Bent Corner

U.S. Rep. John Murtha has come up with a creative way of putting a stop to Bush’s war in Iraq. It involves placing conditions on how Bush can spend the $93.4 billion in new combat funds.

1. The Pentagon would have to certify that troops being sent to Iraq are “fully combat ready” with training and equipment.
2. Troops must have at least one year at home between combat deployments.
3. Combat assignments could not be extended beyond one year.
4. A “stop-loss” program (back door draft) forcing soldiers to extend their enlistment periods would be prohibited.

It’s a good idea. Instead of cutting off the funds, it places common sense conditions on how those funds are to be spent. The conditions are things that really cannot be argued against.

Unless of course Republicans want to argue that troops should be sent to Iraq that are not combat ready. That troops should be sent to Iraq that have not been home for at least one year. That troops should be forced to continue serving in the military even after their enlistments are over. That combat tours should last longer then a year.

How are the chickenhawks going to argue for any of that?

So far, they don’t seem to be arguing against the actual details of the plan. No, they are instead criticizing the end results of such a plan. It will be impossible to continue Bush’s war in Iraq with such conditions placed on the war’s financing. This plan may actually work. It may actually do some good. Where a non-binding resolution does nothing, this can actually bring an end to Bush’s perpetual war in Iraq.

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It looks as though John Murtha wont be Majority Leader after all. Good.

Democratic Rep. Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland has been selected by the Democratic caucus to serve as Majority Leader in the 110th Congress, easily defeating Rep. John P. Murtha of Pennsylvania — who had been backed by incoming Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California — on a 149-86 vote.

I’m only sorry that Murtha actually got 86 votes. He deserved to get none.

Why his constituents constantly reelect him to Congress is their business. I have no say in that. I don’t understand why they would constantly reelect him every two years, but it’s really of no concern to me. I just know how I feel about him. When I listen to the FBI tapes from 1980 where he is offered a bribe and technically refuses to accept it, yet still leaves the door open for a future time leaves me massively unimpressed. I guess he technically didn’t break any law. He sure didn’t come off looking ethical.

Ethics are important.

Maybe the Democratic leadership misunderstood the American people this past election day. It wasn’t just Republican unethical behavior Americans were unhappy with. It was all unethical behavior that we didn’t like or want.

It’s been argued that the reason Murtha deserved the position of Majority Leader was because he had become such an outspoken critic of the Iraq war. Really? Isn’t that his job? Like all elected officials, it is his duty to speak up about when he sees that things are going wrong in Iraq. That the war was a mistake. That it’s being managed very badly. The fact that he now thinks the Iraq war is going badly gets him no points from me. It just shows that he is aware of the obvious.