See? What did I tell you? Murtha's getting Swiftboated

A while back, I wrote of Congressman Jack Murtha:

How long until we see a right-wing funded "True Marines for Truth"? I am sure they can "find" some "evidence" that will prove to the right side of the blogosphere that Murtha was wearing women's underwear when he forged the documents used to award him the Bronze Star and the TWO Purple Hearts. And that Vietnamese Cross for Gallantry? It only proves that he was brainwashed, just like that crazy Senator McCain. He probably has lunch with Michael Moore and Jane Fonda once a week.

And a few days later Pittsburgh Post-Gazette columnist Dennis Roddy wrote:

Soon the Swift Boaters will be afloat, suggesting that Mr. Murtha's Vietnam service was a charade (he won a Bronze Star), and that his Purple Hearts were undeserved.

Well gang, never let it be said that Mr Roddy and I were wrong on this (although I must confess to writing with a bit more hyperbole than Mr Roddy). Nor should it ever be said that some elements of the right have absolutely no shame.

I stumbled across this from St. Ann of the Inescapable Adam's Apple. After listing a few expressionss of praise by some prominent Republicans, Ms Coulter rattles off tthis tidy little bon mot:

I've never heard a single liberal preface attacks on Oliver North with a recitation of North's magnificent service as a Marine. And unlike Murtha, who refuses to release his medical records showing he was entitled to his two Purple Hearts...[emphasis added]

Amazing - in less than two dozen words, Ann Coulter questions whether Congressman Murtha actually deserved the medals he was awarded. She's saying that becuase he's "refusing to release his medical records" he must be hiding something and that something must be that he's a wimp who somehow cheated the United States Marines out of some medals.

Amazing, isn't it?

But before we go on, let me address the Oliver North thing.

Decades before he admitted to lying to Congress and decades before he suggested to then-National Security Advisor John Poindexter that Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega be offered a million dollars of Iran-Contra funds to "take care of" the Sandanista leadership and decades before he was indicted and found guilty of obstructing a congressional investigation and shredding documents (convictions that were later vacated with a little help from his friends at the ACLU), Lt Col. Oliver North was an American Hero. He was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts.

Thank you for your service to this country, Col. North.

Now, back to Ann Coulter. What's up with Murtha's Medal record? An answer can be found in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Earlier in this century another Republican, candidate Bill Choby who was running against Murtha, questioned the Congressman's Vietnam medals. Here's what the P-G says:

Choby criticized Murtha, the first Vietnam combat veteran elected to Congress, for not turning over medical records proving he's entitled to his two Purple Hearts. Murtha spokesman Brad Clemenson insisted his boss deserved the medals.

Marine Corps casualty records show that Murtha was injured in "hostile" actions near Danang, Vietnam, on March 22, 1967 and May 7, 1967. In the first incident, his right cheek was lacerated, and in the second he was lacerated above his left eye. Neither injury required evacuation.

Hmmm...Marine records show what? Congressman Murtha was injured in Danang twice in 1967. By the way, Ann Coulter was about 6 at the time.

Then she get got even wingnuttier:

We also know what Rep. Randy Cunningham, R-Calif., did to earn his medals. One of only two American Navy aces that the Vietnam War produced, Cunningham shot down five MiGs, three in one day, including a North Vietnamese pilot with 13 American kills. Cunningham never did something as insane as proposing that we withdraw troops in the middle of a war, but this week he did admit to taking bribes.

Uh, last time I checked, bribery is a crime. And bribery in an elected official is a very serious crime. I'm confused - what is she asserting here? That we should be praising the Duke-ster for his Vietnam service before describing his various corruptions?

I'm not sure what Kool-Aid Ann Coulter is drinking these days.

Ann Coulter, Jack Murtha