BRKG John Murtha died 2/8
- Thread starter maric
- Start date
Rep. John Murtha of Pa. dies at 77
WASHINGTON – A spokesman says Democratic Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, a retired Marine Corps officer who became an outspoken critic of the Iraq war, has died. He was 77.
He had been suffering complications from gallbladder surgery.
In 1974, Murtha became the first combat veteran of the Vietnam War elected to Congress. He wielded considerable clout for two decades as a leader of the House subcommittee that oversees Pentagon spending. But frustration over the Iraq war led him to call for an immediate pullout of U.S. troops in 2005.
Murtha's congressional career was clouded by questions about his ethics — from the Abscam corruption probe in 1980 to more recent investigations into the special-interest spending known as earmarks and the raising of cash for election campaigns
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100208/ap_on_go_co/us_obit_murtha_1
WASHINGTON – A spokesman says Democratic Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, a retired Marine Corps officer who became an outspoken critic of the Iraq war, has died. He was 77.
He had been suffering complications from gallbladder surgery.
In 1974, Murtha became the first combat veteran of the Vietnam War elected to Congress. He wielded considerable clout for two decades as a leader of the House subcommittee that oversees Pentagon spending. But frustration over the Iraq war led him to call for an immediate pullout of U.S. troops in 2005.
Murtha's congressional career was clouded by questions about his ethics — from the Abscam corruption probe in 1980 to more recent investigations into the special-interest spending known as earmarks and the raising of cash for election campaigns
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100208/ap_on_go_co/us_obit_murtha_1
maric
Short but deadly
Thanks Diamonds. Heres another one:
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - U.S. Rep. John Murtha, an influential critic of the Iraq War whose congressional career was shadowed by questions about his ethics, died Monday. He was 77.
The Pennsylvania Democrat had been suffering complications from gallbladder surgery. He died at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Va., spokesman Matthew Mazonkey said.
In 1974 Murtha, then an officer in the Marine Reserves, became the first Vietnam War combat veteran elected to Congress. One of Congress' most hawkish Democrats, he wielded considerable clout for two decades as the ranking Democrat on the House subcommittee that oversees Pentagon spending.
Murtha voted in 2002 to authorize President George W. Bush to use military force in Iraq, but Murtha's growing frustration over the administration's handling of the war prompted him in November 2005 to call for an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops.
"The war in Iraq is not going as advertised. It is a flawed policy wrapped in illusion," he said.
Murtha's opposition to the Iraq war rattled Washington, where the tall, gruff-mannered congressman enjoyed bipartisan respect for his work on military issues. On Capitol Hill, Murtha was seen as speaking for those in uniform when it came to military matters.
Born June 17, 1932, John Patrick Murtha delivered newspapers and worked at a gas station before graduating from Ramsay High School in Mount Pleasant.
Military service was in Murtha's blood. He said his great-grandfather served in the Civil War, his father and three uncles in World War II, and his brothers in the Marine Corps.
He left Washington and Jefferson College in 1952 to join the Marines, where he rose through the ranks to become a drill instructor at Parris Island, S.C., and later served in the 2nd Marine Division.
Murtha moved back to Johnstown and remained with the Marine Reserves until he volunteered to go to Vietnam. He served as an intelligence officer there from 1966 to 1967 and received a Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts.
After his discharge from the Marines, Murtha ran a small business in Johnstown. He went to the University of Pittsburgh on the GI Bill of rights, graduating in 1962 with a degree in economics.
He served in the Pennsylvania House in Harrisburg from 1969 until he was elected to Congress in a special election in 1974. In 1990, he retired from the Marine Reserves as a colonel.
"Ever since I was a young boy, I had two goals in life—I wanted to be a colonel in the Marine Corps and a member of Congress," Murtha wrote in his 2004 book, "From Vietnam to 9/11."
Murtha's criticism of the Iraq war intensified in 2006, when he accused Marines of murdering Iraqi civilians "in cold blood" at Haditha, Iraq, after one Marine died and two were wounded by a roadside bomb.
Critics said Murtha unfairly held the Marines responsible before an investigation was concluded and fueled enemy retaliation. He said the war couldn't be won militarily and such incidents dimmed the prospect for a political solution.
"This is the kind of war you have to win the hearts and minds of the people," Murtha said. "And we're set back every time something like this happens."
In 2008, the Republican Party used Murtha's words against him in TV ads aired less than a month before the election. The ads cited his criticism of the Haditha incident as well as his comment about "racist" voting tendencies of many western Pennsylvania residents. Still, Murtha handily won his 18th full term.
