Archy McNally
The Lake Hamilton Gazette
Saturday, November 19, 2005

Democratic Representative John Murtha an old retired Army War Horse was chosen as the Democrats anti-war cut and run knight in shining armor. Murtha’s impeccable credentials and credibility was surely to work in the Democrats favor.

Murtha from Johnstown, Pennsylvania is a highly decorated combat veteran with 37 years military service who served in Korea and Vietnam. He was also very pro-war and military until he started to advocate a cut-and-run strategy back in May 2004. The old War Horse was starting to slip away into the Michael Moore and Cindy Sheehan crowd.

On November 17, 2005 the once credible Murtha called for an immediate pull out of American troops from Iraq. The Democrats swiftly pounced on that revelation as just one more reason to slam Bush as to why he is wrong on the military involvement in Iraq.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi proclaimed that the once pro-war Murtha’s statement was proof that the Iraq war was unwinnable. But the strategy backfired. The Republicans called the Democrats bluff and called for a vote on Murtha’s cut and run plan to which the Democrats were the ones to get slammed.

In a desperate attempt to minimized any political repercussions against the cut and run anti-war Democrats and knowing they were cornered the totally beleaguered Nancy Pelosi of California, knowing what the outcome of the vote would be raised the white flag of surrender and instructed her fellow Democrats to join Republicans in voting against John Murtha's cut and run plan.

Murtha's cut and run plan was soundly defeated by a lopsided 403 to 3 vote as the Democrats got caught in a put-up or shut-up situation and had to shut-up. It is too bad that the once proud War Horse and his legacy will be remembered by a 403 to 3 vote of defeat.

One never knows does one?