It's no secret that I disagreed with the Rep. John Murtha (D-Pennsylvania) on a few things. I believed that his irresponsible pork-barrel spending was running our country down and placing a burden on the taxpayer. I thought that he said a lot of boneheaded commenets and bullied his constitutents. I believed that he was a puppet for Nancy Pelosi in unfair games used by the Democrats to intimidate the Republican minority in the House. And I was especially appalled as someone who regarded John Murtha as one of the last hopes for the pro-life Democrats did a quick about face on the right-to-life issue once he gained a strong voice in the House Democrat leadership. And of course there's ABSCAM.
That being said, I also want to focus on on the good side of John Murtha, a 19-year House veteran who passed away today in Virginia after complications from gallbladder surgery. Probably the thing we have the most in common besides a love for our country (Murtha was a Vietnam vet who was still serving in the Marine Reserves when he was first elected to Congress), was a change of heart on the War in Iraq. Known to be a hawkish Democrat, Murtha later supported bringing our troops home after the inconsistency and imbalance the Bush administration showed in its handling of the conflict, which in retrospect was preemptive and undeclared. But I believe that John Murtha was motivated as one who saw the terrors of war, rather than a politician seeking to climb the political ladder, in his support of withdrawal. The words of the great Army general, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, come to mind when I think of Murtha's change of heart: “There is no glory in battle worth the blood it costs”.
While I disagreed with him, I pray that he did ask God for mercy, even if it was at that last moment. I pray for the soul of John Murtha and I ask you to do the same.
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