JOHN MURTHA DIES- Controversial Anti-War Democrat Dead at 77 (Video)
Posted by Jim Hoft on Monday, February 8, 2010, 2:04 PM
John Murtha died from complications of gallbladder surgery.
The antiwar democrat was the first Vietnam veteran to serve in Congress.
The Washington Post reported:
Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), 77, a Vietnam veteran who staunchly supported military spending and became a master of pork-barrel politics, died today at Virginia Hospital Center. The 19-term lawmaker died from complications of gallbladder surgery.
Elected to Congress in 1974 from a southwestern Pennsylvania district that has been economically devastated by the decline of America’s coal-mining and steel industries, the gruff and jowly Rep. Murtha was beloved by his constituents for tapping billions of dollars in federal funds to seed new industries there.
The antiwar democrat was famous for his cold-blooded attack on innocent US Marines in Haditha, Iraq.
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Published May 23, 2012 at 11:51 pm - 69 Comments
Rosemary Woodhouse commented:
He will most be remembered for getting caught on videotape in a bribery scheme, and for being reelected by his constituents despite mocking them for “clinging to their guns and bibles.” He was also a pork barrel king.
Peoples Front of Judea commented:
RIP Rep. Murtha, and condolences to his family and friends!
I wonder who’ll represent the Pennsylvania racists in his district now!
PSGInfinity commented:
We wanted him out of Congress, but *not that way*. I’d like to extend my condolences to the Murtha family, and close with a remembrance of his service in the U.S. Marine Corps…
ProtestShooter commented:
Not “during” – the surgery was a week or so ago, and they nicked his intestine, and it got infected, and it’s just been a long drawn out mess. I wouldn’t wish it on anybody frankly.
F/Libs commented:
Berry? ……We need another T-Shirt!!
Sliderblaze commented:
And said we were racists
anon commented:
Echoing ProtestShooter..it was during gallbladder surgery. He’s been in ICU since last week I believe.
anon commented:
Wasn’t during ** My mistake
P. Aaron commented:
I really don’t have anything nice to say about the guy. He may have been a Marine, which is laudable, but what he said about Marines in the line of fire, was unforgiveable.
RIP commented:
May he rest in peace. No one deserves to suffer w/ a complication like that.
Jason commented:
Not much to say except RIP.
Auntie Em commented:
F/Libs, I am sure Barry has offered (as his condolences) an Obama T-shirt for him to be buried in.
No one can say Obama isn’t humble when times call for humility.
sliderblaze commented:
Yeah, got away with murder cus, they were aquitted… makes sense… douche
Peoples Front of Judea commented:
Praise to Murtha for slamming the cold-blooded murderous Marines in Haditha. They got away with murder.
It doesn’t rhyme and won’t fit on a t-shirt or bumpersticker, so the dimocrats probably won’t buy it.
Patman77 commented:
As anyone can say it about me someday, Good friggin riddance.
Auntie EM beat me to the t-shirt line…
Tammy commented:
No sympathy for the EX Marine Murtha.
But my condolences to his family.
retire05 commented:
For what he did to the Haditha Marines, RIP (Roast In Perpetuity)
MVH commented:
Hmmm…His service to the country as a Marine is something to be grateful for. People who are willing to put their life on the line for their country are a special breed. It’s a shame that special sense of sacrifice doesn’t always follow them in other fields in their life. For everything else, Mr. Murtha: Good-night, good-bye, and good riddance!
May G-d have mercy on his soul.
BertoGem commented:
Health care passed 220-215 back in November — Office of the Clerk of the US House of Representatives — with Murhta gone, that’s only 219 ayes left, if that. Hope we don’t lose any nays.
daryl commented:
Will it be a tossup whether his r.i.p. stands for rest in peace or should the “p” in Murths’s case refer to a short stint in purgatory?
Lord knows I shouldn’t judge him, but that doesn’t alleviate the fact that Murtha was quick to judge others. Just saying.
Kevin commented:
RIP Marine.
(No, I didn’t like him but I plan to show more class than the left would if, God forbid, something happened to someone like Sarah)
sliderblaze commented:
i just read that Red Eye beat Cnn’s primetime lineup. lol most trusted name in news huh?
bg commented:
++
dieing is like never having to say you’re sorry..
==
Franco commented:
Too bad that death is the only thing that makes many of these people leave. If they want to be remembered kindly when they pass away they should retire so as to give us give us time to forgive them.
