No Shame

The Republicans in Congress have absolutely no shame. After Pennsylvania's freshman Representative Patrick Murphy, a Democrat and an Iraqi war vet, delivered his amazing floor speech last night (you can see it here), the GOP's "war room" felt it necessary to launch an attack. Naturally, the GOP's attack came via the Washington Times.

Note that the GOP calls it a "war room" even though it is in the very safe and protected confines of the Capitol building and is using it to criticize a member of Congress who actually served in the war that the House is debating. Murphy's office responded:

"Congressman Murphy is absolutely proud of his service and the work done by the 82nd Airborne Division in Iraq. The right wing's go-to move is to try and smear veterans. Fortunately, Pennsylvanians understand that it's no contradiction that Congressman Murphy is both proud of his service and opposed to the Bush administration's wrong-headed policies in Iraq."

What defies explanation is why the GOP can't figure that it's possible to oppose Bush's mis-guided and disastrous war while still supporting the troops -- even when members, like Patrick Murphy, who served in Iraq -- explain it to them. These guys aren't stupid but for some reason this simple fact escapes them completely.

Another irony in all of this is the GOP using the term "war room" to attack a real war veteran. To the GOP this is all a big political game. Unfortunately for real soldiers like Murphy, it is life and death.

h/t AmericaBlog