They never knew what hit em

Noel Sheppard of the American Thinker does a very interesting piece on the old bait and switch:

As a result, to make this “assassination” work, step two was to get a previously adoring press quickly to alter its view of the Congressman, and comply with the need for a hit job. And, comply they did.

First out of the gates was NBC Nightly News, which on Thursday evening, just hours after the historic vote, fabulously threw Murtha under the bus. After playing the now infamous video of the Congressman discussing a bribe with an FBI agent – a video whose public display was totally verboten before the election – correspondent Chip Reid reported:

Murtha was investigated by the FBI in the Abscam bribery scandal 26 years ago, though he was never charged, and recently expressed frustration over a proposed Democratic package of ethics reforms.

Rep. MURTHA: (From MSNBC’s “Hardball”) And it is total crap that we have to deal with an issue like this when we got a war going on.

Reid concluded this segment by getting a quote from political analyst Norman Ornstein:

You can’t have the theme that you’re going to clean up the culture of corruption and then hand pick somebody who is a product of that culture.

Next up to kick the carcass of one suddenly despised by his caucus was the New York Times which published a scathing editorial on Friday that could have been found at either the Washington Times or the National Review:

The well-known shortcomings of Mr. Murtha were broadcast for all to see — from his quid-pro-quo addiction to moneyed lobbyists to the grainy government tape of his involvement in the Abscam scandal a generation ago. […]

Mr. Murtha would have been a farcical presence in a leadership promising the cleanest Congress in history.

All We Are Saying is Give War a Chance

With step two complete, it was next essential for the media to begin laying the groundwork for changing the public’s view concerning Iraq. The network morning news programs were willing accomplices as NBC’s Matt Lauer set up a segment on Friday’s Today Show:

Americans let Congress know loud and clear they’re not happy with the war in Iraq, but what would happen if the US just packed up and left?

Correspondent Richard Engel amazingly responded:

Well, I think what happened in southern Iraq yesterday is a good example of the kind of security situation that would develop. In those provinces in the south where those Americans were kidnapped, British and Italian forces have been pulling back and handing over authority to the Iraqi security forces. But instead of having a stable environment, it was handed over to militiamen and highway robbers, and a—probably a similar pattern would be repeated across the country.


The whole thing is worth reading. Have the anti warriors been had? Snookered? Lied to? Used? One can hope.
H/T AJ .