Murtha was a perennial target of critics of so-called pay-to-play politics. He routinely drew the attention of ethical watchdogs with off-the-floor activities from his entanglement in the Abscam corruption probe three decades ago to the more recent scrutiny of the connection between special-interest spending known as earmarks and the raising of cash for campaigns.
Murtha defended the practice of earmarking. The money, he said, benefited his constituents.
Murtha became chairman of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee in 1989. The same year Paul Magliocchetti, a former subcommittee staffer, left Capitol Hill to found the now-defunct PMA Group. The lobbying firm, which specialized in obtaining earmarks for defense contractors, was one Murtha's biggest sources of campaign cash.
In 2007 and 2008, Murtha and two fellow Democrats on the subcommittee directed $137 million to defense contractors who were paying PMA to get them government business. Between 1989 and 2009, Murtha collected more than $2.3 million in campaign contributions from PMA's lobbyists and corporate clients, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks political money.
Shortly after the 2008 election, the FBI raided PMA's offices as part of an ongoing criminal investigation. In a separate development in January 2009, FBI agents raided the offices of a defense contractor from Murtha's district—Windber-based Kuchera Defense Systems Inc.—that had received millions of dollars in earmarks sponsored by Murtha while contributing tens of thousands to his campaigns.
A year later, Kuchera was suspended from bidding on government contracts because of allegations that it paid more than $200,000 in kickbacks to another defense contractor.
Around the same time, the House ethics committee was investigating the link between PMA-related campaign contributions and earmarks, but it had not named a subcommittee to look into possible violations by individual lawmakers.
Murtha's critics recall the Abscam corruption probe, in which the FBI caught him on videotape in a 1980 sting operation turning down a $50,000 bribe offer while holding out the possibility that he might take money in the future.
"We do business for a while, maybe I'll be interested and maybe I won't," Murtha said on the tape.
Six congressmen and one senator were convicted in that case. Murtha was not charged, but the government named him as an unindicted co-conspirator and he testified against two other congressmen.
Murtha's district encompasses all or parts of nine counties in southwestern Pennsylvania and embodies the region's stereotypes of coal mines, steel mills and blue-collar values.
Constituents credited Murtha with bringing jobs and health care to the region, delivering hundreds of millions of dollars for local industry, hospitals and tourism. Critics derisively nicknamed Murtha the "king of pork" and said he used his position on the defense subcommittee to win favors.
Murtha often delivered Democratic votes to Republican leaders in exchange for the funding of pet projects. He wasn't shy about such deals, once saying that "dealmaking is what Congress is all about."
In 2006, when the Democrats captured control of the House for the first time in 12 years, Rep. Nancy Pelosi endorsed Murtha to become majority leader. Pelosi, D-Calif., went on to be elected as the first female House speaker, but caucus members picked Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., as their leader.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9DO6O4G0&show_article=1
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - U.S. Rep. John Murtha, an influential critic of the Iraq War whose congressional career was shadowed by questions about his ethics, died Monday. He was 77.
The Pennsylvania Democrat had been suffering complications from gallbladder surgery. He died at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Va., spokesman Matthew Mazonkey said.
In 1974 Murtha, then an officer in the Marine Reserves, became the first Vietnam War combat veteran elected to Congress. One of Congress' most hawkish Democrats, he wielded considerable clout for two decades as the ranking Democrat on the House subcommittee that oversees Pentagon spending.
Murtha voted in 2002 to authorize President George W. Bush to use military force in Iraq, but Murtha's growing frustration over the administration's handling of the war prompted him in November 2005 to call for an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops.
"The war in Iraq is not going as advertised. It is a flawed policy wrapped in illusion," he said.
Murtha's opposition to the Iraq war rattled Washington, where the tall, gruff-mannered congressman enjoyed bipartisan respect for his work on military issues. On Capitol Hill, Murtha was seen as speaking for those in uniform when it came to military matters.
Born June 17, 1932, John Patrick Murtha delivered newspapers and worked at a gas station before graduating from Ramsay High School in Mount Pleasant.
Military service was in Murtha's blood. He said his great-grandfather served in the Civil War, his father and three uncles in World War II, and his brothers in the Marine Corps.
He left Washington and Jefferson College in 1952 to join the Marines, where he rose through the ranks to become a drill instructor at Parris Island, S.C., and later served in the 2nd Marine Division.
Murtha moved back to Johnstown and remained with the Marine Reserves until he volunteered to go to Vietnam. He served as an intelligence officer there from 1966 to 1967 and received a Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts.
After his discharge from the Marines, Murtha ran a small business in Johnstown. He went to the University of Pittsburgh on the GI Bill of rights, graduating in 1962 with a degree in economics.
