Murtha: Time to get out

Rep. John Murtha, a hawkish conservative Democrat has called for an immediate withdrawal from Iraq following the vote on the constitution next month. Murtha represents Pennsylvania’s 12th congressional district in the southwestern part of the state, and as someone who grew up not far from there, I can assure you that this is a bastion of socially conservative, blue-collar, pro-military “values voters” (think “Reagan Democrats”). If the Bush administration’s Iraq policy is losing these folks, it’s not clear who’s going to support it (apart from a handful of pundits and bloggers).

As the Inquirer puts it:

Murtha’s 30-year voting record matches his lunch-pail constituency: He supported the Reagan administration’s Central America policy, opposed gun controls, and favored display of the Ten Commandments.

And Murtha is no flaky fringe figure, but a well-respected military expert and ex-Marine who served in Vietnam.

In staking out such a strong stance, the steel-country centrist from Western Pennsylvania gave Democrats a sober, pro-military voice to argue the case against the war. Murtha sided with his party’s liberal wing, not with Democrats who want a phased pullout or want Bush to set a departure timetable.

You can read the text of Rep. Murtha’s speech on the war here.