Evidently the Washington Moonie Times couldn’t handle Jack Murtha getting some good press yesterday, so today they fire back with a scathing editorial entitled “The Real Jack Murtha”

Rep. John Murtha is thinking big thoughts. Since coming out for an immediate withdrawal from Iraq last year, he has accused Marines of murder “in cold blood” before a preliminary investigation is even complete; accused the military of a cover up over the same incident; declared his candidacy for the House majority leadership post; and, most recently, refined his cut-and-run strategy in Iraq to mean “redeployment” to Okinawa, Japan.

    That’s quite a splash for such a veteran congressman, who a year ago had zero name recognition outside Washington. That he’s made a name for himself now by slandering our troops and their mission deserves a brief recital of some other activities associated with Mr. Murtha.

As I said, Murtha got some good press yesterday and that is why the Moonie Times had to fire back with this editorial today. Let’s look at what he said:

While Staff Sgt. Randy Myers was dodging roadside bombs in Iraq, his congressman was calling the war a lost cause.

Sixteen-term Rep. John Murtha, a decorated Vietnam veteran and military hawk, has become the face of the Democrats’ anti-war movement since he called for the withdrawal of U.S. troops last fall. His oft-repeated criticism of the Bush administration’s war policies also has earned him the wrath of Republicans.

In Murtha’s southwest Pennsylvania district, however, many share the war critic’s views.

At a welcome home ceremony this week for Myers and other troops from the Johnstown, Pa.-based 876th Engineer Battalion, the crowd cheered when a Murtha aide welcomed the troops on the congressman’s behalf.

Myers said he backs Murtha, an opinion echoed by a number of other troops and their families. Several share his frustration with the conflict.

“I’m not sure we’re doing a whole lot of good,” Myers, 46, said of the U.S. presence in Iraq. “Everybody thinks we are. We’re trying to, but we’re not going to change what they want to do, and if they don’t want to change, they’re not gonna.”

First off, it is good to see that another soldier validates what we believe the situation is in Iraq. As matter of fact, we get tons of validation when it comes to this. It is rare that we get someone who just returned from Iraq that backs the administrations “stay the course” plan.

What I find most interesting is that the article talks about how popular Murtha is in his district and says that is in part because of his war views. I thought the job of a member of the House of Representatives was to represent the over-all view of their district.  Sounds to me like that is exactly what Murtha is doing.

This is a man who server two tours in Vietnam and spent a large part of his life defending our country. When he opposes something that Bush and the right-wing hypocrites’ support then he gets attacked. What kind of message is that sending our troops – “Support our nation but don’t exercise your first amendment right”? That would certainly drive people away from joining to serve our nation.

Now the Washington errr Moonie Times article goes on to talk about reported ethics problems of Murtha:

In early 2004, according to Roll Call, Mr. Murtha “reportedly leaned on U.S. Navy officials to sign a contract to transfer the Hunters Point Shipyard to the city of San Francisco.” Laurence Pelosi, nephew of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, at the time was an executive of the company which owned the rights to the land. The same article also reported how Mr. Murtha has been behind millions of dollars worth of earmarks in defense appropriations bills that went to companies owned by the children of fellow Pennsylvania Democrat, Rep. Paul Kanjorski. Meanwhile, the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan campaign-finance watchdog group, lists Mr. Murtha as the top recipient of defense industry dollars in the current 2006 election cycle.

    As Rep. Joe Wilson, South Carolina Republican, has said, “If there is a potential pattern where Congressman Murtha has helped other Democrats secure appropriations that also benefited relatives of those members, I believe this would be something that merits further review by the ethics committee.”

    It’s odd that the media, which has been fairly unbiased in going after corrupt politicians recently, has gone silent on Mr. Murtha’s questionable actions. Or maybe it isn’t. Since December, Mr. Murtha has become the darling of the antiwar crowd, and, as we’ve seen with other such darlings, scrutinizing their behavior is considered disrespectful. But as we’re on the subject, few might recall that after the massive 1980 Abscam scandal, Mr. Murtha was named by the FBI as an “unindicted co-conspirator.”

Yes the media has been unbiased in going after corrupt politicians but they wait until there is true signs of corruption. Everyone they have reported on has been under a federal investigation or eyed in a federal investigation. Murtha is not currently under any investigations that I am aware of. Remember – this is the very same Washington Times that supports Tom Delay. Funny how they support someone who has been indicted, yet slanders someone not even under investigation.

So to those wingnuts out there who try to claim the Washington Times is not politically biased, I give you this article. I give you an article that not only slanders a former marine but tries to act as judge and jury on something that is not even under investigation just because the person is against Bush’s failed Iraq Policy. Hell if they had their ways then a majority of the country would have to be under investigation then.