"Murtha's Second Act"
Robert Novak writes in today’s Washington Post that Pennsylvania Representative John Murtha is experiencing a political second act, which his fellow Democrats find “...disturbing.” His appearance last weekend with Tim Russert is particularly upsetting for Murtha’s party considering his suggestion that U.S. troops be re-deployed to Okinawa. Murtha said, “...when I say Okinawa, I, I’m saying troops in Okinawa. When I say a timely response, you know, our fighters can fly from Okinawa very quickly. And-and-when they don’t know we’re coming.” Never mind that it is unclear whether he is talking about ground troops or the Air Force or both, and never mind that we are now re-deploying troops out of Okinawa at the insistence of the Okinawans and also because it makes strategic sense. A DOD spokesman said, “...it would take ‘under a month’ to send a 4,500-man Marine Expeditionary Force 6,000 nautical miles from Okinawa to Bahrain and then 600 more miles to Baghdad.” So much for quickly and quietly. Mr. Murtha is the one making no sense.
Mr. Novak went on to write that he, “... had forgotten that federal persecutors designated him {Murtha} an unindicted co-conspirator in the Abscam investigation 26 years ago.” Unlike the other seven congressmen who were caught taking bribes on film, were prosecuted and went to jail, Mr. Murtha did not take money from the fake Sheik in the FBI sting. He did indicate an interest in doing so and then bragged about his influence in the U.S. House. So, being a former Marine and a media designated war hero does not automatically make you an honest person. Former ace pilot in Vietnam, Randy “Duke “ Cunningham has obviously reminded us of that fact.
The first time I heard of John Murtha was while living on the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard (PNS) in the early 1990’s. In an effort to keep the shipyard off the Base Re-alignment and Closure list (BRAC), the U.S. Congress passed a law requiring the air craft carrier John F. Kennedy to Philadelphia for a three year overhaul. The JFK was built in the 60’s at the Norfolk Naval Base and had never been serviced anywhere else.
Some background is in order. PNS was built during the Civil War and was at that time a real deterrent from attack as even today it takes eight hours to get up the Delaware River from the coast. However, the shipyard was obsolete at least by the post WWII era, and the last ship was built there and launched in 1972. From that time onward, the U.S. Navy put as little as absolutely necessary into the facility hoping to close it down as it was nothing but a money pit without actually contributing to the goal of national security. By the early 90’s much of the place was in an advance state of decay with few people actually posted there. But, of interest to politicians of the area, it did employ a couple thousand union workers. Ironically, most of these people lived in New Jersey. Hence, the desire to keep it open!
I first learned the JFK was going to Philly when I was asked if I would like to ride up on her from Norfolk. So, full disclosure, I benefited from this deployment in that the ride on the JFK was great fun for me. As unused to politics as I was at the time, even I understood this was a giant waste of the taxpayers’ money. Just getting the ship up the Atlantic Coast and then up the Delaware River cost a fortune as the entire river had to be dredged to accommodate the huge ship. Even after the trip began, the Captain was not positive the JFK would clear the bridges.
My real distress was for the sailors and their families who were ordered to Philadelphia. At the time I volunteered at Navy Relief, an organization that sailors can go to when they have an emergency or are in financial trouble. And, boy, were they in trouble. There was no place to house the single sailors on the base so they were put in sleazy hotels at the airport, far from anything to do. I can remember some of the young men coming in nearly in tears because they could not afford to have their cars with them as the insurance often cost more per year than they had paid for the thing in the first place. So, in effect, they were stranded.
The young couples were in particular financial distress. Many were having to rent on the local economy and could not make ends meet. The Navy put a few nurses who worked at the base clinic in some hastily repaired apartments. I remember one young woman who also came in for help in tears. The sewer had backed up into her living room destroying most of everything she owned. She said to me, “I did not sign up for this.”
I asked the base commander, “Whose idea was this?’
He said, “Congressman John Murtha.”
I said, “Is he from Philadelphia?”
He said, “No, somewhere west of here.”
I said, “So what’s his interest in his place?”
He said, “Union workers and campaign contributions.”
Every time I hear that Murtha cannot be questioned or doubted because he is a real war hero, my blood pressure goes up. (Ann Coulter where are you?) And, every time I hear that he is a staunch defender of the military and of military personnel, I start foaming at the mouth. I know for sure that neither of these assertions is true. It is my opinion, that Murtha likes the military as a union job bank, but one is hard put to find an instance where he believes it should be used for national security.
