Dear friend,

No matter how proud their tradition, every military organization has its embarrassments. The US Marine Corps has John Murtha -– currently a Democrat Congressman from Pennsylvania.

For 34 years he served in Congress with relative obscurity.

But on 17 May 2006 John Murtha went on national television and boldly stated that eight of our Marines in Iraq “...killed innocent civilians in cold blood.”

John Murtha rushed in front of the cameras before ANY evidence had been presented.

Taking it a step further, John Murtha even insisted that anyone who said differently, up to and including General Peter Pace, was a liar.

From that moment, the liberal media fell in love with John Murtha. Now they run to him and eagerly repeat his defeatist message in their newspapers and on their 24-hour cable news channels.

But facts are stubborn things.

Seven of the eight Marines he accused of murder have been cleared of all charges.

To help click here

The final Marine awaits his day in court, and he has been informed that his case has been postponed indefinitely, or at least until after the election (perhaps to avoid embarrassing John Murtha even further...)

But politics can bring its own brand of justice .

My friend, as the Chairman of the National Vietnam & Gulf War Veterans Coalition which is compromised of over 80 veterans groups representing over 250,000 veterans...

...I am asking you to help me retire John Murtha this November.

Before retiring on 31 July of this year, Lt. Col. William Russell (USAR ret.) served his country in uniform for 28 years, including 6 tours hostile fire zones, including Operation Desert Storm, Kosovo, and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Today he is taking on John Murtha in both a bold and aggressive way.

More than most, William Russell has seen firsthand the damage John Murtha has done. He understands that no politician in America has done more to undermine our brave men and women in uniform.

In the days ahead John Murtha is hoping that he’ll be able to cover up all the damage he’s done so that he can cling to power...

...But William Russell’s job is to hang John Murtha’s words and horrific voting record around his neck and make sure he can never hide from the truth!

This is where your help come in.

Please click here and help William Russell out today. I’m asking in the most forceful way I know how. We have a golden opportunity here.

William Russell is on the cusp of victory, but to finish the job, he needs your help. I am counting on you. To learn more, you can visit his web site, www.russellbrigade.com .

And never forget, as the Chairman of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee...

...John Murtha is the “front man” in Congress for the radical MoveOn.org and countless other defeat-at-all-cost Political Action Committees (PACs).

If William Russell is going to have the political ammo to overcome this, he needs the help of conservative Americans just like you. Please don’t delay.

My friend, the best way to ensure that the Haditha Marines get their full measure of justice -- is to defeat John Murtha.

Please act today. And please be as generous as you can.

Respectfully,

John J. Molloy

P.S. If we are going to defeat John Murtha 51 days from now, you are going to have to help. So please click below and help William Russell with your most generous gift today.

Despite thinking Democrats are “100% right”

Manchester, NH – 1^st Congressional District Candidates Jeb Bradley and incumbent Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter joined together for the first debate of the 2008 general election today in an event sponsored by AARP. While Jeb Bradley focused on efforts and ideas to reduce taxes, stimulate the economy, improve veteran’s health care, create a comprehensive energy plan and restore public trust in our government, Carol Shea-Porter towed the party line, defending her five week summer vacation, and 100% support for Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frank and Charlie Rangel.

“Congresswoman Shea-Porter claims she found a mess when she went to Washington and worked to clean it up. So, what has she done? The economy is in shambles, consumer confidence is almost non-existent, the only energy plan she’s voted for is one to drill where there is no oil,” says Bradley spokesman Alicia Preston.

Today Carol Shea-Porter addressed the 12% approval rating in Congress-the lowest in history, by saying that it “doesn’t apply to me.” “ To say the approval rating of Congress somehow doesn’t apply to her with a voting record lock-step with Pelosi 100% of the time is not exactly a profile in courage,” Preston said. “During today’s debate she spent a remarkable time focused on defending herself against the vacation she was the deciding vote for in Congress. It brought to mind that old saying “the lady doth protest too much.”

Carol Shea-Porter, trying to defend her “work ethic” in this Congress, claims she works 7 days a week, and that she had 25 events with middle class citizens during her summer vacation. “First of all, if she’s working seven days, and in session five, I’d like to see her time sheet, because that is simply not true. As for her district events for the middle class citizens: she drops in for five minutes and exits stage left before she can take the questions. It’s like Jay Leno giving the opening monologue and then leaving the show.”

Her other repeated and failed claim during the debate was to tie Jeb Bradley to George W. Bush. What Congresswoman Shea-Porter has failed to realize, is that she’s not running against Bush. “I’m sure Congresswoman Shea-Porter would rather be running against Bush, but she isn’t. Jeb Bradley has a strong record of voting in favor of the people of New Hampshire, not the party in Washington, and Carol can’t say the same thing. When it came to energy, environment, veteran’s healthcare, stem cell research, the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, social security privatization or illegal immigration, Jeb broke with the Administration and voted for those he represents,” noted Preston. “He will do the same against McCain or Obama when he feels it appropriate.”

Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter admitted to receiving lobbyist money, after running a television ad that claimed otherwise. “She has taken money from lobbyists, millions from big labor and DC special interests. Now that she has been forced to return the lobbyist money, it would be nice to see her do the same with the tainted cash she received from ethically challenged New York Congressman Charlie Rangel,” Preston said.

In contrast to Carol Shea-Porter’s partisan bashing and solution-less discussions of the state of the economy and energy , Jeb Bradley stayed true to himself and his fellow citizens.

"Jeb did a fantastic job. He had a clear understanding not just of the issues, but of how they affect people in New Hampshire. Congresswoman Shea-Porter did a great Nancy Pelosi impression...but, that doesn't help anyone but her Washington colleagues.”

For more information on Jeb Bradley, go to www.jebforcongress.com .

CONCORD – New Hampshire Republican Party Chairman Fergus Cullen released the following statement on Paul Hodes’ personal attacks on John McCain’s war injuries and Joe Biden’s admission that these tactics by the Obama-Biden campaign were “terrible:”

“Even Joe Biden had the decency to admit his campaign made a mistake in attacking John McCain for physical disabilities caused by his war injuries. Will Congressman Paul Hodes have the decency to apologize for his personal insults directed at Senator McCain, or is all their talk about a setting a new tone for politics just rhetoric? I call upon Hodes to publicly apologize immediately for his outrageous comments.”

BACKGROUND

Obama: McCain avoiding issues

Democrat slams GOP candidate's campaign

By LAUREN R. DORGAN Monitor staff

http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Date=20080913&Category=FRONTPAGE&ArtNo=809130518&SectionCat=&Template=printart

September 13, 2008

[…] Introducing Obama, Rep. Paul Hodes ripped into McCain.

"John McCain doesn't know how to send e-mail, but he says he's ready to lead this country into the twenty-first century," said Hodes, a Concord Democrat. McCain said this summer that he's learning to go online by himself and doesn't use e-mail. The Obama campaign is highlighting those statements in a new television ad.

Hodes also led a crowd in the unwieldy chant: "Bush-McCain is more of the same"

Joe Biden

Interview With CBS' "Evening News"
September 22, 2008

CBS' Katie Couric: "Are you disappointed with the tone of the campaign -- the lipstick on the pig stuff and some of the ads? And you guys haven't been completely guilt-free, making fun of John McCain's inability to use a computer?"

Biden: "I thought that was terrible, by the way."

Couric: "Why'd you do it then?"

Biden: "I didn't know we did it, and if I'd had anything to do with it, we would have never done it. I don't think Barack... you know, I just think that was..."

Couric: "Did Barack Obama approve that ad? He said he did, right?"

Biden: "I don't think anything was intentional about that. They were trying to make another point."

Watch Joe Biden

---

McCain character loyal to a fault

By Mary Leonard, Boston Globe Staff, 3/4/2000

http://graphics.boston.com/news/politics/campaign2000/news/McCain_character_loyal_to_a_fault+.shtml

[…] McCain gets emotional at the mention of military families needing food stamps or veterans lacking health care. The outrage comes from inside: McCain's severe war injuries prevent him from combing his hair, typing on a keyboard, or tying his shoes. Friends marvel at McCain's encyclopedic knowledge of sports. He's an avid fan - Ted Williams is his hero - but he can't raise his arm above his shoulder to throw a baseball.

After Vietnam, McCain had Ann Lawrence, a physical therapist, help him regain flexibility in his leg, which had been frozen in an extended position by a shattered knee. It was the only way he could hope to resume his career as a Navy flier, but Lawrence said the treatment, taken twice a week for six months, was excruciatingly painful.

''He endured it, he wouldn't settle for less,'' said Lawrence, who rejoiced with McCain when he passed the Navy physical. ''I have never seen such toughness and resolve.''

Shea-Porter Stands Up for New Hampshire Veterans During Committee Hearing, Insists on Access to Full-Service, In-State Health Care During Testimony

Washington – Today, at the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter testified about the urgent need for New Hampshire veterans to have access to full in-state health care.  The Committee was reviewing Shea-Porter’s legislation, “The Veterans Equity Act,” which ensures that veterans in each of the 48 contiguous states have access to at least one full service hospital of the Veterans Health Administration or receive comparable services provided by contract.  New Hampshire is the only state in the country that does not have a full-service VA hospital or access to comparable care at a military facility.  There are currently more than 130,000 veterans living in New Hampshire. 

“It is disgraceful that many of our oldest and sickest veterans are forced to travel out of state for medical care,” said Shea-Porter. “I urge the Committee to support my legislation so we can ensure New Hampshire veterans have the care they need and deserve.”  

Ensuring New Hampshire veterans have access to in-state medical care has been a top priority for Congresswoman Shea-Porter. Earlier this year, Shea-Porter met with VA Affairs Secretary James Peake and spoke to him about the difficulties many New Hampshire veterans faced because of the lack of in-state care.  Last month, at Shea-Porter’s request, Congressman Chet Edwards, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Military Construction, traveled to New Hampshire to tour the Manchester VA hospital.  Congressman Bob Filner, Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, has also visited the Manchester VA hospital at Shea-Porter’s request. 

