The news that made my day: Murtha on Offense.

The GOP made up a story about Pelosi wanted a luxury plane to fly her and her friends around the country. It comes out there IS such a luxury plane (why?). We try to get our story out. Dobbs (sorry to those of you who thought he was a decent man) picks up the false story and beats the Dems over the head with it...repeatedly...as does the rest of the MSMWOSGOP (MSM wholly owned subsidiary of the GOP)

So Murtha is gonna fix it.

Meanwhile, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pennsylvania, chairman of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, said on Thursday that he's planning hearings this spring on executive and congressional travel on military aircraft.

Murtha said he's requested from the Defense Department records on travel and logistics from the past two years. He asked the Defense Department to hand those over within a month.

Some House Republicans on Thursday were pressing for an amendment on the floor on Pelosi's use of a military plane, according to Murtha.

Murtha predicted that Pelosi would end up getting a plane that would be able to fly across country without stopping to refuel.

"I'm seldom wrong on these kinds of predictions," he said.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/02/09/pelosi.plane/

Now who said the Dems don't have backbone? Telling the media over and over that the story was false didn't do any good but maybe showing them how the GOP has used the planes will. (There was that tidbit about Hastert using his military plane to pick up other house members...legal? Right? Don't you just bet there is a whole lot more? My guess is Murtha knows exactly what those records will show and it ain't good to the GOP.)

This is how we fight back. Turn about is fair play in anyone's book.

hat tip to Josh Marshall

"on the defense"..I should have known better! :D

vicious commentary?

And apologize to Madame Speaker?

And tell us WHO gave him that bullshit story--or did he just lift it, without question, from the Moonie Times?

As a 'straight shooter' he really OWES us an explanation.

I'm off to do it--I urge others to do it as well.

http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form5.html?9

The media responds to stuff like complaints. worth a try.

I want to hear him say "I was wrong...!"

And I will continue to say as lond they act like it. I applaud Mr. Murtha for stepping up, but the reality is why does he need to? Only because the Dems allowed the pubs to cry and wail and make an issue out of it. When the shoe is on the other foot, the pubs have no problem saying " we're doing so sit down and STFU". And the Dems do. Now the Dems have the majority and we are still asking those assholes for PERMISSION to do WHAT THEY DID! Why? No backbone. Just my humble (and unsolicited) opinion. Your mileage may vary.

I guess you don't think it doesn't matter that the right wing noise machine fed this story 24/7 and did not report that the Democrats were screaming "IT'S FALSE".

The issue is, when the GOP says it, it gets broadcast on TV 24/7 and printed in every newspaper in the country. When we say it, its the old tree in the forest.

We can use the Internet to counter the evil and maybe win againt the evil right...or we can shoot each other and feed right into their plans. But if they elect another republican hack next time and you see the Supreme Court turn completly Nazi and take away what few rights you have left, be sure and blame the democrats first.

"political impressions of most Americans are shaped by how our dominant media outlets discuss political issues. How the national media reports on all of these matters, which sources they depict as credible, and the factions that influence and shape that reporting is still the single most influential factor in the outcome of all political disputes.

We are in the position we are in as a country because there has been really no effective counterweight to the lowly, deceitful and filth-peddling right-wing network which has dominated our political discourse and the media's coverage of it.

As long as Matt Drudge -- and Rush Limbaugh and Fox News, etc. -- rule the world of national journalists, little can be accomplished on any front. Diluting their influence and forcing actual facts into these public discussions is of the utmost urgency, and the growing (though admittedly still incomplete) ability of the blogosphere to achieve that objective is the true significance of the Edwards story." http://glenngreenwald.blogspot.com/

I guess you don't think it doesn't matter that the right wing noise machine fed this story 24/7 and did not report that the Democrats were screaming "IT'S FALSE".
I know what they are doing. I can see that the Dems are allowing the pubs to dictate and dominate the issues the same way they always have. They need to step up and mean it. They are too willing to compromise and "debate" the issues. Which means they are allowing those twisted fuckers to frame the issues how they see fit. Look, the pubs are gonna scream bloody murder no matter what. So the Dems should do what is right. But all I see is them fighting off the attacks from the pubs, when it should be the other way around. Thst's all. I'm just angry about everything. I'm disappointed in our reps.

