Rep. Murtha stumps for Tim Walz in Rochester
Two generations of veterans say the war in Iraq is wrong
by Leigh Pomeroy
They almost look like father and son — the older, burly, white-haired congressman from southeastern Pennsylvania and the younger, slightly shorter but similarly built congressional candidate from southern Minnesota. Both are congenial, with the proverbial twinkle in the eye, yet both are dead serious and passionate when discussing the principles they believe.
For most of his 32 years in Congress, Rep. John Murtha was relatively unknown outside Pennsylvania and the surrounding states. Yet in November of 2005 he was suddenly swept to front-page prominence by advocating a total troop withdrawal from Iraq. Had he been an unabashed liberal that might not have attracted any attention, but Murtha is a 37-year Marine Corps veteran and historically a staunch supporter of the military.
For most of Tim Walz's 17 years teaching and 24 years in the Minnesota National Guard, he has largely been unknown outside his academic and military circles. But a Presidential visit to Mankato, Minnesota, in August of 2004, when GOP operatives tried to deny Walz entry to the event thrust him into the state and even national spotlight. Since then, he has not stopped campaigning for what he feels is right, first volunteering for Veterans for John Kerry in 2004 and now running for Congress. Though he has not called for an outright U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, he has been an ardent questioner of the war.
The two spoke before a crowd of about 75, one-third of whom were veterans, in the back yard of a home in Rochester Sunday afternoon. They were introduced by Minnesota State Senator Sheila Kiscaden, once a Republican, then an independent, and now a Democrat — perhaps symbolic of how Rochester has been trending in recent years: from being staunchly Republican to the Democrats gaining key state house seats in 2004 to a possible Democratic sweep in 2006. Certainly one of the reasons for the Democratic trend is the disaffection for the war and distrust for the President.
"People are fed up with a rubber stamp Congress," Murtha said. "The first part of the Constitution is about Congress, not the executive branch." He said that Congress has not done its duty in monitoring the war, which is now costing $8 billion a month and $11 million an hour. No weapons of mass destruction were found nor was there a link between Saddam and al Qaeda. Plus, the U.S. went to war without an adequate number of troops, and 44,000 of them lacked proper armor.
It was a lack of training that led to Abu Ghraib, he said, and the scandal at the prison caused the U.S. "to lose the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people."
He confessed he was stunned by the reaction of the administration to his change of mind on the war. "I don't appreciate people sitting on their backsides in the White House, people with no military experience, questioning my patriotism." And just for the record, he said, "stay the course" is not a policy.
He discussed the President's recent proposal to reinterpret the Geneva Conventions by allowing the CIA more flexibility in interrogating prisoners, a proposal Murtha says "will only hurt our troops."
He also questioned the administration's rosy reports on the progress of the war. "Oil and energy production are below pre-war levels," he said. "There is a 60% unemployment rate and last month a 70% inflation rate." Military incidents have jumped from 400 per week last year to 800 per week recently. "The terrorism started in Afghanistan," he continued, "but by going into Iraq we have directed it there."
Walz's remarks continued the theme. He called Murtha "a lone voice in Congress" and that if anyone questioned him (Walz) about his patriotism because of his views on the war, "I will stare down anything they throw at me."
He said it was particularly important that this was Constitution Day, for the military takes an oath to defend the Constitution, not the executive branch of the government. "The genius of the Constitution is its checks and balances," he said, and the fact that this Congress doesn't ask the hard questions is a "sham."
Later, in talking to reporters, Murtha made the point that according to Gen. Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff, the war cannot be won. It's a police action, he said, that must be solved by diplomacy.
Though Murtha's visit was planned specifically to aid fellow veteran Walz, there is another possible parallel between the two. Early in his remarks Murtha noted that the year he was first elected, 1974, in the midst of the Watergate era, was also a turbulent time. He mentioned he won by a mere 122 votes out of 120,000 cast. What he didn't mention was that his victory signaled a turnover in a House seat that had been held by Republicans since the middle of World War II.