Trent commented:
Well, he’s either guarding the streets of heaven or trying to take over the throne down below, like all Marines would be.
Tom63010 commented:
I hear that racist rednecks in Pennsylvania are asking who will we vote for now???
RedBeard commented:
As a kid, I was taught not to speak ill of the recently departed, so I won’t.
As I understand the rules, there’s also no requirement to say anything nice.
Steve commented:
Keith Olbermann to blame George BUUUUSSSSHHH in Prime Time……………………in a desperate attempt to lure back OBOTS turned Independents.
Joe Camel commented:
Good reason for “age” limits on “service” in government. These folks should get out or be forced out by age 68/69, period. So many problems are by these who morph into something as they pass a certain age. BTW, my 78 year old mother as well as most oldsters I know agree. They understand what age does to one’s mind and body. Too bad others don’t.
RIP brother. I will keep my real thoughts to myself. God bless.
hitnrun commented:
My mother had the same surgery. Sort of hits home. My prayers are for his family.
You can tell by watching John that he will be missed. (Just not in Congress by people with all their faculties.)
jenny commented:
Condolences to his family. Him, not so much.
maria commented:
Let God judge him….
Much better then any hateful comment from anybody.
MerNJ commented:
And what a standup guy William Russell (the Republican running for the seat) is…his website is changed to just a letter of sympathy for the Murtha family. THAT”S why I support him!
Brad commented:
Requiescat in pace…
Thank you for serving our country in the Korean War.
Nukethewhales commented:
Gallbladder surgery is yesterdays technology. He should have had an ERCP to treat his gallbladder problem.
Major Kong commented:
No spin doctors, no party allegiances, only The Truth now, as we all one day have to confront. May he be among the Community of Saints praying for this country.
BA commented:
Some Democrat on Fox said a few minutes ago that it was medical malpractice.
myna commented:
Does God is on Tea party’s side? One of the most corrupt politician has finally met his maker.
Elektra commented:
Major, That’s what I came to say. That, well, now he knows. I join you in your hope, as well.
Now! Who’s replacing him? heh
sliderblaze commented:
Skyler, it sure does… presumed innocent until proven guilty…. ever hear of it? my guess is yes but no bright enough to determine what that means
mike commented:
Sorry for his family. Prayers sent out.
LilMissSunshine commented:
hy·poc·ri·sy (hi-pok’ri-se)
n., pl., -sies.
1] The practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold or possess; falseness.
2] An act or instance of such falseness.
Well, what can we say honestly about John Murtha? John Murtha would have made a great RINO. ABSCAM – what’s that? A former Marine Corp Officer, with the accompanying oath – what’s that?
Yes John, you were truly a GREAT American politician. A man for your times – now reap your rewards. Does anyone else smell fresh ‘pork’ roasting, or is it just me?
Major Kong commented:
Elektra, I’m not sure if his congressional seat is in a staunchly democratic district or not. If it is then I’m sure the party will be able to find something living under a rock to fill the post.
BuriedInAGeorgeWashingtonTShirt commented:
I had no respect for him, but I don’t wish him ill.
Andreas K. commented:
Gallbladder surgery at 77. Who had that smart idea? There are certain things that you don’t do at a certain age anymore. Any surgeon should know that. Gallbladder may be routine, but there is never 100% guarantee that nothing happens, especially with old people like this one.
77, not a bad age. Allowed him to lie and slander innocent people. Yeah. Great. I know I don’t really care. So he’s dead. How many people, who weren’t lying jackasses, died today and nobody gives a crap about those?
Frank from Texas commented:
I’m reminded of a poem by Piet Hein:
“I see and I hear and I speak no evil;
I carry no malice within my breast;
Yet quite without wishing a man to the devil;
One may be permitted to hope for the best.”
man_in_tx commented:
True story: In the Fall of 2007, my son returned from Afghanistan injured and landed in Walter Reed for three weeks or so. During my time there, I saw on the premises only one Congressman that I recognized: John Murtha. I saw Murtha there — not once, but — twice. He was not grandstanding or glad-handing: He was there because he cared for the troops and was concerned that they were getting the care they need. That is a side to John Murtha not many knew. It changed forever my opinion of Congressman Murtha, and — unlike when I heard of the passing of Teddy Kennedy (whom, incidentally, I never saw at Walter Reed) — I shed a tear when I heard the news of John’s passing.
