LAT: Call for Troops' Removal Reverberates at Home (Murtha's constituents)

[DeepModem Mom]

Call for Troops' Removal Reverberates at Home
Western Pennsylvania constituents react with spirit but are divided on a congressman's appeal.

By Johanna Neuman, Times Staff Writer

....Democratic Rep. John P. Murtha — a Marine veteran of the Korean and Vietnam wars — on Thursday issued a dramatic call for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. And on Friday, in interviews with about two dozen of his Johnstown constituents, reaction was vigorous — much of it approving.

"We should never have been in there to begin with," said Leo Ratchford, a white-haired retired steel worker walking down Main Street. "Those are religious factions fighting each other. Whoever's the most vicious is going to win and take over the country."...

***

Not everyone hailed the congressman. On the website of the local Tribune-Democrat newspaper, http://www.tribune-democrat.com , many readers criticized Murtha....

***

Murtha may have tapped into a well of public discontent in this community of 80,000. But it is not the type of antiwar sentiment one might hear at a rally organized by MoveOn.org, the online liberal advocacy group.

The weariness voiced about the war here sounds more rueful, expressing a sense that America once again had gone to war to do good only to be rebuffed by the intransigence of its enemies....


http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-murtha19nov19,0,1570969.story?coll=la-home-nation

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[11cents]

3. How would you suggest they carry out this impeachment?

Take over the Congress by force of arms?

[rodeodance]

2. this guys pretty much sums it up.

"Those are religious factions fighting each other. Whoever's the most vicious is going to win and take over the country."...

[DBoon]

4. What country is he talking about?

The USA?

[fooj]

5. Yep. They've been fighting for over a thousand years...

Peace.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

8. That should be the Dem meme ...

[wakeme2008]

6. Let me understand this

REAL people being talked to support him... BUT freepers posting on a local forum are trashing him......

Mmmmm

[happyslug]

18. I live in Johnstown

And the Tribune Democrat will PRINT anything sent to it, and I mean anything. Left wing, Right wing, lies or the truth. All will be printed. It is known as a scandal rag, and why the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published 70 miles away has a local Circulation about half of the Tribune-Democrat. (Scaife's Tribune Review also tries to sell paper's locally, but does as well here as it does in Pittsburgh, ie. poorly).

The Post-Gazette would sell more paper locally than the Tribune-Democrat but it does not carry certain local items. You can only read about what is being served at the local School Cafeteria this week, what happened in the local District Justice's Court and who filed Bankruptcy, in the Tribune-Democrat. The Post-Gazette also does NOT publish local for sale items (Including Housing and Farm equipment), these keep the Tribune-Democrat in business and the dominate local newspaper. On the other hand if you want real news you buy the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Which sells throughout Western Pennsylvania, From Altoona to Weirton WV, From Du Bois to Uniontown).

After trashing my local paper let me say this, unlike the Post-Gazette which will REJECT form letters, the Tribune-Democrat will published obvious Form Letters. Thus I am NOT surprise about the Tribune-Democrat has a bunch of Anti-Murtha letters in it this week, all straight from the Republican National Committee.

[Peter Frank]

7. Murtha made it crystal clear that he doesn't care about...

...the criticism he's getting; otherwise he wouldn't have come out against the war in the first place. He knew he was sticking his fist into the vipers' nest.

Agree with him or not, he's doing this out of conviction. Isn't that supposed to be one of Bush's character traits -- the willingness to do what you think is right regardless of how popular it is?

[Barrett808]

9. "He speaks from his heart. He has experience. He speaks for me."

"When we first went in, I can't say I was against it," said Mary Cunningham, a Democrat who has lived in Johnstown for 22 years and swims with other seniors every morning. "At this point, we've got into another Vietnam." As for Murtha, she said: "He's finally being honest. He speaks from his heart. He has experience. He speaks for me."

Now that's the way to win hearts and minds.

