Velma Berger – 6/1/06

This page was last updated on June 1, 2006.

Proud of John Murtha; Velma Berger; Beaver County Times; June 1, 2006.

This is the latest in a series of at least 10 Bush and Iraqi-bashing letters written by Ms. Berger dating back more than a year. She wrote another letter supporting Mr. Murtha back in March.

Below is a detailed critique of the letter.

“Congratulations to U.S. Rep. John Murtha who was honored as a recipient of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award.

“He had the courage to stand up to the Bush administration in November and call for a withdrawal of our troops from Iraq. His background and record speaks for itself and he has the support of the majority of the country.”

[RWC] As I’ve noted in previous critiques, Mr. Murtha’s November 2005 call to cut and run wasn’t something new. It’s portrayed this way to lead us to believe Mr. Murtha was a strong supporter of our effort until November. That portrayal is false, however. As far back as September 2003, Mr. Murtha claimed he was duped into voting for the Iraq War Resolution. His first call to run away was actually during May 2004. The November 2005 call for withdrawal was just a rerun.

Need proof? Here’s a critique of a Times editorial (5/9/04) that defended Mr. Murtha’s comments.

“He has the support of the majority of the country?” Perhaps Ms. Berger should check the polls. To date, every poll shows a majority of Americans believe we should NOT cut and run as proposed by Mr. Murtha.

“Murtha said ‘I am proud to be the messenger of those who at one time had no voice.’”

[RWC] Nothing like arrogance, is there? Apparently all the anti-war voices that preceded Mr. Murtha didn’t count.

“Well, I am proud of John Murtha.”

[RWC] Why am I not surprised? Of course, I suspect Ms. Berger also would have been proud had Michael Moore, Cindy Sheehan, et cetera received the award.