A congressman strikes back

Democrat Maurice Hinchey wrote a letter to his local paper to chide Republicans for their 'fake' resolution designed to distort the message of Jack Murtha.

Murtha, you'll recall, was the hawkish vet who made waves when he did an about face and, in Hinchey's words: "offered a thoughtful resolution that would redeploy U.S. troops out of Iraq within six months. The measure would allow many troops to come home, send others to strategic parts of the world to defend our national security and keep a U.S. military presence just outside of Iraq in case of emergency."

The only words to describe Republican response are: Freaked Out. They went haywire before settling on a plan to pretend he'd called for the US to just withdraw immediately. To support this distortion the GOP crafted a phony resolution that gave weight to the straw man that Murtha wanted to "cut and run."

Murtha writes:

However, the Republican leadership drafted a "fake" resolution and attempted to pass it off as Murtha's resolution. The Republican measure disregarded the content and intent of Congressman Murtha's proposal. It mocked Congressman Murtha's genuine resolution and prevented the opportunity for a thoughtful and intelligent debate on Iraq.

Even the Republicans who offered the "fake" resolution voted against their own measure, demonstrating that the bill was a pure political stunt. The resolution was not even worthy of a "yes" or "no" vote.

I was on the floor for the debate, but I refused to dignify this mockery of the House and insult to the American people.