Sarge commented:
As Voltaire said, there’s plenty of time to forgive him now.
I’d honor his service in my beloved Corps – - but he broke faith and betrayed his trust too many times.
Kenny Solomon commented:
As much as I despised the man’s actions in Congress and especially what he foisted on fellow Marines in Haditha, now is not the time for politics.
A former Marine and sitting Congressman has passed. Honor shall be paid.
KLS
Fiftyville commented:
To quote Elmer Fudd: “Good widdance to bad wubbish!”
pontoon commented:
My flag will not dip. Honor is earned not just given.
don c commented:
Under Obamacare he would have never undergone this invasive surgery. No wonder he voted for it. Must have known something.
TiminPhx commented:
This is one Marine here who would visit his grave with a full bladder, but leave with an empty one.
Joanne commented:
……a time to be born and a time to die……
Bilgeman commented:
Condolences to his family, may he rest in Peace and thanks for what service he rendered our nation.
Now will someone bury him so that we can be free of his stench?
TTT commented:
However politically repulsive he was, we must NOT gloat over his death.
That is what leftists do when their opponents die. We are better than them.
TTT commented:
Is there a chance we can get a tea-party candidate as his successor?
pontoon commented:
Gloat I will, this a war for our country. He was just a senile former marine that sold out his country.
Traitors have no honor.
Jeff commented:
Does this mean another seat has opened up for the taking?
Sam commented:
Another corrupt politician dies. Hooray! May they all do so.
IOpian commented:
Finally.
Hankmeister7 commented:
Sorry he died, I take no pleasure in even my worst enemy’s death, but the guy was a partisan douche.
He stabbed his band of brothers in the back during a time they were engaged with an implacable enemy on the frontiers of liberty. His mendacity and the fact he was a politician crook is well documented. Figures that brain-dead Demobots would vote this guy back into office time and time again. I guess it’s hard to wean oneself off the government trough.
Fen commented:
“A former Marine and sitting Congressman has passed. Honor shall be paid.”
Ex-Marine not former. After Haditha, that honorific was revoked.
jim commented:
The poster boy for this pathetic Congress. Good riddance.
mac commented:
Murtha is now being judged by his Maker. That decision will be absolutely correct and just. I sincerely hope that the good people of his Congressional District will find it in themselves to raise their standards of required conduct when it comes time to pick their next Congressional representative.
daryl commented:
John Murtha wasn’t good for this country back when the country could afford Congressman of his ilk. Now that we can no longer afford his style of largesse with money squandered on International grade airports and other pork projects, the death of one the one responsible for all of this waste deserves little if any mourning from those who were out all of those wasted dollars.
The people of his district now have a chance to right the wrongs they are guilty of in continueing to return the man to Washington over and over in return for what they believed he was doing for them at the expence of the rest of the country.
But somehow I doubt they will.
Corporal Vere commented:
Up front: he is not presently where are the heroic Marines KIA of Fallujah and a thousand other battles.
Epitaphs from the War (1914 – 1918)
Rudyard Kipling
A Dead Statesman
I could not dig: I dared not rob:
Therefore I lied to please the mob.
Now all my lies are proved untrue
And I must face the men I slew.
What tale shall serve me here among
Mine angry and defrauded young?
Eowyn commented:
Sam @4:04 p.m.: Amen, brother.
BarbaraS commented:
Both houses of congress should have the same agewise rules as the civil service. Both groups work for the people. Civil service has a mandatory retirement at age 70. Congress should have the same rule since there is not much chance for a term limits bill. After seventy the mind is not as sharp, reflexes are not as sharp and worldview is not as sharp. As we grow older we start looking back and not ahead. We need people in congress and the presidency who look ahead not look back to the past. The SC is an exception since they are required to look into the past. Besides, we want people there hwo are knowledgeable about the past and the law.
joe commented:
Let’s see here. They are pushing for Obamacare after the death of Congressman Murtha. So what they want everyone to have is the same service that ended up killing Congressman Murtha. He had Surgery at Bethesda Medical center, a government run hospital. Knowing what I know about the Military hospital system it really doesn’t surprise me that this has happened. Just think of this as they try to socialize all hospitals and make them the same. If it was good enough for Congressman Murtha, Granny, its good enough for you.
clearmind commented:
Well, whereas my son was a Marine in Haditha in 11/2005, any respect this family with multiple generations being Marines was lost with his senseless, undocumented attack on those trying to give the Iraqis a chance at a better life. To bad Murtha became so filled with hatred, arrogance of power and corruption.
