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The Spectacle Blog
Many military veterans have been enraged by video of Rep. Jim Moran disparaging his Republican opponent, Patrick Murray:
What [Republicans] do is that they find candidates — usually stealth candidates — that haven’t been in office, haven’t served or performed any kind of public service. My opponent is typical… .
And of course, for 24 years, he’s taken a government check because, frankly, the military still is part of the Federal government, uh, and, yet, his principle platform is to cut government spending.
Patrick Murray served 24 years in the Army, rising to the rank of colonel, and was deployed to Baghdad in 2007 as part of the Iraq “surge.” But that’s not “any kind of public service,” according to Jim Moran.
Moran’s remarks are a knee to the groin of the military, says my blog colleague Smitty, an Annapolis grad who very much considers his forthcoming deployment to Afghanistan to be “any kind of public service.” Smitty resides in Virginia’s 8th District and has spent weeks as a lowly volunteer for the Murray campaign, manning the phone banks, assembling yard signs and so forth.
Experts don’t consider the 8th District “competitive” (having gone Democrat by more than a 2-to-1 margin in 2008), but in a year when Republicans are fired up, the economy’s down and Congress is unpopular, no Democrat incumbent should be counted as entirely “safe” — and certainly not an obnoxious lout like Moran. Bill Kristol writes at the Weekly Standard:
If donors step up, and if GOP leaders and committees and independent groups come forward to support the troops and do a good deed for the country — and if there are therefore resources for TV, radio and mail making Moran’s slander as infamous as it deserves to be — then we can look forward to lifting a glass to our troops as we bid farewell on Nov. 2 to Jim Moran.
Those wishing to bid Moran farewell can contribute online at the Patrick Murray campaign Web site.
View all comments (16) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Robert Stacy McCain
http://spectator.org/blog/2010/10/22/rep-jim-moran-disparages-col-p
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CalMark| 10.23.10 @ 1:34AM
Sad and disgusting, but par for the course. Some things I've seen:
Libs telling veterans they have no right to support the War on [Whatever We're Calling Terrorism This Week] because they weren't over there.
Libs telling veterans they must be worthless because they didn't stick around for 20 to get their pension. (Libs are obsessed with entitlements like that.)
Spicy Joker| 10.23.10 @ 2:16AM
Outrageous, but he'll be re-elected, unfortunately.
Rcmor!| 10.23.10 @ 7:08AM
This disrespect for this fine man's service to his country is disgusting! Conservatives need to make this story go viral. Post and repost and repost!
Occam's Tool| 10.23.10 @ 6:31PM
Jim Moran's views on foreign policy are completely in line with Pat Buchanan's, Joe Sobran's and Ron Paul's. Like them, he is an embarrassment to our country.
Tim*| 10.24.10 @ 10:38AM
The truth is that Pat Buchanan, Joe Sobran and Dr. Ron Paul did not & do not disparage Our American Troopers,
You Israeli Firsters attempt to Smear American Patriots, such as Pat Buchanan ,who served Three American Presidents &Dr;. Ron Paul, an Air Force Veteran, because they won't Asskiss Your Foreign Nation Israel Firster Agenda.
Shove Off AgendaBoy.
The Tea Party Rebellion Escalates.
Rise Up In Rebellion.
MW| 10.24.10 @ 4:03PM
Hey Tool, the patriots you mentioned were opposed to war not the warriors. Regardless of your simple minded propaganda, just because a person thinks a war such as the Iraq debacle, is a bad idea, doesn't mean he hates the Americans that fight it.
Tool indeed.
Dean from Ohio| 10.23.10 @ 9:54PM
Jim Moran's words are the worst type of political slime that oozes from the fetid Washington cesspool. What he does is public service?
Shady loans benefiting himself: http://www.congressproject.org.....radek.html
Blames Iraq war on the Jews: http://retirejimmoran.com/morans-greatest-hits/
In the same link, has fantasies about making earmarks: “When I become chairman [of a House appropriations subcommittee], I'm going to earmark the s**t out of it,” Moran buoyantly told a crowd of 450 attending the event.
Screams at a priest after mass, "You priests don't know anything about abortion!"
Shoves a fellow Congressman and calls him outside to fight. Needed a dozen Capitol Police to restrain the guy who says "I like to hit people":
Sterling public service, don't you think, Mr. Moran?
