I don't lose my temper often, but when I went over to
http://www.townhall.com to scan what the conservatives had to say, I lost my temper. So, sorry for this rant, but I've got to get this off of my chest.
The wingnut press simply has no shame. Today, Republican shill Mike Gallagher had the nerve to call decorated war veterans John Kerry and John Murtha "losers".
Oh yeah, Gallagher has never served in the military; does that surprise you?
http://www.townhall.com/...
I don't know what it's like to feel like a loser. I guess I'd have to ask Congressman John Murtha or Senator John Kerry to find out what that must feel like.
I'm not trying to be arrogant or boastful. Like most people, I've had plenty of grim moments, lots of missed opportunities, and times when it just didn't seem like anything was ever going to go my way again.
But I have never felt like a loser.
This man is simply in denial.
When "Jack" Murtha and John Kerry and the other anti-war voices in America rear their ugly heads and trash our noble effort to defeat the terrorists, they represent the very definition of what it means to lose.
To put it simply, they initially supported the war in Iraq by voting for the use of force there. And then, when the going got tough and the reports of bloodthirsty animals who enjoy torturing, detonating and beheading their way to Allah became more pronounced, they decided that it was time to change their minds. They began declaring the war to be "a serious mistake", and "un-winnable." They pounced on the Abu Ghraib prison scandal like vultures feasting on a carcass. One of them, the one who is the "highly decorated Marine veteran", Rep. Murtha, even referred to some of our U.S. Marines as "cold-blood killers" in Haditha, evidently not taking that pesky little reminder about being innocent until proven guilty very seriously.
Hmmm, why are the terrorists even in Iraq? Hint: they weren't there in large numbers before we got there.
I'll conclude with a couple of points:
1) In the days of old, Republicans who believed in a war lead the way. Think: Teddy Roosevelt, Bob Dole, Dwight Eisenhower, George Bush Sr. Now, they merely hold the coats of those who go.
2)Pouring in blood and treasure into a failed policy is not showing courage. It is being stupid.
I think that the following article from the Smirking Chimp gets it right:
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/...
God forbid that an elected official actually admits a mistake.
God forbid that a politician actually takes a risky and courageous stand.
But that's what John Kerry has done, and The New York Times hammered him for it in a nasty, ad hominem front-page story on June 21 entitled "On Iraq, Kerry Again Leaves Democrats Fuming."
What Kerry has called for is withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq within the next year.
For this, Kate Zernike of The New York Times makes Kerry out to be a spoiler.[...]
* "left the Democrats divided, and open to renewed Republican accusations that they are indecisive and weak--the same ridicule that Republicans heaped on Kerry in 2004."
Well, let's look at what Kerry did to deserve this barrage.
He acknowledged the errors of his ways on Iraq. "Most members of Congress, myself included, share some responsibility for getting us into Iraq," he said on June 2. "We've got to take responsibility for getting us out."
To me, that's refreshing.
So he introduced legislation calling for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq by December 31, 2006.
That's about time. And it's the exact date that Senator Russ Feingold had proposed last year. Feingold and Kerry are co-sponsors of these withdrawal resolutions.
When their colleagues balked at December 31, Kerry agreed to amend the withdrawal date to July 1, 2007.
That's not exactly "pushing ahead with his own plan."
And if you want to talk about being more concerned with "politics than principle," check out the Democratic leadership on this issue. They're too scared to stick their necks out on the biggest moral issue of our day!
Not Kerry.
Like John Murtha, he sees the moral dimension quite clearly.
"Half the names on the Vietnam Memorial wall were added after America's leaders knew our strategy would not work," Kerry said on April 6. "It was immoral then and it would be immoral now to engage in the same delusion. You and I have to do everything in our power to stop that from happening again."
Kerry knows full well how Karl Rove and the right will respond.
"For speaking the truth, the right wing and their surrogates will question our courage and commitment," he said. "They're going to question our patriotism."
It is just this fear of being questioned that has many Democratic Senators running for cover. How that amounts to standing on principle is beyond me.
What Senator Kerry had to say on this matter is worth reading:
http://www.johnkerry.com/
First and foremost, Russ and I thank you for your support. Over the last few weeks, hundreds of thousands of you have joined our effort to bring our combat troops home. Once again, the johnkerry.com community has shown its deep commitment to fighting for a better course for America.
We ask you to join us now in honoring the strength and leadership of the Senators who stood with you:
Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI)
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), co-sponsor
Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL)
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA)
Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI)
Sen. James Jeffords (I-VT)
Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA)
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), co-sponsor
Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ)
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR)
Please call, write, or email these Senators and acknowledge their leadership on Iraq.
Let me be absolutely clear. Russ Feingold and I would have forced this vote even if the outcome were going to be 98 to 2. Ending the Bush administration's disastrous approach to this war isn't about counting votes. It isn't about legislative strategy or electoral calculation. It's about applying constant pressure to change a broken course.
It's about utterly rejecting the desperate tactics of cowardly political operatives like Karl Rove who, as John Murtha pointed out, have no qualms about telling our soldiers to "stay the course" from the comfort of their air-conditioned offices at the White House.
It's about doing what's right.
Karl Rove may worry about losing votes. It's our job to worry about young Americans losing their lives. It's our job to provide a new vision that offers real security for America while giving the Iraqis their best chance for a stable Iraq.
I will keep doing what's right on Iraq, and I won't stop until our troops are home and the future of Iraq is in the hands of the Iraqi people.
Of course, I wonder where this kind of hard hitting, plain talk was in 2004, but I digress.
My main point is that many of the loudest wingnuts are shameless cowards whose actions fall well short of their rhetoric.