John Murtha is Sorry -

John Murtha is Sorry - "Representative John Murtha is one sorry man, and by sorry, I do not mean apologetic. His efforts to smear the military in the court of public opinion, the Marines in particular, has been elaborate, elongated and disgraceful. It is hard to fathom that this man was ever a member of a group that he seems to hold in such contempt. His distaste has such a powerful hold on him that, when asked on Nightline on January 2, 2006 if he would join today’s military, the Vietnam Veteran and Marine firmly answered, “No.” One can only assume the feeling is mutual."

...Several veterans visited Congressman Murtha’s office to deliver their message and leave information. Identifying themselves as Marines, they asked Mr. Murtha’s staff if he could spare a moment to chat with them and answer a few questions. This simple request was rebuffed and not even a lowly staff member could make the time to talk to these members of our military. One can only speculate on who the Congressman had on his calendar that would not even allow a 3 minute conversation with Veterans to hear, firsthand, what is happening on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan. Perhaps his afternoon was filled with driving lessons for Senator Kennedy.

After the visit by the Marines, several Blue Star mothers also paid a visit to Murtha’s office to speak with the Congressman or a staff member. This request was similarly denied.

After expressing displeasure at their unwillingness to meet with constituents, the mothers left the building. The Congressman’s staff reaction to this four minute conversation was particularly ironic in light of Murtha’s harsh words about our military’s ability to handle stress.

As they left the building and returned to the Cannon building area, 4 Police cars with flashing lights pulled up and 7 Policeman surrounded one of the Blue Star Mothers and requested she step aside. They asked if she had been in the Rayburn Bldg and what was her business was. She explained that she sought an opportunity to speak with the Congressmen or one of his staff. The officers took her driver’s license and detained her for several minutes. She was told that Murtha’s office had called them because she was “disruptive.”

When asked for comment, Matt Mazonkey of Murtha’s office now claims, “She was never asked to leave our office, nor was she insulted by any member of our staff.” So, she was not asked to leave but police were called to detain her? She was not asked to leave but she became the recipient of a United States Congressman’s attempt to use the Capital Police to intimidate a citizen? Has Murtha and his staff spent a little too much time at the Clinton school of doublespeak?