Only Cowards Attack A Veteran On The Floors Of Congress

Earlier this week, Rep. John Murtha set off a firestorm of debate when he changed course and called for a withdrawal of troops in Iraq. He stated that the war "is not going as advertised. It is a flawed policy wrapped in illusion." Those in favor of the war immediately called out Murtha, criticizing the idea of 'cutting and running'.

Still Murtha's words were creating quite a buzz. Not wanting to bother with the time to smear him, the Republican Congress decided a quicker method- to call his bluff and start a vote in the House on immediate withdrawal, a political stunt meant to (knowing everyone would vote no) embarrass and discredit Murtha's argument. The point was, according to Speaker Hastert, "send a message to our American troops that we believe in their mission of fighting terrorists and we must not retreat and defeat". The real reason, of course, was that Republicans wanted to take back control on the debate over the war. As expected, the withdrawal resolution was voted down 403-3. Democrats decried the stunt. Minority leader Nancy Pelosi called it "The rankest of politics and the absence of any sense of shame".

The real drama occurred in the middle of the debate on the floor over the vote. Rep. Jean Schmidt of Ohio took the floor and decided to get personal. (You may remember that Ms. Schmidt is new to Congress, having narrowly defeated Iraq war veteran Paul Hackett- you know the types she cares so much about- in a special election last August) Rep. Schmidt told of a phone call she received from a Marine colonel. She said "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".

The remark was obviously directed at Rep. Murtha (who, just by the way, served 37 years in the Marines, won Purple Hearts, and recently received the Semper Fidelis Award of the Marine Corps Foundation), though she later stated it wasn't directed at anyone in particular (even though you used his name, Jean?) and asked that the remark be removed from the record. As she first stated it, though, the nasty remark caused the floor to erupt in screams of outrage from Democrats. Rep. Marty Meehan probably said it best- "You guys are pathetic! Pathetic!".

I'm not entirely sure that this was the way that Republicans wanted to reframe the debate on the war.

You can watch video of all of this here:
All Hell Breaks Loose