Kerry Responds to Murtha Attacks on the Senate Floor, Debate Rages

[kerrygoddess]

Kerry Responds to Murtha Attacks on the Senate Floor, Debate Rages
November 18th, 2005

John Kerry just delivered a scathing speech on the Senate floor decrying the ’swift boat’ style attacks on Jack Murtha. The floor speech has facilitated a bit of raging debate between Senator Jon Kyl and John Kerry. The back and forth was quite heated.

The following is the text of Kerry’s floor speech:

Mr. President, yesterday, Jack Murtha, a respected congressman on military matters, and former Marine Drill Sergeant and decorated Vietnam veteran, spoke out on our policy in Iraq. He didn’t come to that moment lightly. He spoke his mind and spoke his heart out of love for his country and support for our troops. I am not going to stand for a swift boat attack strategy against Jack Murtha.

It disgusts me that a bunch of guys who have never put on the uniform of their country venomously turn their guns on a marine who served his country heroically in Vietnam and has been serving heroically in Congress ever since.

No matter what J.D. Hayworth says, there is no sterner stuff than the backbone and courage that defines Jack Murtha’s character and conscience.

Dennis Hastert — the Speaker of the House who never served — called Jack Murtha a coward and accused him of wanting to cut and run. Well let me tell you, Jack Murtha wasn’t a coward when he put himself in harm’s way for his country in Vietnam and earned two purple hearts — he was a patriot then, and he is a patriot today. Jack Murtha didn’t cut and run when his courage in combat earned him a Bronze Star, and his voice should be heard, not silenced by those who still today cut and run from the truth.

Just a day after Dick Cheney, who had 5 deferments from Vietnam, accused Democrats of being unpatriotic — the White House accused Jack Murtha of surrendering. Jack Murtha served 37 years in the Marine Corps. He doesn’t know how to surrender — not to enemy combatants, and not to politicians in Washington who say speaking his conscience is unpatriotic.

MORE - http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=1197

[jenndar]

1. I missed this.

:(

BUT it sounds like he did an amazing job. It's nice seeing Dems stick up for one another on such an important issue.