[UPDATED] John Kerry demands end to GOP attacks on John Murtha; please write Murtha to show support.
The passion is back again for John Kerry. Fresh of his denunciation of the Bush administration on last night's Hardball, John Kerry has demanded an end to the GOP smears of John Murtha in the wake of his calls for a quick end to the Iraq occupation.
"I won't stand for the `swift boating' of Jack Murtha. It disgusts me that a bunch of guys who have never put on the uniform of their country venomously turn their guns on a Marine who came home from Vietnam with a Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts. No matter what J.D. Hayworth says, there is no sterner stuff than the backbone and courage that defines Jack Murtha's character and conscience.
"You know why the Republicans are engaged in the lowest form of smear and fear politics? Because they're afraid of actually debating a senior congressman who has advised presidents of both parties on military matters. They're afraid to debate a decorated veteran who lives and breathes the concerns of our troops, not the empty slogans of an Administration that sent our brave troops to war without body armor. They're terrified of actually leveling with the American people about the way they misled America into war, and admitting they have no clear plan to finish the job and get our troops home. Whether you agree with Jack Murtha's policy or not is irrelevant. The truth is there is a better course for our troops and for America in Iraq, and I am going to keep fighting until we take that course for the good of our country.
"Instead of letting his cronies run their mouths, the President for once should stop his allies from doing to Jack Murtha what he set them loose to do to John McCain in South Carolina and Max Cleland in Georgia. The President should finally find the courage to debate the real issue instead of destroying anyone who speaks truth to power as they see it. It's time for Americans to stand up, fight back, and make it clear it's unacceptable to do this to any leader of any party anywhere in our country."
Once again, this is the John Kerry we knew from back in the Vietnam days, when he led a protest that helped end the Vietnam War.
The fact that the GOP is launching a massive smear campaign against Murtha shows that they do not really care about our soldiers. Instead, they are exploiting them for partisan political purposes. This is similar to the racist tactics that were used in the South back in the Jim Crow era. Rove and the Republicans have nothing against the brave men and women in uniform -- as long as they are good little boys, keep to themselves, and let George Bush run the show. But may God have mercy on the soul of a veteran or soldier who dares to speak the truth. Similarly, many racist segregationists had nothing against Blacks -- as long as they didn't complain, stayed on their side of the tracks, and didn't make trouble for anybody.
The GOP is exploiting our veterans in the same way that the segregationists exploited Blacks back in the days of the Civil Rights movement.
Action:
Please consider writing Congressman Murtha to show your support. You may do so here.