WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans maneuvered for swift rejection Friday of any notion of immediately pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq, sparking a nasty, sometimes personal debate over the war and a Democratic lawmaker’s own call for withdrawal.
Furious Democrats accused the GOP of orchestrating a political stunt, leaving little time for debate and changing the meaning of a withdrawal resolution offered by Democratic Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania.

For those reasons, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi sent word to rank-and-file Democrats to vote — with the Republicans — against immediate withdrawal of American troops.

Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., said of the non-binding resolution, “We want to make sure that we support our troops that are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. We will not retreat.”

Democrats went to the floor to denounce the vote, being staged before Congress left Washington for a two week break. And they gave Murtha a standing ovation as he entered the chamber Friday during the Iraq debate and took his customary corner seat.

“This is a personal attack on one of the best members, one of the most respected members of this House and it is outrageous,” said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass.

Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, responded: “This is not a stunt. This is not an attack on an individual. This is a legitimate question.”

GOP leaders decided to act little more than 24 hours after Murtha, a hawkish Democrat with close ties to the military, said the time had come to pull out the troops.

By forcing the issue to a vote, Republicans tried to place many Democrats in a politically unappealing position — whether to side with Murtha and expose themselves to criticism, or oppose him and risk angering the voters that polls show want an end to the conflict.

But Democrats claimed the effort had backfired because their party members planned to vote against withdrawal — and the GOP version of Murtha’s resolution.

Murtha offered a resolution that would force the president to withdraw the nearly 160,000 troops in Iraq “at the earliest practicable date.” It would establish a quick-reaction force and a nearby presence of Marines in the region. It also said the U.S. must pursue stability in Iraq through diplomacy.

But House Republicans planned to put to a vote — and reject — their own symbolic alternative resolution that simply said: “It is the sense of the House of Representatives that the deployment of United States forces in Iraq be terminated immediately.”

With stinging rhetoric, Democrats criticized the GOP alternative. They said House Republican leaders killed Murtha’s thoughtful approach.

The fiery, emotional debate climaxed when Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Ohio, the most junior member of the House, told of a phone call she received from a Marine colonel.

“He asked me to send Congress a message — stay the course. He also asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message — that cowards cut and run, Marines never do,” Schmidt said.

Democrats booed and shouted her down — causing the House to come to a standstill.
from the USA Today .

In the Civil War, a group of Democrats called the Cooperheads wanted peace with the South and thus the continuation of slavary. There is some cases of outright treason by Democrats during this area. It is nice to see that the Democrats remember their history and is continuing their proud tradition of appeasement, treason, and cowardice.