Back away slowly from the public trough and go home to stay.
tailgunner| 10.23.10 @ 10:50PM
I'll bet this POS didn't say that when Hanoi John Kerry the Traitor was running.
A_COL | 10.24.10 @ 3:17AM
Now that the Rep. Jimmy Moran Youtube video rant that “military service is not public service” has gone viral on the Internet, when is the WaPo going to mention it in the paper? As a retired 30 year service Army Colonel who was a 2LT in Vietnam before I was old enough to legally drink, I’m appalled by “Little Jimmy's” comment on the service record of his opponent, retired U.S. Army Col. Patrick Murray, in the VA 8th Congressional District race. On 6 Oct, Jimmy stated, "What [Republicans] do is that they find candidates - usually stealth candidates - that haven't been in office, haven't served or performed any kind of public service. My opponent is typical." COL Murray served his country for 24 years in the U.S. Army with four combat zone deployments including Iraq as part of the 2007 troop surge.
The fact that “Little Jimmy” thinks 24 years of service in the Army is not equivalent to public service speaks for itself but I would note that he was born 16 May 1945 so was of prime draft age for Vietnam. Has anyone asked “Little Jimmy the Draft Dodger” how he avoided Military Service? The real definition of audacity is for “Little Jimmy” to even mention Military Service but earlier this month “Little Jimmy” had some explaining to do when he falsely claimed an endorsement from the Disabled American Veterans Association and a high rating from the Military Officer's Association. MOAA had to order Moran to stop using its name in support of his campaign.
Like his mentor, good old Joe "5-Deferment" Biden (and Dick Cheney I might add to be fair), it appears Jimmy did everything short of maiming himself (which he didn’t have the guts to do) to dodge the Draft during Vietnam. By comparison, COWARDs like these guys make “George W" look like a war hero! (For the record, Bush flying antique Air National Guard Convair F-102s was probably in more danger than I was during an extended CIB-earning tour in Vietnam!).
Active military service was an absolute certainty for any male born between 1940 and 1949 unless he was morally, mentally or medically unfit, or took some overt action to "dodge" the draft. THAT IS A FACT. Draft dodging does not necessarily mean “illegal” as the Webster’s Dictionary of the time defines it as simply “avoiding military service.” Applying for student or occupational deferments, leaving the country, feigning homosexuality, or signing up for the Reserves or National Guard were all things people did, legally and illegally, to avoid performing active duty. Some people (like Biden) got their family doctor to “discover” a disqualifying physical malady and put up such a fight that they successfully got their induction notices cancelled.
Also, consider draft quotas were assigned by draft board. When one man evaded, someone else, often less educated or advantaged and always less eligible, served in his place. Because many of the more capable natural leaders avoided service, we often had to settle for the LT Cally's of the world for leadership. Think of how many American lives could have been saved if leaders of Moran, Cheney or Biden’s potential had done their duty. Isn't it ironic how correct Pres Clinton was when he used to say that "it's the little guy who plays by the rules that always ends up taking it in the neck."
My point, when a politician who was eligible for Vietnam tells you that he just wasn’t called or wasn’t physically fit to serve, he’s normally being dishonest and not fit to serve now either. I remember how Senator (and Medal of Honor recipient) Bob Kerrey put it in 1992 when he said “as I remember it, at that time if you could walk and chew gum, the military would take you.” If Moran wasn’t fit to serve when his country needed him during Vietnam, what makes him fit to serve now? Better still, what makes him more fit to serve than combat vet COL (Ret) Pat Murray?
If you want to know how I really feel about this, check out my Blog at: http://old-soldier-colonel.blogspot.com/
JimH| 10.24.10 @ 8:40AM
These pols, most of whom have never had a real job vote themselves salaries, benefits and perks beyond what is available in the private sector. They call their time in office public service and try to make it sound as if they are making a sacrifice for our benefit. I'd be more impressed if they would spend some time volunteering in a hospital or working in a soup kitchen.
Richard Baker| 10.25.10 @ 7:09AM
A shame that MR. Moran can't meet the end of a non-public service fist. Pity.
RacerJim| 10.25.10 @ 9:50AM
Dear Mr. Moran,
Resign from Congress.
Sign over your retirement to the VA .
Go to hell.
And stay there.
Vietnam Veteran