Quote:
Originally posted by IIOA
However, I don't know if Murtha made his proposal for "parliamentary reasons" in the first place. In fact, I thought his proposal was based upon his strong personal conviction that our troops should be removed from Iraq.
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It does not appear that Murpha made his proposal for parliamentary reasons, but Democratic Leaderships decision to vote against the measure was. It appears that Murpha feels very strongly that our troops should be pulled out. As for your other point, strict following of party leadership, while not always followed to the letter, is pretty much the way of the world in Congress. In this case, the parliamentary move on the part of the Democrats was to foil a GOP counter-move which would have followed.
Following are a couple of excerpts of Representative Schmidt's appology and the denial of an Ohio State Representative that he made the comment about Murpha.
CINCINNATI (Nov. 23) - Ohio Republican Jean Schmidt said Tuesday she should have rephrased her sharp critique...
Schmidt was booed off the floor of the U.S. House on Friday after she criticized Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., saying that "cowards cut and run, Marines never do."
When Schmidt made the comment, Democrats rose in protest at the suggestion that Murtha, a decorated Vietnam veteran and the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, was a coward.
Schmidt said the comment was prompted by a conversation she had with state Rep. Danny Bubp, though he denies discussing Murtha with Schmidt...
(A typical political "He said/She said.")
...Schmidt, who sent Murtha a note of apology on Friday moments after her speech, said in a statement Tuesday that she never intended to attack Murtha personally...
(Although she mentioned him by name in her comment)
...Bubp said in a statement of his own Tuesday that his conversation with Schmidt "was based strictly on the proposal to immediately withdraw our troops from Iraq and the consequences of such a proposal..."
(He also said that, as a Marine, he would never question the courage of another Marine officer)
...Murtha has called Schmidt's comment ridiculous.
"You can't spin this. You've got to have a real solution," Murtha said Monday when asked about her remarks at a news conference in Pennsylvania. "This is not a war of words, this is a war..."
...President Bush and other administration officials have since said that while they don't agree with Murtha, they do not question his patriotism..."
So, it appears to me (opinion) that either Rep. Schmidt was either remarkably uninformed, or dumb, for not realizing that one of the top Democrats on Defense is a decorated veteran or 37 years in the Marines -- or she is a sacraficial lamb (the newest member of Congress) on the part of the GOP leadership who were running up a "trial balloon" attack on the Democrats. Her bio and nickname, Mean Jean, doesn't make her sound like the easiest person to like.