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| Penn Dustup: Murphy targeted by Iraq war vets; so Kerry joins fray (lol) | |
| 2006-10-07 | |
| Two Iraq war veterans have accused Democratic congressional candidate Patrick Murphy of mischaracterizing what he did in that war-torn country. The charge provoked an angry response from Murphy, who charged incumbent Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick, R-8, with trying to “swiftboat” him. Even Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., whose military record was attacked in his 2004 presidential bid, entered the fray Friday by releasing a statement blasting Fitzpatrick for holding a press conference where Murphy's military record was criticized. At the press conference in Newtown Township with Fitzpatrick, U.S. Air Force Major Kevin Kelly said Murphy, a former Army captain and paratrooper, has misled voters by claiming on the campaign trail he spent his time in Iraq dodging bullets and disarming improvised explosive devices. Murphy was “not a frontline fighter,” said Kelly, a Philadelphia resident who served in Iraq as an F-16 pilot from January 2006 to May 2006. U.S. Army Capt. Richard Barbato, who served in the 82nd Airborne, the same division as Murphy, joked that Murphy was always back at the unit's headquarters while the rest of the unit's soldiers were fighting. “While we were up on the front lines ... [Murphy] didn't see the same things we did,” Barbato said. Barbato also refuted Murphy's frequent claims that soldiers didn't feel they had a clear mission in Iraq. “We had a clear mission,” said Barbato, who served throughout Iraq from February 2003 to October 2003. “Myself and my fellow paratroopers, we understood it.” After the press conference, Fitzpatrick said he disagreed with the veterans. “In no way, shape or form would I ever question Pat Murphy's service to our country,” said Fitzpatrick, who is not a military veteran. “I recognize and appreciate Pat's service to our country as much as anyone in our community. “As far as his military service in Iraq, I take him fully at his word,” Fitzpatrick added. Murphy, contacted later in the day, said that Fitzpatrick should be held accountable for the statements by those veterans since Fitzpatrick did not immediately renounce them at the press conference organized by his campaign.
Friday afternoon, Murphy's campaign released a statement that said Fitzpatrick was attempting to “swiftboat” Murphy's military record. Swiftboat is a reference to the Swift Boat veterans of the Vietnam War who formed a political organization that attacked Kerry's record in 2004. “For a sitting congressman to make baseless accusations about my service shows he is willing to put political ambitions ahead of the truth,” Murphy said in the statement. “A man with any courage would apologize to the thousands of brave men and women currently serving our country in Iraq.” “In 2000, George Bush stood in silence while John McCain's service was questioned,” said Kerry in his own statement. “It was wrong then, it is wrong now for Mike Fitzpatrick to engage in the same double-speak. What is it these Republicans who never served have against Democrats who did? “I have news for Mike Fitzpatrick. In war, bullets don't differentiate between lawyers and medics, enlisted men and officers,” Kerry said. In a phone interview Friday after the press conference, Fitzpatrick stressed that he has “never questioned” Murphy's service in Iraq and said the purpose of the press conference was to criticize Murphy's withdrawal plan from Iraq, not the Democrat's military record. According to Murphy's military records, he served seven months as a paratrooper and a regimental judge advocate, advising on the legalities of combat operations, overseeing Iraqi courts and police stations and prosecuting American soldiers for drug use and abuse of Iraqi prisoners. He said the warehouse 14 miles south of Baghdad where his brigade was headquartered frequently came under mortar and sniper fire. Fitzpatrick's district represents the residents of Bucks County, some districts of Abington, Upper Dublin and Upper Moreland in Montgomery County and two wards in Philadelphia. | |
| Posted by:.com |
| #3 I don't questions Kerry's service, just what he says about it. |
| Posted by: Bobby 2006-10-07 14:33 |
| #2 This Bucks County voter will vote for Fitzpatrick, once again. May I add that all democrats suck ? |
| Posted by: wxjames 2006-10-07 12:39 |
| #1 “I have news for Mike Fitzpatrick. In war, bullets don't differentiate between lawyers and medics, enlisted men and officers,” Kerry said "shrapnel doesn't now it's your own buttocks you're firing into....er.....why, how DARE you question my unreleased records and notes! Look at this hat. You can tell it's lucky! Bears witness to the truthiness of ...er.." |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-10-07 12:32 |