Beating Up On Murtha
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in General Politics, War
Looks like Murtha is getting the Swift Boat treatment from a right-wing “news” source…
A Cybercast News Service investigation also reveals that one of Murtha’s former Democratic congressional colleagues and a fellow decorated Vietnam veteran, Don Bailey of Pennsylvania, alleges that Murtha admitted during an emotional conversation on the floor of the U.S. House in the early 1980s that he did not deserve his Purple Hearts.“[Murtha] is putting himself forward as some combat veteran with serious wounds and he’s using that and it’s dishonest and it’s wrong,” Bailey told Cybercast News Service on Jan. 9. Murtha served in the Marines on active duty and in the reserves from 1952 until his retirement as a colonel in 1990. He volunteered for service in Vietnam and was a First Marine Regiment intelligence officer in 1966 and 1967.
Murtha and Bailey, once allies, were forced to run against each other in a Democratic congressional primary in 1982 following redistricting. Murtha won the election.
Murtha has, in the past, publicly dismissed any questions about whether he deserved his two Purple Hearts, noting during his 1994 congressional campaign that “I am proud of my service in Vietnam.”
Yes, question his hero status with some “compelling facts” and then assert some other “truths” from people who’ve died or have said other contradictory things about Murtha’s story in the past.
Let’s hope the right-wing doesn’t swallow this up because it’s certainly a sad state of affairs when people go to such lengths to smear guys like Murtha who volunteered for war.
In short…what’s the point?
This entry was posted on Saturday, January 14th, 2006 and is filed under General Politics, War. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
December 26th, 2006 at 1:14 am
At least Murtha admitted his Purple Hearts were overrated. I was in the Nam and guys like Kerry would scratch themselves and claim a wound. In Kerry’s case, three wounds, so as to get an early ticket home.
Thank God for the honest Swift Boat vets or we might have a scammer as President today, instead of just an incompetent.