The Ghostly Voice speaks, through its blistered, chapped lips

A gift idea for the Ghostly Voice


I was about to give the Ghostly Voice of the Globe-Republican some props for doling out rare criticism of a Republican today. The Ghost takes Rep. Jean Schmidt to task for calling Rep. Jack Murtha a coward, but then does an about-face and uses the rest of the column to so thoroughly kiss Rep. Mac Thornberry's ass that the Ghost's lips were surely left cracked and dry.

The Ghost chides Schmidt for her ill-conceived remarks, yet praises Thornberry for his comments, which are equally baseless and inflammatory. Thornberry states that Murtha's words "encourages the bad guys and discourages our side" and "are dangerous to the cause of freedom in the Middle East." Thornberry argues that withdrawing from Iraq "dishonors" the memories of fallen troops. Were our dead dishonored when we withdrew from Vietnam? Or from Mogadishu? "We must honor the sacrifice with more sacrifice" seems to be the message.

Look, if someone invaded our country, even under the pretense of liberating us from Dear Leader, we would resist. We'd hide IED along roads, take pot shots from rooftops and any Americans who collaborated with the enemy would be fair game. How would you feel if your spouse or child was killed by the invaders, regardless of the invaders' intentions? Put yourself in that scenario and you'll see we why shouldn't try to wait this out. The people our troops are fighting are also the same people we supposedly care enough about to liberate. The Iraqis don't want us there. Not only do they want us out, they have also stated "resisting" our forces is acceptable.

The war is becoming increasingly unpopular. More and more people are starting to ask the tough questions about why we are really there. It doesn't dishonor our military to ask these questions, nor does it put them in harm's way. We owe it to the troops to have an honest public debate, but for Thornberry and the Ghostly Voice, nothing but blind, unwavering support for Dear Leader is acceptable.