Murtha, Johnstown, Thanksgiving, and the End of Iraq

As everybody in the online and on-air media has been reporting today, John Murtha, a conservative Pennsylvania Democrat, called for an immediate withdrawal of all troops from Iraq, saying that the mission has been completed and that further exposure does nothing but paint targets on the backs of our soldiers. Because of Murtha's position and standing, this is being hailed as significant news. And it is. But we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that there has been an "Out-of-Iraq" Congressional Caucus in the House that has been pushing for withdrawal since June. They are 41 members strong, fully 1/5 of the Democrats in the House. Heck, in 2004 a Democratic Presidential candidate (Dennis Kucinich) ran a whole campaign based on getting the troops out of Iraq. So this is not the first Democrat to come out and say this.

But it is important. I heard the news when my father called me and said "Well, the man who will get us out of Iraq is from Johnstown!" Johnstown, Pennsylvania is in John Murtha's home district. It's also where my mother's family is from. My grandmother knows John Murtha. My late grandfather knew John Murtha. John Murtha is every old-timer I would see eating breakfast at the local diner during my frequent visits to Johnstown as a child.

Johnstown is one of the bigger former steel towns that was suffocated by the loss of the industry in the 70s and 80s. It's such a poster child for the depressed Rust Belt that when Hollywood needs a depressed city in the Rust Belt, a hardscrabble forgotten town that seems inescapable to the youth and a scene of regret to the old, they go to Johnstown. Slapshot was filmed there. All the Right Moves was filmed there. You have to be tough coming from Johnstown, not only because of the economic situation, but because, having been built at the bottom of a flood plain, catastrophe is one major storm away. And a storm is never far. I'm not sure in all the years I've gone to Johnstown if I've ever seen the sun.

And for over 30 years, John Murtha has been Johnstown's representative on Capitol Hill. Here's his resume:

After serving in the Marines in the early 1950's, he re-enlisted in 1966, at the age of 34, and served in Vietnam, earning a Bronze Star, two Purple Hearts and the Vietnamese Cross for Gallantry, according to The Almanac of American Politics. When he won his House seat in a special election in February 1974 he became the first Vietnam veteran to serve in Congress.

I put nothing past the folks in the White House, but on issues of war and peace, this guy is as close to unassailable as you can get. I don't think a Swift Boating will carry the day this time. Simply put, to lose Murtha, and to lose Johnstown, on this war is to lose the heartland of America. Johnstown is a very conservative place. The President campaigned there last year, and it was the first Presidential visit in decades (I believe since Truman). This is a patriotic, flag-on-the-front-stoop kind of town. If they're questioning the efficacy of the war, if they're looking at reports from the battlefield and wondering why we're still over there, if they're doubting, the whole country is. Recent opinion polls bear that out, but a guy like John Murtha isn't going to step in front of cameras and make an emotional plea for withdrawal if he didn't a) believe it in his heart, and b) know it was the prevailing opinion.

Some Republicans recognize this:

Don't know how many of you caught Rep. John Murtha's very angry, very moving speech just now in which he called on the White House to institute an immediate withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. CNN didn't air the entire thing, but as I listened to it, I could feel the ground shift. Murtha, as you know, is not a Pelosi-style Chardonnay Democrat; he's a crusty retired career Marine who reminds me of the kinds of beer-slugging Democrats we used to have before the cultural left took over the party. Murtha, a conservative Dem who voted for the war, talked in detail about the sacrifices being borne by our soldiers and their families, and about his visits out to Walter Reed to look after the maimed, and how we've had enough, it's time to come home. He was hell on the president too.

If tough, non-effete guys like Murtha are willing to go this far, and can make the case in ways that Red America can relate to -- and listening to him talk was like listening to my dad, who's about the same age, and his hunting buddies -- then the president is in big trouble. I'm sure there's going to be an anti-Murtha pile-on in the conservative blogosphere, but from where I sit, conservatives would be fools not to take this man seriously.

This hasn't stopped the White House press secretary from firing the first shot:

Congressman Murtha is a respected veteran and politician who has a record of supporting a strong America. So it is baffling that he is endorsing the policy positions of Michael Moore and the extreme liberal wing of the Democratic party. The eve of an historic democratic election in Iraq is not the time to surrender to the terrorists. After seeing his statement, we remain baffled -- nowhere does he explain how retreating from Iraq makes America safer.

Having to go to their favored pop-culture demon? How lame can you get? I guess we're all MIchael Moore then, since 65% of the American public agrees that we need to get out of Iraq. Murtha's a product of his environment. Johnstown is the toughest town I know. It's emblematic of this country. And in about a week, the whole country is going to sit down to Thanksgiving dinner and engage in the time-honored tradition of talking things over. And the conclusions they're likely to reach on Iraq will not be positive ones.

This isn't anything new, but it's very significant.