Is anyone listening?

To me, perhaps the biggest gaffe of the last two weeks was committed by Jack Murtha, a Pennsylvania congressman, who announced that his district was filled with rednecks and racists who would not vote for Obama due to his race. These are the so-called bitter clingers, the subject of one of Obama's major gaffes. Murtha, should have been in big danger of losing his seat as a result of his smearing of the marines who fought in Haditha. Murtha labelled the Haditha incident a massacre committed by US troops. Since Murtha's statement, all but one of the marines involved have been brought up before military courts and cleared of all charges. One remains to have his day in court. Clearly, Murtha, who is a senior member of the House Armed forces committee (and who should know better) just shot off his mouth (or his badmouth) to criticize the marines so as to make his own political point about the Iraq war. To Murtha, the reputation of the marines was secondary to his political ends. In my opinion, Murtha's slander of the marines should render him unfit for Congress. Still, Murtha is a fixture in the Pennsylvania delegation, and it looked like he would be re-elected in a somewhat closer than usual race, but one which he nevertheless won handily.

Now, however, we have the second Murtha major mistake. I think it is safe to say that all political consultants, be they Democrats or Republicans, would counsel their clients that it is unwise to label the voters as rednecks or racists. Most voters would not appreciate the name calling. That did not stop Murtha. Hopefully, there will be sufficient upset in Western Pennsylvania that Jack Murtha will finally be bounced from Congress. There is already enough hot air and idiocy in Congress. Maybe it is time to try someone new. Let's all hope that this is Murtha's swan song.