Redneck commented:
I will not speak evil of the dead, but does this indicate that God has his own method for enforcing term limits?
SirKnog commented:
Well, as I said earlier, God Bless Him because many of us will not.
I personally was more upset at the loss of Resuce Randy http://wp.me/pLGBN-3H
Vote in a good and ‘honest’ Rep this time PA.
Pat the First commented:
I did not agree with his politics one bit. However, I do feel some pity for his family. I am sure they loved him. I do pray that they will receive comfort from the Great Comforter.
Luther Brixton commented:
Only rightwingers could find a decorated military man opposed to the US starting unnecessary wars “controversial”, while people who have never served (ie. Republicans) profiteering off wars is just “business as usual”.
Murtha had his faults, but compared the moral bankruptcy of pro-war, family-values, Republicans, the man was a saint.
pontoon commented:
Luther, he lost his mind. Marines do not throw other marines under the bus. HONOR is a major teaching in all Military branches as well as the Military schools both public and private. Murtha is a disgrace to the uniform and the traditions. He sold out to da man. GOD, country, family, neighbor, self. DEAL with it. He voted for the war then saw political gain in disparaging those that now serve. Now the Dem’s are using his dead body as a political prop. LOL gimme a break who is the hipocrite here.
Winston commented:
Only my cat heard me when I said WooHoo the moment Fox News announced this. One scumbag down, a few more to go.
Solaratov commented:
Luther Brixton
February 8th, 2010 | 7:51 pm | #85
Now, luther – you simpering little nancy-boy – how do you figure that no Republicans served?
If you look at voter statistics, you’ll find that more Republicans have served and are currently serving than democRATS. The military is predominately conservative – as you well know (or would know if you had ever served).
However, giving you the benefit of the doubt, we’ll just wait here while you tell us all about your vast military history and extensive combat experience. OK?
Let’s hear it, buttercup. When and where did you serve?
(Personally, I’d bet that I’ve worn out more rifles in combat than you have underwear – behind your macdonalds counter.)
bg commented:
++
Luther Brixton @ 7:51 pm #85
oh dear me, how wrong can you be..
Murtha: war profiteer
Local Defense Contractor Raided By FBI, IRS
==
bg commented:
++
Luther Brixton @ 7:51 pm #85
oh dear me, how wrong can you be..
Murtha the Oinkiteer
Local Defense Contractor Raided By FBI, IRS
No new contracts for Murtha-tied firm
Murtha-tied Company Wins Sole-Source Vaccine Contract
more on the profiteer here..
==
bg commented:
++
Luther Brixton @ 7:51 pm #85
you should not only be thanking those in the military for your freedom, but all those who came before them who gave their all so you could have the right to post cheap unsubstantiated opinions (of which btw, facts do not make) of them..
Freedom is not Free, too many like you not only take freedom for granted, but are totally obvious to the fact others and their families have paid for it with their own lives, limbs & sacrifices..
It Has Always Been The Soldier
It is the soldier,
not the President who gives us democracy.
It is the soldier,
not the Congress who takes care of us.
It is the soldier,
not the Reporter who has given us Freedom of Press.
It is the soldier,
not the Poet who has given us Freedom of Speech.
It is the soldier,
not the campus [community] Organizer who
has given us the Freedom to Demonstrate.
It is the soldier,
who salutes the flag;
who serves beneath the flag,
and whose coffin is draped by the flag,
that allows the protester to burn the flag.
~ Father Dennis O’Brien, US Marine Corp. Chaplain
God Bless America!
God Bless Soldiers everywhere for putting THEIR
lives on the line to protect us ALL from terrorism!
==
Seansie commented:
Maybe the pitchforks won’t have to come all the way to Washington after all…
Richard Romano commented:
Solaratov
February 8th, 2010 | 8:24 pm
(Personally, I’d bet that I’ve worn out more rifles in combat than you have underwear – behind your macdonalds counter.)
Haha, you tell ‘em Solaratov!
It’s funny how the other side throws around ‘chickenhawk’ all the time without realizing how disparate the numbers (I think the military voted 3-1 for Bush in 04) truly are.