As an aside, how do you think Lieberman will vote on any issue? I think it's clear he will side with the pubs. Why is he a comittee chairman? He is allowed to stonewall investigations in the Katrina disaster. Why? I think it's a lack of backbone.

shut him out, don't give him a chairmanship (which he is "entitled" to based on senority)

What would YOU do? "Your" party shuts you out and won't give you what your senority says you should get. Let's say the GOP says to Lieberman what WE said to Jeffords: switch sides and we'll give you any chairmanship you want. Hello President McConnell goodbye former President Reid. If you think for one second that offer has not been made to Lieberman I think you are living in a parallel universe.

That is such a complete no brainer it makes me crazy the left even brings it up. We hate him but if he chose to vote against the leadership, we get absolutely nothing. Give him one committee and be thankful we still have all the rest. Instead of none.

My point is simply no matter what the dems do two things happen: 1. Anything good goes unnoticed and unknown because we do not control the media and 2. The left heaps on no matter what because we are complete idiots. No Dem is good enough for the far left as evidenced by the fact that more than 2 people voted for Nader in 2000. It should have been his vote and his mother's. Period.

You want us to do the same thing THEY do? Then start here and now. Follow your party leaders lock step and shut up about any faults you see. You don't like that? Then accept we will not have as large a megaphone to spread out sides' views or accomplishments, we will send mixed messages and we will look weak. It's a real catch 22 but its the reality of the situation and we need to at least recognize it.

Free speech! Making deals to maintain a majority! Fishing, rather than cutting bait!

Oh my!

But I am disappointed and a little underwhelmed with their performance to date. The fact of the matter is, this is all we have. We need our candidates and reps to take this shit seriously and not be bullied by those blowhards. I am angry at the neglect New Orleans has received. What happened is not the left's fault. However, we now have a chance to investigate and bring light onto this. But we can't because of Lieberman. If they just had to give Lieberman a chairmanship, why couldn't it have been of something a teeny bit less important than Homeland Security? Lieberman is not a dem. Lieberman is only in it for Lieberman. Do you think that Lieberman doesn't already have a plan with the GOP? I'm certain he does. I feel the reason we look weak is that our leaders look weak. Feingold is saying some good things, Clark always says the right things, and there are a few others willing to take it up a notch. But they seemed to be buried in a pool of "potential candidates" who are afraid to say the wrong thing. I know we are a group of freethinkers. And trying to co-ordinate is like trying to heard cats. I'm just pissed and looking to comiserate.
:mad: I want Bush, Cheney, Gonzales, Rumsfeld, Rice, and every one of those PNAC'ers locked up. For life. I would be willing to settle for beheadings in the public square, but I don't want to get my hopes up.

I hated Lieberman from his first Senatorial race when he defeated a decent republican because the republican wanted to normalize relations with Cuba..tsk tsk. Politics is screwed up, always has been.

We've been in office a month. I'm shocked at how much we've done in that amount of time. Yeah, I think they should be in jail but it won't happen. I'd just be happy to fix as many problems as we can but my number one priority is 2008. I'd sell my Grandmother to insure that. More seats in the House and Senate and any Dem in the WH.

But then Katrina is not high on my list. It was inexcusable but what would an investigation do? The way I look Katrina is it cost the GOP Congress already. Putting Brownie in jail is not even on my list.

They waited until they buttoned down one of two sources for this "leak"--either the Pentagon or the House Clerk. They let the GOP flail and whine, and do it ON THE RECORD...on CSPAN! On TAPE.

And then, after they did that, they pushed a few buttons and made sure that the "NO, NO, NO THIS IS NOT TRUE" clarification came from a REPUBLICAN appointee to the Office of the Clerk. A fellow with impeccable credentials, too.

In the LONG view, it made the Repiglicons look like a bunch of childish bastards who MAKE SHIT UP.

That's good. They'd rather make up stuff about planes, and insult the first female speaker, than discuss, what? Why, THE WAR IN IRAQ, of course.

i asked him when he was going to do a story about a fired US employee still having use of a taxpayer paid aircraft and an office being paid by the taxpayers...for Rumsfeld who was fired in November!!

wtf why are we still paying for rummy when he was fired???????????

fly

I wish more people would see this thread, and write to CNN.

They really need a massive display of outrage.

This morning I heard them repeating the lie--the quote was "How much plane does one woman need?"

We Need more people like John Murtha.

People who are unafraid to stand up and call the Republicans out for a fight.

We win in any fight against the Republicans. But we need to have people willing to fight.