Posted on 07/20/2006 7:31:39 PM PDT by kristinn
Honor Roll for today: W04man; Christopher Lincoln; Just A Nobody, Jimmy Valentine's brother; kristinn and a local retired Marine Corps officer.
The D.C. Chapter of Free Republic gathered in the hazy July heat of downtown Washington today to freep Rep. John Murtha ('Rat-Pa.) at the Hyatt Regency where he was being feted by the Center for National Policy. The (cough, cough) non-partisan think tank was presenting Murtha their Edmund S. Muskie Distinguished Public Service Award at a noon luncheon.
W04Man and a friend of his, a retired Marine Corps officer, were first to arrive, a little before 11 a.m. CNP president Tim Roemer, former 'Rat congressman and 9/11 commissioner spoke with W04man about the protest of his honored guest before the rest of us got there.
We were up to full strength around noon and made good use of the signs that W04Man made for us. We walked around the sidewalk in front of the hotel or stood under the shade trees on the edges of the circular driveway entrance.
We received a lot of positive comments from many vets (and a few out of uniform active duty) who stopped to talk with us about Murtha. One was quite passionate about the detriment to morale that Murtha's statements cause our troops.
On the other hand, we had only one vet who supported Murtha. He demanded to know who among us had served. JVb spoke up first (and loudest). The Murtha supporting vet was taken aback that the "have you served" card was trumped, so he bent over and rolled up his pant leg to show us something. He then muttered that Murtha was going to 'bring his grandson home.'
Being that we were in front of a hotel and the majority of those coming in and out had nothing to do with the Murtha luncheon, we did not engage unless we were engaged. That worked out fine as there were quite a few Murtha moonbats who tried to take us on and thereby gave us the chance to speak out without annoying the hotel guests and staff too much.
Murtha arrived around 12:20. A staff member drove his car to the front door. Another staffer got out and helped Murtha to the door. I called out urging Murtha to apologize to the Marines under investigation for the Haditha incident for judging them cold blooded killers before the investigation had been concluded.
We milled about on the sidewalk while the luncheon went. A Fox News crew came out and shot B-roll of us. We came up with a chant of "Redeploy Murtha, send him to Okinawa!"
A still photographer took some pictures from the driveway. A reporter also stood in the driveway and took notes on the messages on our signs.
A constant during the time we were there was tour buses dropping off attendees of the NAACP convention. A few people who debarked from the buses spoke with us about why we were protesting Murtha, but there were no arguments.
The luncheon was scheduled to end at 1:30, but Murtha didn't come out until around 1:45 after many others had left. To his credit, he came out the front door where we could see and jeer him. However, he avoided making eye contact throughout the prolonged encounter.
The moment he came though the hotel door, we loudly chanted, "Cut and run! Benedict Murtha! Cut and Run! Benedict Murtha!"
We kept it up as his car pulled next to us and got stuck in traffic as it tried to leave the driveway. Murtha continued to avert his eyes, but a female staffer in the back of the car started blowing kisses at us.
After Murtha was gone, a reporter with CNSNews.com interviewed us about the protest.
While that was going on, we had our last donneybrook with the Murtha moonbats. Two men, one in his thirties and the other in his fifties, got real angry at us about our criticism of Murtha. The younger guy had been barking at us earlier, but now he was really fired up. When he was trumped on the "do you have family serving" card he and his partner both gave us vulgar gestures. The younger flipped us the bird and yelled "F--- you!" at us while the older man gave us the universal "up yours" fisting gesture. They admitted to being Democrats, btw.
We left a little after 2 p.m.
A few photos courtesy of W04Man:
The text of Murtha's acceptance speech as posted on his House website:
For Immediate Release
July 20, 2006
Washington D.C. - Thank you for awarding me this Distinguished Public Service Award. I appreciate the sentiment that this award recognizes.
Today I would have liked to have stood before you to proclaim that due to this Administration’s persistent efforts to maintain a strong United States military presence in Iraq, Iraq has finally turned the corner, progress is being made and that the overall situation is looking up.
This is not the case. Progress has not been made in key areas: unemployment is 60% nation wide and 90% in Al Anbar Province; oil production and electricity are below pre-war levels. Potable water remains in short supply, the streets are lined with trash, and the security situation on the ground has worsened.
The Army’s 4th Division is currently on its second deployment in Iraq. With several months still remaining in their deployment, they have already lost nearly as many soldiers as they did during their first deployment in 2004. (76 have died thus far; 81 died during 2004).
Our military is now considered occupiers by most Iraqis.
Iraq is now in a civil war and our military is caught in the middle.
All of us want stability in Iraq.
But this goal cannot be achieved by mere words alone, nor by slogans or broad policy statements.
The key word is “How.”
How do we give Iraq a chance at stability?
How do we bring stability and security to the Region?
How do we strengthen our own national defenses?
And how do we keep America safe and strong?
Some say that staying in Iraq is the answer. I disagree!
Because of the war in Iraq, our military is overcommitted and stretched thin. We are chewing up our military equipment and we are spending money at an astronomical rate, a rate that was never envisioned or planned.
The days that the war will last months rather than years- that our international allies will help pay - and that Iraq’s reconstruction will be paid by Iraq’s oil revenues - have long passed.
