Charles Rangel: “this is a sad day for me as an American, as a Member of Congress, to see that we have reached a point that those who…”

“this is a sad day for me as an American, as a Member of Congress, to see that we have reached a point that those who want to be critical of the President's entrance into this war and how it is being conducted now have to be called cowards and we are cutting and running and we are not deserving of being called Americans. The vicious attacks that are taking place by people who never served their country is really something that is really painful. The gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha) has earned the right to have an opinion. The gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha) has served this country. The gentleman has served not only in the Army but he served right here in this Congress. And what is he up against? Who are these people making these dirty, nasty remarks against his character and those who support him? They are people who say that we are going to stay in this war until we win; that we are going to fight and die in this war until we win; and we are not going to leave until we win and not one day sooner. Fight who? Who is going to surrender? What are the conditions? If you can be critical of what the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha) is going to say, how can you not be critical of the confused way in which we are getting involved in this war where we do not know what the enemy looks like, we do not know what flag they carry, we do not know who is going to surrender. It is time for us to be civil.…”