by Former Reagan-era
Secretary of the Navy James Webb
New York Times / OP-ED ... in recent years extremist Republican operatives have inverted a longstanding principle: that our combat veterans be accorded a place of honor in political circles. This trend began with the ugly insinuations leveled at Senator John McCain during the 2000 Republican primaries and continued with the slurs against Senators Max Cleland and John Kerry, and now Mr. Murtha.

...the Cybercast News Service, a supposedly independent organization with deep ties to the Republican Party, has dusted off the Swift Boat Veterans playbook, questioning whether Mr. Murtha deserved his two Purple Hearts. The article also implied that Mr. Murtha did not deserve the Bronze Star he received, and that the combat-distinguishing "V" on it was questionable. It then called on Mr. Murtha to open up his military records.

Cybercast News Service is run by David Thibault, who formerly worked as the senior producer for "Rising Tide," the televised weekly news magazine produced by the Republican National Committee. One of the authors of the Murtha article was Marc Morano, a long-time writer and producer for Rush Limbaugh.

The accusations against Mr. Murtha were very old news, principally coming from defeated political rivals. Aligned against their charges are an official letter from Marine Corps Headquarters written nearly 40 years ago affirming Mr. Murtha's eligibility for his Purple Hearts - "you are entitled to the Purple Heart and a Gold Star in lieu of a second Purple Heart for wounds received in action" - and the strict tradition of the Marine Corps regarding awards. While in other services lower-level commanders have frequently had authority to issue prestigious awards, in the Marines Mr. Murtha's Vietnam Bronze Star would have required the approval of four different awards boards.

...The political tactic of playing up the soldiers on the battlefield while tearing down the reputations of veterans who oppose them could eventually cost the Republicans dearly. It may be one reason that a preponderance of the Iraq war veterans who thus far have decided to run for office are doing so as Democrats.

Hear! Hear!

IS BUSH'S NSA SPY-OP AN IMPEACHABLE OFFENSE?

Some of the people who think so are CONSERVATIVES!

Over @ ACLU - among the Organizations and People Involved in the NSA Lawsuit are Christopher Hitchens, who supports the US incursion into and occupation of Iraq, nevertheless has a harsh assessment of Generalissimo W. Bunnypants's hitherto secretive domestic spying program:

"I believe the President when he says that this will be a very long war, and insofar as a mere civilian may say so, I consider myself enlisted in it. But this consideration in itself makes it imperative that we not take panic or emergency measures in the short term, and then permit them to become institutionalised. I need hardly add that wire-tapping is only one of the many areas in which this holds true.

The better the ostensible justification for an infringement upon domestic liberty, the more suspicious one ought to be of it. We are hardly likely to be told that the government would feel less encumbered if it could dispense with the Bill of Rights. But a power or a right, once relinquished to one administration for one reason, will unfailingly be exploited by successor administrations, for quite other reasons. It is therefore of the first importance that we demarcate, clearly and immediately, the areas in which our government may or may not treat us as potential enemies."

Carpet Bagger Report has this: "...plenty on the right are plenty concerned about what's transpired:

* On the Hill — On Friday, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) expressed serious concern about the spy program and vowed to hold hearings after lawmakers reconvene in the new year. Over the weekend, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) suggested Bush exceeded his authority and may have circumvented the law. Yesterday, Republican Sens. Chuck Hagel (Neb.) and Olympia Snowe (Maine) joined three Senate Dems in demanding a full-scale congressional investigation into the domestic-surveillance program.

* Among the scholars — Bruce Fein, a conservative constitutional scholar and former deputy attorney general in the Reagan Administration, said yesterday that the president is flouting the Constitution and may have committed an impeachable offense. Norm Ornstein, a conservative scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, echoed Fein, saying, "I think if we're going to be intellectually honest here, this really is the kind of thing that Alexander Hamilton was referring to when impeachment was discussed."

* Former administration officials — Former Secretary of State Colin Powell questioned the president's conduct on ABC's Nightline, saying, "My own judgment is that — it didn't seem to me, anyway, that it would have been that hard to go and get the warrants [through FISA]. And even in the case of an emergency, you go and do it [begin surveillance]. The law provides for that. And three days later, you let the court know what you have done, and deal with it that way."

* Former Republican lawmakers — Former Rep. Bob Barr (R-Ga.) was nearly apoplectic about Bush's conduct, suggesting the president "deliberately order[ed] that federal law be violated," and "ignored" the Constitution.

* The conservative blogosphere — Though plenty of right-wing supporters of the president are rallying to his defense, a few conservatives who usually back Bush, including Neil Boortz and Jon Henke, believe the administration went too far with this program...

