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Saturday, January 14, 2006

PA-12: Don Bailey: Biased, Bitter & Bonkers

Posted by DavidNYC

Former Rep. Don Bailey ("D"-PA) is making up stories about conversations he allegedly had with Rep. John Murtha. Why do I know that Bailey is bullshitting?

Pennsylvania 12th Congressional District Primary - May, 1982

John Murtha: 52%
Don Bailey: 38%

That primary was a poignant election - Bailey and Murtha, both incumbent Congressmen, were pitted against each other because Pennsylvania had lost seats after the 1980 census. No one feels more entitled to his next victory than an incumbent - and because incumbents lose re-election campaigns so rarely, failure is exceptionally galling to them. I am sure Bailey has been carrying around a grudge - "It should have been him, not me!" - against Murtha for over twenty years. Bailey's so embittered he's become delusional: He thinks that a one-sided recollection by an obviously biased party constitutes legitimate news.

Oh, and how angry was Bailey after his loss in May of 1982? Angry enough that the Republicans were courting him to run against Murtha in the general election that fall!

Democratic Rep. Don Bailey is doing nothing to discourage growing speculation he'll run for Congress as a Republican in November. Bailey, a casualty of reapportionment this year, lost to fellow Democratic Rep. John Murtha by more than 8,000 votes in the May primary.

Talk of a Murtha-Bailey rematch has been growing since Clair Saylor, the GOP nominee, withdrew from the race, citing lack of support and money. [UPI, 7/5/1982]

Bailey's been peddling his lies since 2002, when Murtha was once again involved in an incumbent-vs.-incumbent race. Yet if Murtha supposedly made some confession to Bailey during the ABSCAM goings-on in 1980 (as Bailey claimed to the National Journal), why didn't Bailey use that against Murtha in 1982? The answer doesn't change: The story is bullshit, and Bailey hadn't bothered to invent it yet. Rather, Bailey - after spending two decades losing a whopping four more races - dreamed up his tale in 2002 as a way to settle an old score against Murtha. (He failed, badly: Murtha won the primary that year 54-30.)

I obviously expect every gutter-dwelling conservative website... but I repeat myself. I obviously expect every conservative website to fawn all over Don Bailey's every phony word. He's a less credible witness than a nun-beating crack dealer - in other words, perfect for the non-reality-based community. But if the traditional media wishes to pay attention to Bailey's pedigree, they'll realize there's no way he could be telling truth. His story doesn't add up, and his motives are so nakedly venal that it should be plain for anyone to see.

Posted at 05:57 PM in 2006 Elections - House, Pennsylvania | Technorati

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Comments

After watching Rep Murtha's interview on Hardball and briefly reviewing his military history, it became obvious he is totally unqualified to critique and comment on the military tactics in Iraq. Granted he did volunteer for RVN, but only spend 1 year in a combat zone and that was 40 yrs ago. The majority of his military duty was reserve time. He was a S-2, Intel Officer, that's a staff officer not a combat unit leader. I retired from the Army 14 yrs ago after +26 yrs of active duty and with all the changes and upgrades in war-fighting tactics there is no way I could provide intellegent comments. But Rep Murtha has been out for 40 yrs, consequently his comments are based on outdated and unexperienced tactics. This results in his uninformed & negative opinions not effective & competent alternatives. Additionally, some should look into his Purple Hearts. All citations and orders authoizing the awards are posted on your military records and copies kept in the military records archives. I find it baffling that Murtha's 2 Purple Hearts, as well as Sen Kerry's can not be verified from their records. But for Murtha to set on the Arms Service Commitee touting his military expertise as a basis to criticize current military leadership is total BS. As with Kerry, Murtha has not provide verifiable proof of their military claims; and until they do they are frauds. Finally, Don Bailey may be biased and a fraud, but that's the writers opinion. He did not provide any proof to convence me. But I did review Bailey's military history and his verifiable Silver Star and Purple Hearts were really earned and authorized.

Posted by: MAC at February 2, 2006 07:34 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment