John Murtha endorses Hillary Clinton

[Iceburg]

By Anne E. Kornblut
LANCASTER, Pa. -- Rep. John P. Murtha has announced his endorsement of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, bringing his clout as a 17-term member of the House and a prominent anti-war Democrat to bear with more than a month until the primary here in his home state.

"Sen. Clinton is the candidate that will forge a consensus on health care, education, the economy, and the war in Iraq," Murtha wrote in a statement about his decision.

Murtha, who represents the 12th district of Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, was an early and sometimes inflammatory critic of the Iraq war. As a retired Marine Corps colonel and the first combat veteran of Vietnam elected to serve in Congress, Murtha's voice on Clinton's behalf could prove especially valuable in both inoculating her from anti-war criticism and bolstering her claim that she is the most qualified to serve as commander-in-chief. That message is the backbone of Clinton's appearances this week.

"Her experience and careful consideration of these issues convinced me that she is best qualified to lead our nation and to bring credibility back to the White House," Murtha said. He said he "whole-heartedly" recommends Clinton to all voters in his state.

Posted at 6:37 PM ET on Mar 18, 2008
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[Cooley Hurd]

1. Too bad. I thought he wanted the Iraq occupation to end?

If so, he's backing the wrong candidate.

[Iceburg]

2. Precisely -- that's why he put his trust in Hillary/nt

[krawhitham]

9. who better to stop a war than someone who voted for the war

:sarcasm:

[burythehatchet]

4. Establishment politicians are going to stick with insiders n/t

[TheDonkey]

3. Jack "Gimme more Pork" Murtha huh

biiiiig

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

5. John "earmarks for military contractors" Murtha?

wow, I'm so not impressed.

[EFerrari]

10. Sad, but true. n/t

[Renew Deal]

6. Good for Hillary

They have a lot in common. Both were war supporters. Both love lobbyists. Both DC insiders with questionable backgrounds. It's a perfect fit.

[wndycty]

7. Congrats to Hillary

Its one I would have liked for Obama to have.

[The_Casual_Observer]

8. I've always wondered what bad shit somebody could possibly say

about Murtha. I guess all I have to do now is follow the DU threads for a little while.

[mopinko]

16. he has been out there, trying to end the war, but i think mostly because

he feels like "his" military is being broken for no good reason. he isn't a peacenik, he just doesn't like to see this kind of fubar.

[emilyg]

11. Excellent.

[bigdarryl]

12. OLD DLC FUCK!!!!!!!!! this is the same guy who said Cheney is a friend of minds

[joeybee12]

15. Hmm..and one of the more vocal conservative Dem critics of the war...

...but I guess you're wanting to end the war is just talk, huh? Oh yeah, just like BO...don't take it from me, take it from Samantha Power.

[my3boyz]

13. Shocking...NOT! Of course the PA establishment will

stick with Hillary. She is going to win the state by a big margin. I support Obama and I think he will win the nomination but he will lose PA. I think he will win Indiana and North Carolina. :)

[GoldieAZ49]

14. Good for her! I guess the super delegate freeze is over

They can start endorsing publicly again

Hope he campaigns with her