As usual, a intellectually numb leftist chimes in, only to end up looking foolish.
BaltoDude commented:
Good riddance…rot in hell Johnny!
bg commented:
++
btw Luther Brixton @ 7:51 pm #85
no one in their right mind ‘wants war’,
least of all those who must fight them..
however, no one in their right mind supports
tyrannical dictatorships that threaten global
peace (which is a given), condone genocide,
or proffer off of oppressing their own people..
Is It Right to Fight?
[One other point, if everyone was a pacifist except the evil and lawbreakers of the world, then the world would be run by evil
dictators or our society would be anarchy.
Pacifism in its fullest sense is untenable in the sinful world in which we live.
[snip]
The subject “Is it right to fight?” is a difficult issue because it makes us face the awful issues of a suppressive dictatorship, evil aggression, killing and death on the one hand and the “necessary evil” of war to stop it.
[snip]
Remember, it is possible to love your enemies and use force against him. The principle that love is embraced in laws of justice helps us see that loving one’s enemy is to make sure that justice prevails. In doing so, the Christian is also demonstrating “love for the ones his enemy has hurt.”]
“On Moral Equivalency and Cold War History”
Ethics & International Affairs, Volume 10 (1996)
[Where does that leave us, though, with the new evidence we have about the victims of Stalin and Mao Zedong? One recent but reliable estimate suggests that Stalin's domestic victims alone - when one totals not only the figures for the purges but also for the collectivization of agriculture and the famine that resulted from it - numbered about twenty million dead. This does not count the additional acknowledged twenty-seven million Soviet citizens who died as a result of World War II. But this is not the worst of it. Estimates of those who died in one single episode - the Chinese famine produced by Mao's ill-conceived Great Leap Forward from 1958 to 1961 - now come to some thirty million, thereby qualifying the Chairman (whose image was once a popular adornment for t-shirts and dormitory wall posters in the West) as perhaps the greatest mass murderer of all time.
[snip]
Why didn’t the United States exploit its advantage to keep the Soviet Union from developing its own bomb? Or to avoid near-defeat in Korea? These are complicated questions, but one of the answers that comes up, when one looks at what American officials said to each other, is the conviction that a democracy could only use such a weapon as a last resort, and in self-defense.
But that in turn raises another interesting question of comparative morality: would an authoritarian system – one based on an ideology that explicitly justified any means necessary to achieve its ends, one that employed terror as a method of government, and one as casual about the loss of human life as were Stalin’s and Mao’s – have shown similar restraint had it got the bomb first?
[snip]
We need to be careful about the methodological metaphors we keep in
our minds. Too much of Cold War history was written as if its major contenders were indeed featureless billiard balls, whose internal composition and character didn’t much matter. In retrospect, apples and oranges might have been the better metaphor: at least it would have allowed for irregularity, asymmetry, and the possibility of internal rot.]
same holds true today more than ever..
Murder by Communism (by any other name)
[But communists could not be wrong. After all, their knowledge was scientific, based on historical materialism, an understanding of the dialectical process in nature and human society, and a materialist (and thus realistic) view of nature. Marx has shown empirically where society has been and why, and he and his interpreters proved that it was destined for a communist end. No one could prevent this, but only stand in the way and delay it at the cost of more human misery. Those who disagreed with this world view and even with some of the proper interpretations of Marx and Lenin were, without a scintilla of doubt, wrong. After all, did not Marx or Lenin or Stalin or Mao say that. . . . In other words, communism was like a fanatical religion. It had its revealed text and chief interpreters. It had its priests and their ritualistic prose with all the answers. It had a heaven, and the proper behavior to reach it. It had its appeal to faith. And it had its crusade against nonbelievers.
What made this secular religion so utterly lethal was its seizure of all the state's instrument of force and coercion and their immediate use to destroy or control all independent sources of power, such as the church, the professions, private businesses, schools, and, of course, the family.]
==
Lata! commented:
DIE! Oh, wait. . .
why bother commented:
The Blue Falcon has been struck dead. Report for Guard Duty at 00 Dark :30.
Joe Hollyrock commented:
Hell is getting full. First Kennedy now this douche.
Peoples Front of Judea commented:
Hell is getting full.
Critical mass could be reached if Robert Byrd gives up the ghost!