You should watch this surprising video of Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-OH) calling out Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) on the House floor. Think Progress lays out some of the details, but in case you need some background, Rep. Murtha proposed a resolution calling for immediate withdrawal from Iraq. While a Democratic Congressman calling for troop withdrawals might not be much news, Rep. Murtha saying so is news. NPR offers some more background and you can watch Murtha’s original speech and comments at Crooks and Liars. His comments carry such weight on both sides of the aisle because:

Murtha, 73, is not one of the Capitol’s many dandies; he is a large, leathery, no-nonsense kind of guy who makes his own grammatical rules. He won two Purple Hearts as a combat Marine in the Korean and Vietnam wars, after which he tacked on 23 more years in the Marine Reserve. In Congress since 1973, he has been a staunch supporter of the Pentagon, voting to back the Persian Gulf War in 1991 and for the current Iraq conflict in 2002 (unlike most Democrats, in both cases). Since 1989, he has been either chairman or the ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense.

So for this legendary advocate of the military to express such a position was breathtaking.

He’s not an eloquent speaker but unlike so many members of Congress, he’s clearly not grandstanding. There’s no political angle here but sincere, personal disappointment and, yeah, anger. It’s disappointing to see Republicans like Schmidt take the low road and attack the man instead of his message. The best the White House could do was compare Murtha to Michael Moore. How I wish for some leadership to come from the White House…