The fact of his involvement in Abscam fits in perfectly with my opinion of Mr. Murtha. Novak writes that not getting indicted outright “...salvaged [Murtha’s] political career, but limited his public exposure...He speaks for attribution to few national or local reporters, hardly ever appears on television and rarely speaks in the House chamber” He should go back to that practice.
Mr. Novak went on to write that he, “... had forgotten that federal persecutors designated him {Murtha} an unindicted co-conspirator in the Abscam investigation 26 years ago.” Unlike the other seven congressmen who were caught taking bribes on film, were prosecuted and went to jail, Mr. Murtha did not take money from the fake Sheik in the FBI sting. He did indicate an interest in doing so and then bragged about his influence in the U.S. House. So, being a former Marine and a media designated war hero does not automatically make you an honest person. Former ace pilot in Vietnam, Randy “Duke “ Cunningham has obviously reminded us of that fact.
The first time I heard of John Murtha was while living on the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard (PNS) in the early 1990’s. In an effort to keep the shipyard off the Base Re-alignment and Closure list (BRAC), the U.S. Congress passed a law requiring the air craft carrier John F. Kennedy to Philadelphia for a three year overhaul. The JFK was built in the 60’s at the Norfolk Naval Base and had never been serviced anywhere else.
Some background is in order. PNS was built during the Civil War and was at that time a real deterrent from attack as even today it takes eight hours to get up the Delaware River from the coast. However, the shipyard was obsolete at least by the post WWII era, and the last ship was built there and launched in 1972. From that time onward, the U.S. Navy put as little as absolutely necessary into the facility hoping to close it down as it was nothing but a money pit without actually contributing to the goal of national security. By the early 90’s much of the place was in an advance state of decay with few people actually posted there. But, of interest to politicians of the area, it did employ a couple thousand union workers. Ironically, most of these people lived in New Jersey. Hence, the desire to keep it open!
I first learned the JFK was going to Philly when I was asked if I would like to ride up on her from Norfolk. So, full disclosure, I benefited from this deployment in that the ride on the JFK was great fun for me. As unused to politics as I was at the time, even I understood this was a giant waste of the taxpayers’ money. Just getting the ship up the Atlantic Coast and then up the Delaware River cost a fortune as the entire river had to be dredged to accommodate the huge ship. Even after the trip began, the Captain was not positive the JFK would clear the bridges.
My real distress was for the sailors and their families who were ordered to Philadelphia. At the time I volunteered at Navy Relief, an organization that sailors can go to when they have an emergency or are in financial trouble. And, boy, were they in trouble. There was no place to house the single sailors on the base so they were put in sleazy hotels at the airport, far from anything to do. I can remember some of the young men coming in nearly in tears because they could not afford to have their cars with them as the insurance often cost more per year than they had paid for the thing in the first place. So, in effect, they were stranded.
The young couples were in particular financial distress. Many were having to rent on the local economy and could not make ends meet. The Navy put a few nurses who worked at the base clinic in some hastily repaired apartments. I remember one young woman who also came in for help in tears. The sewer had backed up into her living room destroying most of everything she owned. She said to me, “I did not sign up for this.”
I asked the base commander, “Whose idea was this?’
He said, “Congressman John Murtha.”
I said, “Is he from Philadelphia?”
He said, “No, somewhere west of here.”
I said, “So what’s his interest in his place?”
He said, “Union workers and campaign contributions.”
Every time I hear that Murtha cannot be questioned or doubted because he is a real war hero, my blood pressure goes up. (Ann Coulter where are you?) And, every time I hear that he is a staunch defender of the military and of military personnel, I start foaming at the mouth. I know for sure that neither of these assertions is true. It is my opinion, that Murtha likes the military as a union job bank, but one is hard put to find an instance where he believes it should be used for national security.
The fact of his involvement in Abscam fits in perfectly with my opinion of Mr. Murtha. Novak writes that not getting indicted outright “...salvaged [Murtha’s] political career, but limited his public exposure...He speaks for attribution to few national or local reporters, hardly ever appears on television and rarely speaks in the House chamber” He should go back to that practice.
posted by Gunston Hall Moderator at 11:41 AM
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