Thespis Journal

It seems that wacky congressman John Murtha will be in command of the democrat strategy to undermine the troops and their mission in Iraq. In a blatant power grab, Murtha plans to push the Senate and the House to place restrictions on the funding measures that will force his beloved redeployment. Robert Novak has all the details.

WASHINGTON — After 16 undistinguished terms in Congress, Rep. John P. Murtha at long last felt his moment had arrived. He could not keep quiet the secret Democratic strategy that he had forged for the promised “second step” against President Bush’s Iraq policy (after the “first step” non-binding resolution of disapproval). In an interview last Thursday with the anti-war website MoveCongress.org, he revealed plans to put conditions on funding of U.S. troops. His message: I am running this show.

Indeed, he is. Murtha and his ally, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, were humiliated last Nov. 16 when the Democratic Caucus overwhelmingly voted against Murtha as majority leader. Three months later, Murtha has shaped party policy that would cripple Bush’s Iraq troop surge by placing conditions on funding. That represents the most daring congressional attempt to micromanage ongoing armed hostilities in nearly two centuries, since the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War challenged President Abraham Lincoln. Murtha’s plan did not surprise Republicans. They were poised to contend that his proposed amendment to the supplemental appropriations bill would effectively cut off funding for the war, confronting moderate Democrats elected after promising voters to support troops. But the Senate rule requiring 60 votes to end debate, which prevented final passage of the non-binding resolution rejecting the troop surge, would not affect Murtha’s plan because appropriations have to be passed and cannot be filibustered.

Brit Hume’s verbal slap-down of foolish Jack Murtha from this morning’s Fox News Sunday is getting a lot of coverage. We have long ago stated that Brit Hume is the best anchor man in America. I heard Brit say it out loud and clear, but I did not think that much of his statement. Brit has many fans. It took me a minute to realize that while I have been saying it and writing about it, almost no one in the media will say what everyone is thinking about Murtha’s alarming ignorance. Murtha is long past the day of knowing what is going on in our world. Yet, old Jack continually barks again.

It is so refreshing to hear Brit Hume speak the truth.

Brit Hume: That sound bite from John Murtha suggests that it’s time a few things be said about him. Even the “Washington Post” noted he didn’t seem particularly well informed about what’s going on over there, to say the least. Look, this man has tremendous cachet among House Democrats, but he is not — this guy is long past the day when he had anything but the foggiest awareness of what the heck is going on in the world.

And that sound bite is naiveté at large, and the man is an absolute fountain of such talk, and the fact that he has ascended to the position he has in the eyes of the Democrats in the House and perhaps Democrats around the country tells you a lot about how much they know or care about what’s really going on over there

In a lengthy editorial on Saturday, the Washington Post blasts John Murtha for his latest blunder on Iraq. Captain Ed says, the post spanks Murtha. Check out the comprehensive Murtha linkfest.
From the Post Editorial:

Mr. Murtha has a different idea. He would stop the surge by crudely hamstringing the ability of military commanders to deploy troops. In an interview carried Thursday by the Web site MoveCongress.org, Mr. Murtha said he would attach language to a war funding bill that would prohibit the redeployment of units that have been at home for less than a year, stop the extension of tours beyond 12 months, and prohibit units from shipping out if they do not train with all of their equipment. His aim, he made clear, is not to improve readiness but to “stop the surge.” So why not straightforwardly strip the money out of the appropriations bill — an action Congress is clearly empowered to take — rather than try to micromanage the Army in a way that may be unconstitutional? Because, Mr. Murtha said, it will deflect accusations that he is trying to do what he is trying to do. “What we are saying will be very hard to find fault with,” he said.

Mr. Murtha’s cynicism is matched by an alarming ignorance about conditions in Iraq. He continues to insist that Iraq “would be more stable with us out of there,” in spite of the consensus of U.S. intelligence agencies that early withdrawal would produce “massive civilian casualties.” He says he wants to force the administration to “bulldoze” the Abu Ghraib prison, even though it was emptied of prisoners and turned over to the Iraqi government last year. He wants to “get our troops out of the Green Zone” because “they are living in Saddam Hussein’s palace”; could he be unaware that the zone’s primary occupants are the Iraqi government and the U.S. Embassy?

It would be nice to believe that Mr. Murtha does not represent the mainstream of the Democratic Party or the thinking of its leadership. Yet when asked about Mr. Murtha’s remarks Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) offered her support. Does Ms. Pelosi really believe that the debate she orchestrated this week was not “the real vote”? If the answer is yes, she is maneuvering her party in a way that can only do it harm.

Check out the BullWinkle Blog

 Check out the Carnival of the Insanities!

Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina called it during the senate debate when he stated that the Saturday afternoon charade was “political theater.” Yes, it was purely political theater: a bad production with no redeeming qualities, and terrible reviews. The debate even had bad actors, including Uncle Teddy Kennedy taking the leading role. Kennedy, a stalwart of senate elitism, seems to believe that the United States congress should have its role reduced to offering commentary on the decisions of the President.

