Hastert challenges Kerry over comments on Murtha

[sabra]

http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/news/politics/13270871.htm

Hastert challenges Kerry over comments on Murtha

Chicago Tribune


<snip>

In a written appeal to supporters, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., accused House Speaker Dennis Hastert of calling Democratic Rep. John Murtha a coward.

...

Writing to supporters the day after Murtha's Nov. 17 announcement, Kerry said, "You and I have to make it absolutely clear that we won't stand for Republican `Swift Boat' style attacks on Jack Murtha."

Kerry, the Democratic nominee for president in 2004 who was savaged by a conservative political group that questioned his Vietnam War service, said the Republican attack machine had set its sights on Murtha, and noted: "Dennis Hastert - the Speaker of the House who never served - accused Jack Murtha of being a coward."

...

"I need everyone to understand that I have known Congressman (John) Murtha a long time," Hastert wrote just before Thanksgiving. "He's a good man. I have the utmost respect for him. In fact, I'm pretty sure he knows that. I disagreed with the pullout plan he announced last week."

[saltpoint]

1. My question is, Have Dennis Hastert and Mr. Bumble from

Dickens' OLIVER TWIST ever been seen together at the same time?

[0007]

7. Blumble's from Dicken's museum.

[Cocoa]

2. Hastert has a pathetically weak case

clearly Kerry's characterization was accurate, and I can't imagine anyone being persuaded by Hastert's denials.

[SpiralHawk]

14. You mean Hastert's squeals and whines?

Oink Oink - Me thinks the congress critter doth protest too squealishly.

[wakeme2008]

3. chicken hawk Hastert

Rep. Dennis Hastert (R-IL)

Dennis wasn't able to serve in the Army in Vietnam because his knees weren't up to it. He did OK as a wrestler in college, though.




http://www.nhgazette.com/articles/CH_Hastert,%20Dennis.html

[raysr]

4. A line in the sand

jump you fat fuck, jump!

[Uncle Roy]

23. In fairness to college wrestlers...

These beautiful guys give their heart and soul to their sport, which no one comes to watch. Many of them get seriously injured, at an early age, and require surgery. The side-effects of this often stay with them for the rest of their lives. (Most former wrestlers can tell you when bad weather is coming.) The most common injury by far is to the knee.

Knees bend very nicely to the "inside". Sit on the floor in the "lotus" position and you will know what I mean. I am a fat old man and I can still do this. But they don't bend well at all in the other direction. If, in the heat of battle, some big beefy boy suddenly decides to try to turn you over by cranking on your lower leg in a way that twists your knee "the wrong way", then very bad things can happen, very quickly.

The refs watch for this, and stop it immediately when it starts to happen, with a "potentially dangerous" call. Even if the ref is distracted by significant action happening elsewhere, like a "near fall" situation involving the shoulders, you will often hear fans (of both teams!) yelling "watch that knee!!!" But still, bad things happen, and I have seen many a college wrestler helped from the mat, his career over at least for the season, and maybe forever.

Please note: I am not particularly interested in defending Mr Hastert. The man disgusts me in more ways than I have time to list here, and there is no lack of valid grounds to trash him on. But if he was a college wrestler, and his knees got wrecked from wrestling, and then a military doctor gave him a deferment because his knees were wrecked, I wouldn't call him a Chicken Hawk on that basis.

[Erika]

5. W & the GOP tried to portray Murtha as a coward

and a radical leftist. They used Schmidt to launch the trial balloon. They found it was made out of lead.

It's been most amusing watching these chicken hawks retract and run.

[sendero]

15. LOL....

.... so true. The only "cut and run" job I see is the Republicans trying to back away from their incindiery comments.

Talk about cowards!

[MADem]

6. Cut and runner, white flag waver, cowering like the 'Europeans!'

Just 'cause I said he was COWERING doesn't mean I think he is a COWARD!!!

Give it UP, Denny--fucking apologize, and MOVE ON. And apologize to MURTHA, don't take potshots at Kerry!!!! Oh, and have ANOTHER donut, doughboy!!

WOW, the GOP really is falling to shreds!! Talk about stepping in their message, like a pile of fetid shit, and smearing it all over the oriental carpet in America's living room!!! DAMN--it is almost FUNNY!

But Hastert's initial response to Murtha's withdrawal announcement accused him and the Democratic Party of adopting a policy of "cut and run."

Furthermore, Hastert said Murtha and the Democrats "want us to retreat. They want us to wave the white flag of surrender to the terrorists of the world." And he said, "We must not cower like European nations who are now fighting terrorists on their soil."

[globalvillage]

8. Fuck Hastert

Here's what he said about Jack Murtha. It doesn't sound like the "utmost respect" to me. Not only does he insinuate that Murtha's a coward, but that he doesn't care about the troops or "innocent Americans". And he insists on tying this insane war, once again, to 9/11 and OBL.
Jackass.