He served in the Pennsylvania House in Harrisburg from 1969 until he was elected to Congress in a special election in 1974. In 1990, he retired from the Marine Reserves as a colonel.
"Ever since I was a young boy, I had two goals in life—I wanted to be a colonel in the Marine Corps and a member of Congress," Murtha wrote in his 2004 book, "From Vietnam to 9/11."
Murtha's criticism of the Iraq war intensified in 2006, when he accused Marines of murdering Iraqi civilians "in cold blood" at Haditha, Iraq, after one Marine died and two were wounded by a roadside bomb.
Critics said Murtha unfairly held the Marines responsible before an investigation was concluded and fueled enemy retaliation. He said the war couldn't be won militarily and such incidents dimmed the prospect for a political solution.
"This is the kind of war you have to win the hearts and minds of the people," Murtha said. "And we're set back every time something like this happens."
In 2008, the Republican Party used Murtha's words against him in TV ads aired less than a month before the election. The ads cited his criticism of the Haditha incident as well as his comment about "racist" voting tendencies of many western Pennsylvania residents. Still, Murtha handily won his 18th full term.
Murtha was a perennial target of critics of so-called pay-to-play politics. He routinely drew the attention of ethical watchdogs with off-the-floor activities from his entanglement in the Abscam corruption probe three decades ago to the more recent scrutiny of the connection between special-interest spending known as earmarks and the raising of cash for campaigns.
Murtha defended the practice of earmarking. The money, he said, benefited his constituents.
Murtha became chairman of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee in 1989. The same year Paul Magliocchetti, a former subcommittee staffer, left Capitol Hill to found the now-defunct PMA Group. The lobbying firm, which specialized in obtaining earmarks for defense contractors, was one Murtha's biggest sources of campaign cash.
In 2007 and 2008, Murtha and two fellow Democrats on the subcommittee directed $137 million to defense contractors who were paying PMA to get them government business. Between 1989 and 2009, Murtha collected more than $2.3 million in campaign contributions from PMA's lobbyists and corporate clients, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks political money.
Shortly after the 2008 election, the FBI raided PMA's offices as part of an ongoing criminal investigation. In a separate development in January 2009, FBI agents raided the offices of a defense contractor from Murtha's district—Windber-based Kuchera Defense Systems Inc.—that had received millions of dollars in earmarks sponsored by Murtha while contributing tens of thousands to his campaigns.
A year later, Kuchera was suspended from bidding on government contracts because of allegations that it paid more than $200,000 in kickbacks to another defense contractor.
Around the same time, the House ethics committee was investigating the link between PMA-related campaign contributions and earmarks, but it had not named a subcommittee to look into possible violations by individual lawmakers.
Murtha's critics recall the Abscam corruption probe, in which the FBI caught him on videotape in a 1980 sting operation turning down a $50,000 bribe offer while holding out the possibility that he might take money in the future.
"We do business for a while, maybe I'll be interested and maybe I won't," Murtha said on the tape.
Six congressmen and one senator were convicted in that case. Murtha was not charged, but the government named him as an unindicted co-conspirator and he testified against two other congressmen.
Murtha's district encompasses all or parts of nine counties in southwestern Pennsylvania and embodies the region's stereotypes of coal mines, steel mills and blue-collar values.
Constituents credited Murtha with bringing jobs and health care to the region, delivering hundreds of millions of dollars for local industry, hospitals and tourism. Critics derisively nicknamed Murtha the "king of pork" and said he used his position on the defense subcommittee to win favors.
Murtha often delivered Democratic votes to Republican leaders in exchange for the funding of pet projects. He wasn't shy about such deals, once saying that "dealmaking is what Congress is all about."
In 2006, when the Democrats captured control of the House for the first time in 12 years, Rep. Nancy Pelosi endorsed Murtha to become majority leader. Pelosi, D-Calif., went on to be elected as the first female House speaker, but caucus members picked Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., as their leader.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9DO6O4G0&show_article=1
Jonas Parker
Hooligan
It would be tasteless of me to post my true feelings about this news...
maric
Short but deadly
AzProtector
Veteran Member
I here ya there.
RobinYyes
Inactive
I agree. But I can't help but think that pelosi is put out that she is now down one more democrat.
That being said I'm glad he's no longer in pain, and I'm sorry for his family.
Hfcomms
EN66iq
He was a combat veteran which gave him a seat at the table in expressing his views of the appropriate use of military force unlink many of the armchair commanders who never served a day.
You might not like the guy's politics but he has a right to his views and I agreed with a fair number of them. I might also add that anyone who rejoices in the death of another then this speaks much about the character of the person who is happy. I despise Obama, Bush and many of that cabal but I wouldn't rejoice at their passing. They have a judge to face that sees things much clearer than we do.