Senator Mitch McConnell must be vigilant in defending against Harry Reid’s political stunts. Reid sees himself as a Broadway producer who should stage more theaterical tricks over the next two years. The shrill voices of Kennedy, Schumer, Reid, Boxer, and others will begin to ear on the American voter. The voters can always smell a fraud a mile away.

The drive-by news media will not accurately report this story. The republicans were more than willing to let the democrats have their meaningless vote, if there could be one meaningful vote on funding the troops and the mission.

From politico.com: (more…)

Broadway star Christine Ebersole appeared on the Saturday Early Show to sing in the Second Cup Cafe. She sounds magnificent in her selections from the Broadway production of Grey Gardens. Her raidant voice has never really sounded clearer or finer. Ebersole must have taken good care of her voice over the years as it does not show signs of wear and tear as so many voice her age.

You will enjoy Ms. Ebersole performing in this video. She is likely to win the Tony Award for best leading actress at the awards ceremony in June 2007.

You will also enjoy Ebersole singing the great Lloyd Weber Song: As If We Never Said Good-Bye.

This post has generated an unbelievable amount of traffic. While Kiran did a fine job, Gretchen Carlson is wonderful. E.D. Hill is still my favorite, but I really enjoy Fox and Friends. Kiran was really rather unethical. Check out all of the regular posts at Thespis Journal. 

You might also check out Republican Operative, Chetry’s Husband Leaves, Inside Cable News,

Update from MsUnderestimated

For fans of Fox News from the New York Post…

February 17, 2007 — THE William Morris Agency tried to play hardball with the Fox News Channel, but it struck out big time - with its client, news cutie Kiran Chetry, getting cut from the network.

TVNewser reports William Morris super-agent John Ferriter - who’d recently started representing Chetry, co-host of “Fox & Friends” weekend shows - told the network to fire Gretchen Carlson, co-anchor of the higher-rated weekday “Fox & Friends,” so Chetry could take her place.

But the backstabbing request backfired on Thursday, when Fox executives fired off an angry letter to Ferriter saying they were terminating their contract with Chetry for the treachery.

Sources tell the Web site the dark-haired, Nepalese beauty had been pulling down $300,000-plus a year, and Fox offered to bump her salary to $400,000 in a new contract that could have started March 6. But Ferriter countered with a salary demand of more than $700,000, plus his insistence that Chetry take over the morning job from Carlson, a blond former Miss America.

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Updates: Ian has more on Murtha.  Murtha’s alarming Ignorance.

Jack Murtha just keeps on showing his stupidity. I think he has had a few too many drinks while visiting Okinawa. Check out these links from the archives . Just think of it as a trip on the yellow brick road.

Wicked: Starring Jack Murtha

The Murtha of All Morons

Murtha’s Big Wave

Murtha is a Fool

We Must Finish the Job in Iraq

From the New York Post:

February 17, 2007 — PROVIDING aid and comfort to the enemy in wartime is treason. It’s not “just politics.” It’s treason.

And signaling our enemies that Congress wants them to win isn’t “supporting our troops.”

The “nonbinding resolution” telling the world that we intend to surrender to terrorism and abandon Iraq may be the most disgraceful congressional action since the Democratic Party united to defend slavery.

The vote was a huge morale booster for al Qaeda, for Iraq’s Sunni insurgents, and for the worst of the Shia militias.

The message Congress just sent to them all was, “Hold on, we’ll stop the surge, we’re going to leave - and you can slaughter the innocent with our blessing.”

We’ve reached a low point in the history of our government when a substantial number of legislators would welcome an American defeat in Iraq for domestic political advantage.

From the New York Daily News…Like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s point man, Jack Murtha. Seldom in the history of the republic has an elected official so delighted in the idea of preventing American troops from doing their jobs, and yesterday the Pennsylvania congressman was practically licking his chops at the prospect of shutting down their funding and stopping them in their tracks. Actual Murtha quote: “They won’t have the equipment, they don’t have the training and they won’t be able to do the work.”

Here’s a guy you want watching your back when the going gets tough, huh?

But Murtha is just one of the attack dogs on call. Yesterday’s House vote is the opening shot in a campaign to thwart the surge - and thus cripple the war effort.

Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and company are not about to vote outright to cut off funding for the war, as that would require political courage, but their legislative committees will have something to say about how $93 billion in combat monies will be spent. And their intention is to attach such fussily strict conditions that increasing troop strength will become impossible.

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Ian reports on the meaningless vote by the House of Representatives this afternoon on the embolden the enemy act. It is the first portion of their slow bleed strategy. The senate democrats are next in line to withdraw their support for the troops and their mission. According to Point Five, “Congress will Stand, the Trooops Must Die.” A Blog for All says it is Loathsome, Feckless and Reckless.

“This is all part of their plan to eliminate funding for our troops that are in harm’s way. And we stand here as Republicans … committed to making sure our troops in harm’s way have all the funds and equipment they need to win this war in Iraq,” said Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, the Republican leader.