WASHINGTON, Nov. 17 /U.S. Newswire/ -- House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) released the following statement in response to comments by Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) regarding the War on Terror.

"I am saddened by the comments made today by Rep. Murtha. It is clear that as Nancy Pelosi's top lieutenant on armed services, Rep. 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.

"Four years ago, America as we knew it changed. The terrorists attacked our people and attacked our nation. Nearly 3,000 Americans lost their lives. Families were destroyed, and our children lost their sense of peace. On that day, we learned that we no longer had a choice. Failure to act -- and act strongly -- left our nation vulnerable to Osama bin Laden and his band of terrorist followers.

"But now, Rep. Murtha and other Democrats want us to retreat. They want us to wave the white flag of surrender to the terrorists of the world. It is unfortunate that this is all politics all the time. We need to have a strong consistent policy that will protect our men and women who are fighting to protect us overseas. We must not cower like European nations who are now fighting terrorists on their soil.

"This is the highest insult to the brave men and women serving overseas. They have made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our citizens, our way of life and our ideals of freedom and democracy. And they have done excellent work. In the four years since September 11th, the United States and our partners have disrupted at least 10 major terrorist attacks. Three of those attacks were planned on U.S. soil.

"I have known John Murtha to be a long-term veteran of this institution. He has stood up for our troops and has helped to provide them with the right equipment to do their job. We all saw the same pained faces among Americans when terrorists slammed into the Twin Towers. Did he see the faces the rest of America saw when terrorists plowed into the Pentagon or when the plane that was headed for a Washington target went down in Pennsylvania? I saw the faces that day, and, Mr. Murtha, that was no illusion."

http://www.usnewswire.com/

[BlueIris]

19. That's what I say.

Although, if the man is suddenly dumb enough to pick a fight with KERRY of all people without so much as a leg to stand on? Well, I don't think he's worth Kerry's time, but the result might be entertaining.

[gratuitous]

9. Gee Dennis, the House not falling apart fast enough?

You have time to issue challenges to members of the Senate? Maybe you would be better off tending to your own knitting.

[wisteria]

10. Haster needs to apologize for stating that Dem's want to

retreat and surrender and for his incorrect linkage of 9/11 with the Iraq war.

[Skip Intro]

11. Hastert's OWN WORDS:

from the article:

But Hastert's initial response to Murtha's withdrawal announcement accused him and the Democratic Party of adopting a policy of "cut and run."

Furthermore, Hastert said Murtha and the Democrats "want us to retreat. They want us to wave the white flag of surrender to the terrorists of the world." And he said, "We must not cower like European nations who are now fighting terrorists on their soil."

A spokeswoman for Kerry said the senator was reacting to Hastert's use of the word "cower" and said that the speaker and other Republican Party leaders "were all calling (Murtha) a coward."

"That was the implication," said Jenny Backus, the spokeswoman for Kerry's political action committee, which sent out the letter urging people to complain about "these vicious smear tactics" to their elected representatives, local talk radio shows and local newspapers.

[thebigidea]

12. Hastert has enough of a challenge standing up from a chair--

[Voltaire99]

13. Sorry, Kerry: it doesn't matter one whit what any of you call each other.

If you've got time to write letters about this, you can get off your billionaire's ass and end the war.

After all, you helped start it.

[karynnj]

17. Kerry did put out an exit plan a month ago

that would have us out in sbout a year. Feingold has said that he, Kerry, Kennedy, Byrd and Levin are in the forefront of the Democratic effort to get out.

If he were President, we would be in a very different situation.

Kerry spoke out against the war before it started. The inspections were working (missiles were being destroyed), Bush violated the IWR and all of his promises to Congress and the nation when he attacked.

If it doesn't matter what we call each other, then why are there all the attacks on Kerry for not answering the SBVT (which he did).

[sendero]

16. You have to admit..

.... it would have been nice if Kerry would have done something about the original "swift boat" attacks.

[karynnj]

18. He did - Note here though KERRY came to Murtha's defense

Would it have sounded the same if Murtha said he was not a coward. This, like the SBVT charges, are better handled by a unified defense. Kerry had when the charges first came out, pointed out that the truth was what it had been for 35 years. He earned his medals.

Ironic that Kerry releasing over 100 pages of Navy records - including excellent fitness reports (some signed by the slimers) than spanned his entire service and the citations for his awards - that showed he had a clean record and that he was a hero, Bush had missing records - but it was Kerry who the media chose to question.

[sendero]

20. My recollection is..

... that he released these record LONG AFTER they would have done him any good. Is that not true?

And couldn't you make the case that a defense delayed is essentially a defense denied? If you call me a bastard and I come back a month later and say "no I'm not", who really won?

[WhiteTara]

21. here here n/t

[cantstandbush]

22. Oh, "disagreed with the pullout PLAN..." So, Dems do have a plan?

That's what Hastert said. Check the quotes. So why do all the Republicans say the Dems have no ideas or plans so they are not entitled to criticize the Iraq war?