If Walz wins in November it will signal the critical turnover of a House seat that has been in Republican control for over a decade.
by Leigh Pomeroy
They almost look like father and son — the older, burly, white-haired congressman from southeastern Pennsylvania and the younger, slightly shorter but similarly built congressional candidate from southern Minnesota. Both are congenial, with the proverbial twinkle in the eye, yet both are dead serious and passionate when discussing the principles they believe.
For most of his 32 years in Congress, Rep. John Murtha was relatively unknown outside Pennsylvania and the surrounding states. Yet in November of 2005 he was suddenly swept to front-page prominence by advocating a total troop withdrawal from Iraq. Had he been an unabashed liberal that might not have attracted any attention, but Murtha is a 37-year Marine Corps veteran and historically a staunch supporter of the military.
For most of Tim Walz's 17 years teaching and 24 years in the Minnesota National Guard, he has largely been unknown outside his academic and military circles. But a Presidential visit to Mankato, Minnesota, in August of 2004, when GOP operatives tried to deny Walz entry to the event thrust him into the state and even national spotlight. Since then, he has not stopped campaigning for what he feels is right, first volunteering for Veterans for John Kerry in 2004 and now running for Congress. Though he has not called for an outright U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, he has been an ardent questioner of the war.
The two spoke before a crowd of about 75, one-third of whom were veterans, in the back yard of a home in Rochester Sunday afternoon. They were introduced by Minnesota State Senator Sheila Kiscaden, once a Republican, then an independent, and now a Democrat — perhaps symbolic of how Rochester has been trending in recent years: from being staunchly Republican to the Democrats gaining key state house seats in 2004 to a possible Democratic sweep in 2006. Certainly one of the reasons for the Democratic trend is the disaffection for the war and distrust for the President.
"People are fed up with a rubber stamp Congress," Murtha said. "The first part of the Constitution is about Congress, not the executive branch." He said that Congress has not done its duty in monitoring the war, which is now costing $8 billion a month and $11 million an hour. No weapons of mass destruction were found nor was there a link between Saddam and al Qaeda. Plus, the U.S. went to war without an adequate number of troops, and 44,000 of them lacked proper armor.
It was a lack of training that led to Abu Ghraib, he said, and the scandal at the prison caused the U.S. "to lose the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people."
He confessed he was stunned by the reaction of the administration to his change of mind on the war. "I don't appreciate people sitting on their backsides in the White House, people with no military experience, questioning my patriotism." And just for the record, he said, "stay the course" is not a policy.
He discussed the President's recent proposal to reinterpret the Geneva Conventions by allowing the CIA more flexibility in interrogating prisoners, a proposal Murtha says "will only hurt our troops."
He also questioned the administration's rosy reports on the progress of the war. "Oil and energy production are below pre-war levels," he said. "There is a 60% unemployment rate and last month a 70% inflation rate." Military incidents have jumped from 400 per week last year to 800 per week recently. "The terrorism started in Afghanistan," he continued, "but by going into Iraq we have directed it there."
Walz's remarks continued the theme. He called Murtha "a lone voice in Congress" and that if anyone questioned him (Walz) about his patriotism because of his views on the war, "I will stare down anything they throw at me."
He said it was particularly important that this was Constitution Day, for the military takes an oath to defend the Constitution, not the executive branch of the government. "The genius of the Constitution is its checks and balances," he said, and the fact that this Congress doesn't ask the hard questions is a "sham."
Later, in talking to reporters, Murtha made the point that according to Gen. Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff, the war cannot be won. It's a police action, he said, that must be solved by diplomacy.
Though Murtha's visit was planned specifically to aid fellow veteran Walz, there is another possible parallel between the two. Early in his remarks Murtha noted that the year he was first elected, 1974, in the midst of the Watergate era, was also a turbulent time. He mentioned he won by a mere 122 votes out of 120,000 cast. What he didn't mention was that his victory signaled a turnover in a House seat that had been held by Republicans since the middle of World War II.
If Walz wins in November it will signal the critical turnover of a House seat that has been in Republican control for over a decade.
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