[Barrett808]

10. Here's the fax I sent Rep. Murtha this morning:

The Honorable John P. Murtha
United States House of Representatives
2423 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-3812
DC Phone: [phone]
DC Fax: [phone]

Representative Murtha,

Here's a note of thanks for your courageous stand against the quagmire of the war and the Republicans who seek to use it for political gain. I urge you and the Democratic party to form a solid front on this issue and to stand up to the underhanded tactics of the GOP and Karl Rove.

Sincerely,

Barrett808

[Miss Chybil]

11. Oh, yes, good old U.S. We only kill people for their own good and

we just can't understand why it never seems to work out. I'm becoming very frustrated and rueful. Perhaps we should bomb somebody else?

:sarcasm:

[Rose Siding]

12. O fer pete's sake! How is this different from MoveOn?

"We should never have been in there to begin with"

[xchrom]

13. i'm so glad you caught that.

i was jumping up and down and generally having a hissy fit when i read that.

it falls into that weird category of ''war protestors'' and ''those who support our soldiers''.

it's disgusting.

a guy who works at caterpillar who is and was against the war is no different from a phycisist from univ. of chicago who is and was against the war.

[sabra]

14. Many constituents side with Murtha in opposition to war

http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/nation/13212496.htm

Many constituents side with Murtha in opposition to war

Knight Ridder Newspapers

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. - They take war seriously at the American Legion Hall in downtown Johnstown, Pa.

If there's ever a place to find support for U.S. troops, it's here. But regulars at the post's dark corner bar applauded Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., for urging the withdrawal of American forces from Iraq.

Elsewhere in town, some raged at Murtha for turning on a war they still supported. "Crazy," said one constituent. "Traitor," said several callers to his district office.

But mostly people in Murtha's blue-collar, coal-and-steel country district in west Pennsylvania signaled weariness for the war. They endorse the man who has represented them since he became the first Vietnam veteran elected to Congress in 1974.

[barb162]

15. I love it, some called him a traitor?

Idiots

[Patchuli]

16. Well if wanting the war to stop is "traitorous"

then the majority of Americans are "traitors."

What a bunch of reality-devoid mentally weak paranoids. How can wanting peace and to stop killing be "treason?" Our country is not under attack by Iraq except by virtue of our being there, in THEIR country pushing THEM around! Fascist oil-sucking vampires!!!! :grr:

[Vinca]

17. One GIANT point is being lost in the discussion about Murtha's proposal.

He DID NOT say "immediate." The Republicans and their Congressional stunt bill said "immediate." And it's obvious that every Republican from Shrub on down has the talking point that Murtha wants an immediate withdrawal. These people couldn't tell the truth if they wanted to.

[happyslug]

19. I loved the Somerset County GOP Leader saying Murtha may fall

Given that when Pennsylvania was re-districted they took every Democrat (Outside the City of Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh home County of Allegheny County) they could and put it in his District:


Just look at that Map. Murtha's District swing around GOP strongholds on Eastern Westmoreland, dashes into Washington County to get the Democratic Stronghold of Washington PA, Dashes into Indiana County to get the Liberal Indiana University of Pennsylvania in Indiana Pennsylvania. Murtha District includes the Democratic Strongholds of Kiskiminetas River Valley, the Monongahela River Valley, and Coal Fields of Green County(While keeping out the GOP leaning areas of both Southern and Northern Indiana County and the latest Ex-urbs of Pittsburgh in Northern Washington County as while as the Mellon-Scaife Homeland of South-Eastern Westmoreland County). It is almost impossible for a Republican to win that seat.

Now all of this is Tradition Western Pennsylvania Socially Conservative, Strong Military, but Strong union and Strong Support for Economic liberalism. While this area rejects Social Liberalism the GOP is NOT going to defeat Murtha in that district. The Number given by the GOP was with Bush able to convince a lot of voters that Kerry was a Social Liberal more than an Economic Liberal AND EVEN THAN BUSH STILL LOST THE DISTRICT by over 8000 votes The only way the GOP can win the 12th is if Murtha dies in office (and even then the GOP has only an outside chance given the nature of the District).