives. He asked me to send Congress a message: Stay the course. He also asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message, that cowards cut and run, Marines never do. Danny and the rest of America and the world want the assurance from this body – that we will see this through.
The House erupted as Schmidt made this ridiculous statement, and Schmidt was forced to retract it. In calling Murtha a “coward,” Schmidt demonstrated that she has no shame and she’s an embarassment to her district. Murtha spent 37 years in the military, winning two Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star with a Combat “V” and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. Murtha is a war hero. Schmidt is a disgrace.
The GOP attacks were not limited to Schmidt. Yestdersay, Rep. Geoff Davis (R-KY)made the following remarks in response to Rep. John Murtha’s call for an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq:
Ayman Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden’s deputy, as well as Abu Musab Zarqawi, have made it quite clear in their internal propaganda that they cannot win unless they can drive the Americans out. And they know that they can’t do that there, so they’ve brought the battlefield to the halls of Congress.
And, frankly, the liberal leadership have put politics ahead of sound, fiscal and national security policy. And what they have done is cooperated with our enemies and are emboldening our enemies.
Yes, the old “traitor” argument is back. They can’t defend how we got into this war, how the administration botched the war or how the GOP congress abdicated its oversight responsibility. Instead, they make these pathetic attacks. Disagree with their policies, and you’re a traitor. Again, pathetic.
The political firestorm is just getting started. Democrats were beaten into submission by Bush and Rove, but now they’re fighting back, and having a hawk like Murtha challenge the war will embolden more Democrats to speak up.
As for Schmidt, her accusation against Murtha is already playing back in Ohio. Tim Russo is reporting at BuckeyePolitics.net, our affiliate site, that Senate Candidate Paul Hackett, the Iraq war veteran that Schmidt barely beat in a safe Republican district earlier this year, is asking GOP Senator Mike DeWine to join him in demanding that Schmidt apologize to Murtha for her reprehensible comments.
