Patrick Fights Fraud In Iraq

Though, as you’ll see below, the freepers (who are probably getting their “Fitzpatrick in ‘08” campaign material ready) will never be satisfied.

The Bucks County Courier Times reported on Friday that Patrick Murphy will introduce legislation to end the practice of “supplemental” budget appropriations for the Iraq war. This is largely because of the following (excerpted from the story):

Operations in Iraq cost about $9.7 billion a month and recent estimates have the total war costs at more than $1.2 trillion, about a trillion dollars more than the Bush administration claimed in 2002 that the war would cost.

On Thursday, Stuart Bowen, the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, told the House Armed Services Committee that as much as 15 percent of the $21.8 billion in U.S. reconstruction aid to Iraq might have been wasted.

Murphy, a member of the Armed Services Committee, said U.S. taxpayer dollars are being wasted in Iraq at an alarming rate. He pointed to $75 million the government spent to build a police academy in Baghdad, a building that will be torn down. He said there have been 14,000 weapons the U.S. government have given to Iraqis that the Department of Defense cannot account for.

The legislation Patrick is proposing also calls for the creation of a modern-day “Truman Commission” such as the one advocated by Rep. Louise Slaughter.

But of course, the hammerheads will never be satisfied by any of this (this appeared Saturday also)…

First we have to see so many pictures of Capt. Murphy parading around the Capitol with his newborn, that one is confused whether he is attending an inauguration or a baby naming.

Then he writes a self-serving editorial about his accomplishments in his first week in office. This must be a new record for starting a re-election campaign so soon after becoming a congressman. It would behoove him to heed the advice of one of my high school teachers, “A pat on the back is only 17 inches away from a kick in the pants.”

Jeffrey Gross
Newtown Township, PA

No, Gross, the record for starting a re-election campaign was set by your boy Mikey a few weeks ago when he basically declared for ’08 immediately after he lost to Patrick. And by the way, I would invest in “The Elements of Style” or some book on grammar and punctuation so you’ll have it as a reference to check your work next time before you feel the need to inflict us with another literary attack (which I’m sure you will do).

And from today…

I can only come up with three reasons as to why Patrick Murphy is trying so hard to become best friends with Jack Murtha, the disgraced congressman from Johnstown.

He is either so inexperienced he knows nothing about Murtha’s history or he is too naïve and/or stupid to care. After all of the corruption probes, bribery scandals and wild pork barrel projects, I would think Murtha is the last person a freshman congressman from a politically moderate area of the country would want to associate with.

Proof? Anywhere in sight? Hello??

Does Murphy support Murtha’s plan to withhold war funds, effectively leaving our troops with nothing but the bullets in their guns and uniforms on their backs, stranding them in the desert?

As I heard ad nauseum during the campaign, Murphy did serve in Iraq, apparently on the front lines, so why is he cozying up to a man so fanatical in his opposition to the war he is willing to leave our men and women in uniform alone on the battlefield?

I cannot talk for the troops Murphy served with but I believe his actions are a huge slap in the face to them.

After voting for Murtha for House majority whip, a vote Murtha had no chance of winning, starring in photo shoots with him, sitting behind him in Congress and seemingly following in his every footstep, Murphy shows no qualms about his quest to become a mini-Murtha.

At the end of the day, however, I have no qualms about it, either. It just provides more ammunition come 2008.

Despite the picture Murphy and the media painted, Mike Fitzpatrick never surrounded himself with party extremists. He had the guts to stand on his own and Murphy knows it.

Mike Musial
Falls Township

I have to say thanks to Musial for giving me such a laugh over his hilariously fantastic letter. However, since Mikey hasn’t officially declared himself as a candidate for ’08 yet, I’m not going to try and parse his delusional ravings so I can respond. I will only point out yet again (as I did to fellow winger Rich Petrucco awhile back) that John Murtha was not running for House Majority Whip. He was running for House Majority Leader, but lost to Steny Hoyer.

I hope I never know what exactly is in the minds of these people.