Paul Hackett, as most of you know, is the Iraq war veteran who is now running for U.S. Senate as a Democrat from Ohio. Hackett barely lost a special election against right-wing Republican Jean Schmidt -- in a Congressional district that went overwhelmingly for George W. Bush in November 2004 -- back in August. Now, Hackett has issued a statement blasting Schmidt and demanding that she apologize for calling a decorated Vietnam war hero and national security hawk (Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, pictured at left) a "coward":
Congressman Murtha is a hero and deserves the respect he earned on the battlefield. This country is free because of men and women like him. As Ohio?s senior Republican official in Washington, Sen. Mike DeWine should join me in calling on Jean Scmidt to apologize for ever questioning John Murtha?s honor. It?s time for Sen. DeWine to show some leadership and help hold his colleagues in Washington accountable for their actions AND their words.
FYI, this is what Schmidt said last night on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives:
...A few minutes ago I received a call from Col Danny Bubp, Ohio representative from the 88th District in the House of Representatives. He asked me to send Congress a message, "Stay the course." He also asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message, "That cowards cut and run; Marines never do." Danny and the rest of America, and the world want the assurance from this body that we will...
That was Jean Schmidt last night in the U.S. House of Representatives, where Republicans were busy playing political games over the Bush's Iraq war debacle. Murtha, in an emotional speech this Thursday, had said:
Our troops have become the primary target of the insurgency. [Islamic insurgents] are united against U.S. forces, and we have become a catalyst for violence. . . It's time to bring them home.
Republicans then poured on, "in sometimes vitriolic terms...accus[ing] Democrats of siding with terrorists." Republican House Speaker Dennis Hastert, for instance, ridiculously and scurrilously charged that:
Murtha and Democratic leaders have adopted a policy of cut and run. They would prefer that the United States surrender to the terrorists who would harm innocent Americans. To add insult to injury, this is done while the president is on foreign soil.
Yesterday, Republicans introduced a resolution calling for an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, and obviously designed as a trap for Democrats given that Republicans had no intention of supporting their own resolution. In other words, the whole point of the Republican resolution was not to get serious on Iraq, but to "split the ranks of the Democrats." Great to see that the Republicans have their priorities straight: politics first, the war in Iraq second.
Anyway, the Republican resolution failed miserably, with Democrats united against the McCarthy-ite tactics. The Republican smears on Democrats also led to one of the ugliest scenes in Congress in a long time -- and that's saying a lot these days! -- in which Democrats and Republicans literally almost came to blows over the resolution and over Schmidt's remarks.
So here's the deal. We're in a heap of trouble in Iraq, thanks to George W. Bush and Don Rumsfeld. We need to figure out a success strategy and/or an exit strategy ASAP. Instead of doing that, though, Republican "leaders" in Congress would rather call war heroes "cowards" and question the patriotism of all Democrats - and all Americans, for that matter -- who question them on Iraq.
In other words, Republicans in Congress and the White House are essentially saying that dissent is not allowed in America while we're at "war" (I put the word "war" is in quotes because the Republican Congress has never declared war against Iraq or Al Qaeda), even if it's a solid majority of Americans who disagree with them. And remember, this "war" could go on indefinitely, which -- conveniently for Republicans -- means that dissent will not be allowed indefinitely either. Is this America -- land of the free -- or George Orwell's totalitarian hyperstate Oceania?
I strongly second Paul Hackett's call for Senator DeWine to condemn Jean Schimdt's remarks. I also urge Virginia's two Republican Senators, George Allen and John Warner, to do the same. McCarthyism and Swift Boat smear tactics have no place in America. It's time for our leaders to say so.