Good fortune. COMMENT! Please spread the meme. Don't smoke in bed...

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Posted at 06:17 PM | Permalink

Comments

PURPLE HEARTBREAKERS

by Former Reagan-era
Secretary of the Navy James Webb
New York Times / OP-ED ... in recent years extremist Republican operatives have inverted a longstanding principle: that our combat veterans be accorded a place of honor in political circles. This trend began with the ugly insinuations leveled at Senator John McCain during the 2000 Republican primaries and continued with the slurs against Senators Max Cleland and John Kerry, and now Mr. Murtha.

...the Cybercast News Service, a supposedly independent organization with deep ties to the Republican Party, has dusted off the Swift Boat Veterans playbook, questioning whether Mr. Murtha deserved his two Purple Hearts. The article also implied that Mr. Murtha did not deserve the Bronze Star he received, and that the combat-distinguishing "V" on it was questionable. It then called on Mr. Murtha to open up his military records.

Cybercast News Service is run by David Thibault, who formerly worked as the senior producer for "Rising Tide," the televised weekly news magazine produced by the Republican National Committee. One of the authors of the Murtha article was Marc Morano, a long-time writer and producer for Rush Limbaugh.

The accusations against Mr. Murtha were very old news, principally coming from defeated political rivals. Aligned against their charges are an official letter from Marine Corps Headquarters written nearly 40 years ago affirming Mr. Murtha's eligibility for his Purple Hearts - "you are entitled to the Purple Heart and a Gold Star in lieu of a second Purple Heart for wounds received in action" - and the strict tradition of the Marine Corps regarding awards. While in other services lower-level commanders have frequently had authority to issue prestigious awards, in the Marines Mr. Murtha's Vietnam Bronze Star would have required the approval of four different awards boards.

...The political tactic of playing up the soldiers on the battlefield while tearing down the reputations of veterans who oppose them could eventually cost the Republicans dearly. It may be one reason that a preponderance of the Iraq war veterans who thus far have decided to run for office are doing so as Democrats.

Hear! Hear!

IS BUSH'S NSA SPY-OP AN IMPEACHABLE OFFENSE?

"I believe the President when he says that this will be a very long war, and insofar as a mere civilian may say so, I consider myself enlisted in it. But this consideration in itself makes it imperative that we not take panic or emergency measures in the short term, and then permit them to become institutionalised. I need hardly add that wire-tapping is only one of the many areas in which this holds true.

The better the ostensible justification for an infringement upon domestic liberty, the more suspicious one ought to be of it. We are hardly likely to be told that the government would feel less encumbered if it could dispense with the Bill of Rights. But a power or a right, once relinquished to one administration for one reason, will unfailingly be exploited by successor administrations, for quite other reasons. It is therefore of the first importance that we demarcate, clearly and immediately, the areas in which our government may or may not treat us as potential enemies."

Carpet Bagger Report has this: "...plenty on the right are plenty concerned about what's transpired:

* On the Hill — On Friday, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) expressed serious concern about the spy program and vowed to hold hearings after lawmakers reconvene in the new year. Over the weekend, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) suggested Bush exceeded his authority and may have circumvented the law. Yesterday, Republican Sens. Chuck Hagel (Neb.) and Olympia Snowe (Maine) joined three Senate Dems in demanding a full-scale congressional investigation into the domestic-surveillance program.

* Among the scholars — Bruce Fein, a conservative constitutional scholar and former deputy attorney general in the Reagan Administration, said yesterday that the president is flouting the Constitution and may have committed an impeachable offense. Norm Ornstein, a conservative scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, echoed Fein, saying, "I think if we're going to be intellectually honest here, this really is the kind of thing that Alexander Hamilton was referring to when impeachment was discussed."

* Former administration officials — Former Secretary of State Colin Powell questioned the president's conduct on ABC's Nightline, saying, "My own judgment is that — it didn't seem to me, anyway, that it would have been that hard to go and get the warrants [through FISA]. And even in the case of an emergency, you go and do it [begin surveillance]. The law provides for that. And three days later, you let the court know what you have done, and deal with it that way."

* Former Republican lawmakers — Former Rep. Bob Barr (R-Ga.) was nearly apoplectic about Bush's conduct, suggesting the president "deliberately order[ed] that federal law be violated," and "ignored" the Constitution.

* The conservative blogosphere — Though plenty of right-wing supporters of the president are rallying to his defense, a few conservatives who usually back Bush, including Neil Boortz and Jon Henke, believe the administration went too far with this program...