Latest Results Are In for Winthrop/ETV Poll
Survey of Likely Voters in 11 Southern States
Show McCain Leading Obama 51 to 35 Percent
80 Percent of Clinton Supporters Won't Sit Out Election
Almost 90 Percent Say Ho-Hum to Notion of VP from South
Obama Slightly Better at Feeling Their Pain
Economy #1 Issue on Voters' Minds
One-third Say Neither Candidate Has Clear Cut Solutions
Almost 75 Percent of African Americans Minimize Impact of Race in Race

Columbia SC … The results of the latest Winthrop/ETV Poll , conducted among likely voters in 11 Southern states between August 1 and August 17 , are in.
The results will be released exclusively during the Thursday, Aug. 21 edition of South Carolina ETV’s “The Big Picture” program at 7:30 p.m. ET . ETV is the public television and radio network in South Carolina.
The Winthrop/ETV Poll was conducted among 1088 likely voters from AL, AR, FL, GA, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, TX, VA . Data utilizing all respondents has a margin of error of plus/minus 2.97 percent . As is true with all survey data, any results that use a subset of the respondents will have a higher margin of error. Data is weighted by state. States are sub-divided as follows: Deep South: AL, GA, LA, MS, SC. Peripheral South: AR, FL, NC, TN, TX, VA.

Please note: Southern African Americans in this sample were overwhelmingly supporters of Obama (only 3.2 percent identified themselves as McCain supporters). For further clarification on how “Christian,” “Evangelical” and “Working Class Whites” were defined, see Methodology description.

Commenting on the results, Dr. Scott Huffmon , director of the Winthrop/ETV Poll initiative , said, “ McCain’s support is rock solid in so many ways that in those places where Obama identifies even the smallest hairline crack, he needs to pry it open if he hopes to draw voters away from McCain --especially in a state like Virginia , where the race may ultimately be decided by a handful of votes. The Southern working class is still not familiar with Obama , and trust is the key to this demographic. Because they aren’t ready to put their trust in him yet, Obama can utilize the convention to fully identify himself to Americans, and launch two massive campaigns, one saying ‘Here’s who I am’ and the other ‘Here’s how McCain is wrong.’”

Among the Winthrop/ETV Poll findings:

· When given the scenario where the election was being held the day they were called, and the candidates were Barack Obama and John McCain , among all of the likely voters, McCain led with 51.3 percent over Obama’s 35.1 percent .

· Sen. Hillary Clinton and Former President Bill Clinton will play highly visible roles at the Democratic Convention next week, some say in an effort to salve lingering wounds over Hillary Clinton’s defeat at Obama’s hands. Yet, when asked if they ever seriously considered not voting in the general election, if Hillary Clinton didn’t get the nod, almost 80 percent of self-identified Clinton supporters said no.

· Although over 70 percent of those polled said the VP choice was very, or somewhat, important in helping them decide their pick for the top spot, over 87 percent said it makes no difference if the VP candidate hailed from the South.

· Over 50 percent of all the respondents disapprove of the way George Bush is handling his job as president, while almost 63 percent of them feel the country is headed in the wrong direction.

· The one issue respondents cited as the most important to them in the upcoming presidential election was overwhelmingly the economy ( 35.7 percent ). By a margin of almost three-to-one they chose the economy over Iraq ( 12.0 ), and the next most popular response, the price of gas, by close to a six-to-one margin ( 5.8 percent ).

· When asked who would do a better job, Obama or McCain, in tackling energy (including gas prices), the situation in Iraq, taxes, illegal immigration, and terrorism, McCain stacked up a double-digit lead on each of those issues .

· Who would do a better job on healthcare elicited a far different response. Obama and McCain were neck-and-neck, with less than one percent separating the two ( 41.6 McCain to 40.8 Obama ).

· When it comes to which candidate understands the problems Americans face in their daily lives, Obama slightly bested McCain among all those polled ( 41.1 to 39.1 ) and by an over six percent margin among those likely voters living in the peripheral South ( 43.2 to 36.8 ) in NC, VA, FL, AR, TN, TX. Some believe that three of these states are in play, and may go Democratic on Election Day.

· Fully one-third of the poll’s respondents felt that neither Obama nor McCain had a clear plan for solving the country’s problems.

· Over 56 percent of all those polled said it was very, or somewhat important that a president has served in the U.S. military , while over 28 percent thought it was not at all important; less than six percentage points separated those who are at least somewhat concerned from those who are least somewhat unconcerned McCain will pursue policies too similar to George Bush’s ; almost half of all respondents ( 49.4 ) feel Obama lacks the necessary experience to be president.

· Despite the fact that this will be the first time that Americans have the opportunity to vote for an African-American for president, almost three-out-of-four blacks say that the race of the candidate for president is either not very important, or not at all important.

· Among the remaining respondents (All, Deep South, Peripheral South, Whites, Working Class Whites), at least 80 percent said the race of the candidate was either not very important, or not at all important .

· McCain will be turning 72 on Aug. 29. When asked at what age would you say someone is too old to run for the presidency, over one-third either said no age is too old, or they weren’t sure what that age would be. The median age identified by respondents as “too old” was 74.

Poll Rersults

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