Quoted Text

Rep. Murtha Dead at 77

Pennsylvania Democratic Rep. John Murtha, the first veteran of the Vietnam war to enter Congress and one of the body's most powerful lawmakers, died Wednesday morning at Virginia Hospital Center after complications from gallbladder surgery. Murtha was 77.

Pennsylvania Democratic Rep. John Murtha, the first veteran of the Vietnam war to enter Congress and one of the body's most powerful lawmakers, died Wednesday morning at Virginia Hospital Center after complications from gallbladder surgery. Murtha was 77.

"Congressman John P. Murtha (PA-12) passed away peacefully this afternoon at 1:18 p.m. at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Va. At his bedside was his family," reads a statement from his office.

A native of New Martinsville, W.Va., voters elected first elected Murtha to Congress in a 1974 special election that spelled impending doom for President Nixon and congressional Republicans. That fall, Democrats wrestled away 49 House seats from the GOP, reeling from the scourge of Watergate and a presidency in shambles...................>>>>..................>>>>..................http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/02/08/rep-murtha-dead/

A military man who served his nation honorably during the Vietnam War only to disparage, as a politician, those in the institution
(U.S. Marines) in which he served.

May the Lord judge him more favorably than do many Americans who view him as a disgrace to the office that he held.

Rest in Peace.

Quoted Text

Updated: Sat., Feb. 13, 2010, 9:12 AM
The ugly truth about Jack Murtha
By MICHELLE MALKIN
Last Updated: 9:12 AM, February 13, 2010

We are not supposed to speak ill of the dead. But those whom the deceased viciously smeared and humiliated deserve to be defended. Entrenched Rep. John Murtha passed away on Feb. 8 after a botched gallbladder surgery. He has been hailed as a "military advocate" (Associated Press) and "one of the greatest patriots ever to serve in Congress" (former Rep. Harold Ford Jr.).

These obsequious obituaries leave out inconvenient truths: John "Jack" Murtha was an unrepentant smear merchant and corruptocrat to the bitter end.

In May 2006, during an MSNBC appearance that Marines and their families will never forget or forgive, Murtha accused US troops of wantonly killing some two dozen civilians, including children, in the terrorist stronghold of Haditha, Iraq. Bellowed Murtha: "Our troops overreacted because of the pressure on them, and they killed innocent civilians in cold blood."

He publicly indicted the Marines before military investigations had been completed. His remarks opened military-bashing floodgates around the world.

In the wake of Murtha's reckless blabbing, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann accused the Haditha Marines of "willful targeted brutality." The Nation magazine claimed that "members of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment perpetrated a massacre." The New York Times dubbed Haditha the "defining atrocity" of the Iraq war. International papers piled on with Vietnam-era "My Lai" allusions. Murtha cold-bloodedly sat back and enjoyed the ride while the Marines were left twisting in the wind.............>>>>................>>>>.................http://www.nypost.com/p/news/o.....p8Jryo3wtaeX7emcKvyH