Despite several milestone events that were heralded as turning points to Iraq’s security woes, the latest being Iraq’s general election in December 2005, violence has continued to escalate.
The U.N. reported this week that an average of more than 100 civilians per day were killed in Iraq last month.
Listen to what I am saying-- violence has been escalating despite nearly three and a half years of U.S. military operations and the presence of over 130,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.
More than three and a half years in Iraq-- This is longer than our involvement in the Korean War and will soon be longer than our participation in WWII. Yet the battle rages on in Iraq.
Why??
Because the solution to Iraq’s security situation cannot be solved by the United States Military. Yet they continue to shoulder the burden. It is up to the Iraqis. The Iraqis must take control of their own security and their own future. We cannot do it for them.
It was just reported to me that the vast majority of Army units in the United States are at the lowest state of readiness, which means they are not ready to deploy to combat anywhere in the world due to shortages of personnel, equipment and training.
So, if called upon by our Commander-in-Chief today most of our Army units within the United States would have to report, “Not ready for duty, sir.”
This is indeed a dangerous situation given the recent events in Lebanon, North Korea, Gaza and Iran.
We have no strategic reserves.
Our ability to project power to protect America wherever and whenever necessary is no longer at the level necessary to ensure success.
That’s why I say the policy of “staying the course” or of “waiting to see” in Iraq is hurting our national security, has weakened our military and has impeded our ability to respond to present and future threats.
Because of the Administration’s policies in Iraq our global diplomatic options are limited and our international credibility has been severely undermined.
I believe that the policy to “continue to stay the course” in Iraq is emboldening our potential enemies.
Who wants us in Iraq?
North Korea, Iran, China, Russia, and the Al Qaeda. Because they believe as a nation we are distracted; and as the world’s superpower, we are depleting our resources.
Redeployment of our military from Iraq does not equate to abandoning Iraq. Continued diplomatic efforts are tremendously important and must be vigorously pursued.
But ultimately the Iraqis must take control of their own security situation and must convince its neighbors of the importance of a stable Iraq.
The insurgency in Iraq has now transformed into a civil war. The United Nations reported this week that more than 14,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed this year alone. Sectarian killings have surpassed deaths attributed to terrorism.
We continue to lose American lives; nearly 500 have been lost since I spoke out on November 17, 2005.
The number of attacks per day has grown from about 50 in 2004 to well over 100 today.
The amount of cash paid to families of Iraqis civilians killed or maimed by U.S. military operations has grown from $5 million in 2004 to $20 million last year.
In 2003, the average monthly war expenditures in Iraq were about $4 billion; in 2004 we spent $5 billion a month; in 2005 $6 billion; and today we are spending $8 billion per month in Iraq.
$8 billion per month! That’s $11 million per hour.
To put this into perspective, I have prepared a handout that illustrates the purchasing power of 8 billion dollars.
As a nation we have been on a reckless path of deficit spending.
There has been little oversight and no accountability. The use of wasteful, no-bid contracts are rampant while huge amounts of money have been unaccounted for in Iraq.
We are clearly going in the wrong direction.
Staying the Course is not the answer.
A change in direction is essential to rebuilding our military and to preserving our nation’s strengths and protecting our future.
A plan to rebuild our military, a plan to regain our international credibility, a plan to make America stronger starts with the recognition of this fact: While we are militarily engaged in Iraq, we are weaker not stronger.
We can no longer afford to sit and wait. It is too costly to wait for future administrations to resolve. We must act now and adopt a policy of redeployment.
Redeploy to rebuild our military.
Redeploy to meet future threats.
Redeploy to strengthen America.
(####)
BUMP FOR DIANA IREY!
Once again the DC Chapter is on the cutting edge. Taking the people's message to perp.
Outstanding!!! Thanks for being there for all of us like-minded individuals.
BTTT
I'll come back to read Murtha's text later, and when I do, I'd love to know if that guy was getting money out of his sock.
I must have been too PRO-IREY, so they didn't run mine. I was plugging Vets4Irey.com and telling him that I was there to make sure Murtha new how many Veterans were out there upset with Murtha, and that we were going to help Diana Irea REDEPLOY HIM!
Bump and Elect Diana Irey
Save it for the work you do for the Dems sweetheart. You must have to deliver many pizzas.
We kept it up as his car pulled next to us and got stuck in traffic as it tried to leave the driveway. Murtha continued to avert his eyes, but a female staffer in the back of the car started blowing kisses at us.
Great job!
BTW, how'd you get the "John Cut and Run Murtha" and Vets4Irey signs to suspend in the air?
Good thing WE have the secret weapon - and not the other side. Otherwise, they'd deploy her, [er] I mean the secret weapon, to Okinawa!
Hey Leo, long time no see!
That was a very moving post. Thank you for your service, and a belated "Welcome home!"
As always, a beautiful job of representing the FR feelings, and a wonderfully written piece. (Great photo's, too!)
Thanks,and Mother-of-all-Pings to you guys)
Still in elementary school??? LOL j/k
Always good to hear from the front!
Nor will I.
Of course they had to let the car run for 20 minutes to get it cooled down for their king.
I can't get the link to work. I'll go to the site and see if I can find it. I'm sorry they would not use your interview, too.
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