You might not like the guy's politics but he has a right to his views and I agreed with a fair number of them. I might also add that anyone who rejoices in the death of another then this speaks much about the character of the person who is happy. I despise Obama, Bush and many of that cabal but I wouldn't rejoice at their passing. They have a judge to face that sees things much clearer than we do.
Mrs Smith
Inactive
It appears these Democrat cowards are dropping like flies lately! How dare they die rather than face the people and pay for their evil and illlegal ways. 
When someone asked Murtha if he wanted to go to heaven when he died, he said "Oh no. I won't know anyone there."
He's now in the company of those just like him.
When someone asked Murtha if he wanted to go to heaven when he died, he said "Oh no. I won't know anyone there."
He's now in the company of those just like him.
45nut
Inactive
Good riddance to bad rubbish.
Ditto. typical congressional pos.
CRodgers
אני תומך
It appears these Democrat cowards are dropping like flies lately! How dare they die rather than face the people and pay for their evil and illlegal ways.
Romans 6:23
Hfcomms:
You might not like the guy's politics but he has a right to his views and I agreed with a fair number of them. I might also add that anyone who rejoices in the death of another then this speaks much about the character of the person who is happy. I despise Obama, Bush and many of that cabal but I wouldn't rejoice at their passing. They have a judge to face that sees things much clearer than we do.
Agree, and admit I'm guilty, thankful I strive not to do that anymore - we will be judged for our thoughts. Thoughts lead to actions, why they must be judged.
I wish the vast corruption on the globe could be exposed while the facilitators are alive so we could begin to change the world and the lives of all humans for the better, before the entire Earth faces the wrath of judgment.
You might not like the guy's politics but he has a right to his views and I agreed with a fair number of them. I might also add that anyone who rejoices in the death of another then this speaks much about the character of the person who is happy. I despise Obama, Bush and many of that cabal but I wouldn't rejoice at their passing. They have a judge to face that sees things much clearer than we do.
Agree, and admit I'm guilty, thankful I strive not to do that anymore - we will be judged for our thoughts. Thoughts lead to actions, why they must be judged.
I wish the vast corruption on the globe could be exposed while the facilitators are alive so we could begin to change the world and the lives of all humans for the better, before the entire Earth faces the wrath of judgment.
mt4design
Has No Life - Lives on TB
I'm not happy he's dead. I AM happy that he's no longer in CONgress...
Palmetto
Son, Husband, Father
I think that is the best way to look at it.
I don't believe in speaking badly of the dead, so I will leave it at that.
Palmetto
Southside
Has No Timebombs, Lives on Life
denfoote
Inactive
TerriHaute
Hoosier Gardener
I agree. But I can't help but think that pelosi is put out that she is now down one more democrat.
That being said I'm glad he's no longer in pain, and I'm sorry for his family.
Maybe, but she is probably also relieved. He was causing her a lot of embarrassment politically with his ethics "issues" and his demands for her support. I used to think he must have the negatives.
May God have mercy on his soul.
maric
Short but deadly
Well like it or not the man is dead. Did I agree with his politics? No. Did I like him? No. But I don't wish anyone dead. On a deserted island with no way off, sure. But dead, nope, not even O'samabama. But this was breaking news and no one had posted it so I thought I would. The only regret I see coming is the guy will now be hailed as a hero. Sure he went to Nam but so did many others. It was a time when if you didn't sign up you would probably be drafted anyway. The guy served his country but he also demeaned others that serve now. Don't forget that part. By doing that his hero status went down the crapper in my book.
dstraito
TB Fanatic
19 terms in congress......good riddance POS
canis-major
Who?
Semper Fi, asshole!
Like I said before I hope he dies.. and he did I guess that hope thing may be working after all 
Murtha may you rot in hell
http://www.bootmurtha.com/MurthaInfo/MurthaSpeak.htm
Murtha may you rot in hell
http://www.bootmurtha.com/MurthaInfo/MurthaSpeak.htm
Tiberius797
Inactive
What complications? I thought gall bladder surgery was routine? Was there something else wrong with him? Gee I thought they had great health coverage.
RobinYyes
Inactive
Nancy Pelosi could walk bare-arsed in Central Park and not have the sense to be embarrassed about it. I know, I live in CA
PilotFighter
Bomb & Bullet Technician
RIP you POS. But on the bright side a new seat has opened up for a Tea Party candidate.
nharrold
Inactive
McCain went to Nam, too. But both of 'em are POSs in my book.
BadMedicine
Would *I* Lie???
well,
bye.
bye.