What we now have in Iraq is a defeat. We cannot achieve the illusions of the Bush administration that we will be able to create a stable unified liberal democracy in Iraq that is pro-American,” said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif. “Instead, we have sectarian fighting, death squads and a disabled Middle East that threatens to be engulfed by the nightmare that we have unleashed.” Representative Henry Waxman of California.

AJ Strata says, When The US Shows Up In Force, Our Enemies Leave

Democrats- Not Al Qaeda -Bring America To Its Knees

Rudy Guiliani seems to know the meaning of leadership. His record as Mayor of New York and determined resolve in times of crisis could beneift our nation greatly. Rudy appeared on Larry King Wednesday night. 

KING: The House is apparently about to vote — and will vote, apparently — to say that this 20,000 troops is a mistake.

Now, an important question, do you hold those who vote for that as helping the enemy?

GIULIANI: No, I hold them as…

KING: Because some say that.

GIULIANI: OK. There’s a…

KING: You don’t?

GIULIANI: I mean, there’s — you can look at the practical and common sense conclusion of it anyway you want. But there’s something more important than that.

We have a right of free speech in this country and we elect people to make decisions.

Here’s what I would prefer to see them do, though, if you ask me what’s my view on that. The non-binding resolution thing gets me more than are you for it or against it. I have tremendous respect for the people who feel that we either made a mistake going to war, who voted against the war, who now have come to the conclusion, changed their minds — they have every right to that — that it’s wrong. You should, in a dynamic situation, keep questioning.

What I don’t like is the idea of a non-binding resolution.

KING: Because?

GIULIANI: Because there’s no decision.

KING: But it’s a — making a — it’s a statement.

GIULIANI: Yes, but that’s what you do. That’s what Tim Russert does. That’s what Rush Limbaugh does. That’s what you guys do, you make comments. We pay them to make decisions, not just to make comments. We pay them to decide. The United States Congress does declarations, the war, that’s the...

KING: So are you telling them if you feel that way, withhold funds, if that’s the way you feel?

GIULIANI: Well, the ones I — the ones that I think have a better understanding of what their responsibility is and are willing to take a risk are the ones who are saying we’ve got to hold back the funds, we’ve got to vote against the war or we’re for the war.

KING: So…

GIULIANI: And maybe it’s because I, you know, I ran a government and I tend to be a decisive person. I like decisions. And I think one of the things wrong with Washington is they don’t want to make tough decisions anymore.

KING: You know, if you’re…

GIULIANI: Non-binding resolution about Iraq; no decision on immigration; no decision on Social Security reform; no decision on what to do about energy independence; no decision. No decision.

Others covering Rudy: Ian at Hot Air,  The Conservative Times

Michelle Malkin and Ann Coulter sound off on Obama’s madness. It seems like he wasn’t really ready for prime time. First from Michelle Malkin:

I have good news for everyone offended by the description of Sen. Barack Obama as “articulate.” He has quickly shed any claim to that label. Indeed, Obama’s remarks this week about American troops killed in Iraq were a bumbling, incoherent mess. You may now refer to him officially as the Inarticulate Barack Obama. (As for judging his current level of cleanliness and brightness, you know that’s Joe Biden’s milieu.)

At one of his opening presidential campaign events on the Iowa State University campus this weekend, Obama pandered energetically to the anti-war crowd. With his smooth voice rising and thousands of fans goading him on, he proclaimed: “We ended up launching a war that should have never been authorized, and should have never been waged, and to which we have now spent $400 billion and have seen over 3,000 lives of the bravest young Americans wasted.”

Yes, “wasted.” Squandered. Pointless. Down the drain. Meaningless. Video footage of the speech shows Sen. Obama delivering his scripted words carefully and confidently. No umms or ahhs or pauses as he argued that each and every member of the military who volunteered to serve and died in Iraq “wasted” his/her life.

Ann Coulter is at her sarcastic best in disucssing Obama’s laughable assertions during his announcement.

Most weirdly, he said: “I recognize there is a certain presumptuousness in this — a certain audacity — to this announcement.”

What is so audacious about announcing that you’re running for president? Any idiot can run for president. Dennis Kucinich is running for president. Until he was imprisoned, Lyndon LaRouche used to run for president constantly. John Kerry ran for president. Today, all you have to do is suggest a date by which U.S. forces in Iraq should surrender, and you’re officially a Democratic candidate for president.

Obama made his announcement surrounded by hundreds of adoring Democratic voters. And those were just the reporters. There were about 400 more reporters at Obama’s announcement than Mitt Romney’s, who, by the way, is more likely to be sworn in as our next president than B. Hussein Obama.

I don’t want to say that Obama didn’t say anything in his announcement, but afterward, even Jesse Jackson was asking, “What did he say?” There was one refreshing aspect to Obama’s announcement: It was nice to see a man call a press conference this week to announce something other than he was the father of Anna Nicole Smith’s baby.