Recently, Congressman John Murtha passed away after complications from gall bladder surgery. Murtha, an EX-Marine, was a powerful Democrat, and served as chairman of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. He was one of the major pork kings of Congress, and was a very outspoken critic of the Iraq war. What he’ll go down in history for, though, is as the slanderer of the Haditha Marines. Murtha accused the Marines of intentionally killing Iraqis in cold blood and compared it to the My Lai massacre in Vietnam. Thanks to Murtha, charges were brought against eight Marines. So far, the charges have been dropped against all of them except for one. He’s widely hated throughout the military, and understandably so.

Yet for some reason, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus thought it would be a good idea to name the Navy’s newest San Antonio Class amphibious transport-dock LPD 26… the USS John P. Murtha.

Yes, really. And this is a vessel that will carry Marines. What was Mabus thinking, naming a ship that will carry Marines after a man best known for the slander of honorable Marines?? It’s an outrage and an insult.

The Washington Times recently ran an editorial telling Mabus to sink the Murtha.

The late Rep. John Murtha, Pennsylvania Democrat, has achieved his highest undeserved honor. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus has decided to name the Navy’s newest San Antonio Class amphibious transport-dock LPD 26 the USS John P. Murtha. This is a slap in the face to every service member who bridled when Murtha publicly accused Marines in Iraq of intentionally killing women and children in cold blood.

Murtha made his views known after details emerged about a firefight in Haditha in November 2005 in which 24 Iraqis were killed. Murtha accused the Marines of engaging in premeditated murder and agreed with MSNBC’s Chris Matthews that this was “exactly” like the 1968 My Lai massacre in Vietnam. Charges later were brought against eight Marines but have since been dropped against all but one. However, Murtha’s theatrical rush to judgment still rankles Americans in uniform, whose views on the congressman range from disappointment to the belief that he gave aid and comfort to the enemy.

“This dishonors every Marine who will serve aboard that ship,” a Navy officer told The Washington Times. “And it sends a poor message to the acquisition community that politicians can have ships named after them just for sending pork back to their districts.” Milblogger “CDR Salamander,” who served in the Navy for 21 years, told us this was “a naked political move” and “nothing about this man will be inspiring to the crew assigned to the ship.”

To his credit, Murtha was a combat-wounded veteran of Vietnam, but he is hardly unique in that respect. The USNS Benavidez is named for Army Master Sgt. Roy P. Benavidez, who, wounded and under heavy assault, saved the lives of eight men at Loc Ninh in South Vietnam in 1968. He was awarded the Medal of Honor. Likewise the USNS 1st Lt. Harry L. Martin, which is named for a Marine who was mortally wounded on Iwo Jima while leading his men in a counterattack against a massed Japanese suicide charge. The USNS Shughart is named after Sgt. 1st Class Randy Shughart, killed at the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993. These are the types of veterans who should be given such an honor, not a political hack whose most successful defensive maneuver was saving his pork-laden earmarks from surprise attacks of fiscal responsibility.

The idea to name the ship after Murtha probably did not originate with the Navy secretary. Some speculate that this is House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s parting salute to one of her loyal hatchet men. San Antonio Class vessels traditionally are named after cities, and this is the first such ship to be named after a person. Because this recommendation breaks protocol and tradition, the Navy Department should release the documents that pinpoint its origins and the process by which it was decided.

It’s doubtful that the ship naming will do much to honor Murtha. The brave Marines and sailors who serve aboard this vessel probably will refer to it only as LPD 26 or come up with a colorful nickname like “Porky Pig” or the “Fat Bastard” (the Marine favorite). Perhaps Murtha could still be useful in supplying the ship’s slogan: “Cold Blooded Killers.”

Personally, I like the “Porky Pig”. Seems fitting to me.

Meanwhile, the blogosphere is exploding over this outrage.

Fire Andrea Mitchell!:

The members of the 70’s disco group Village People deserve their names on a Navy ship more than John Murtha does.

Michelle Malkin:

He’s already got a boondoggle airport in his name. Philadelphia wants to name a shipyard after him. The University of Pittsburgh just named a new “Center for Public Service” in his memory. And now the Navy is moving ahead with plans to name a vessel after him.

We don’t need anything else named after this troop-smearing corruptocrat.

Enough already.

Maggie’s Notebook:

What a reprehensible event it is that now puts our sailors serving aboard a warship named after deceased Rep. John Murtha (D-PA).

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus is responsible for choosing Murtha’s name to grace a mighty defender of America. Does Mabus know anything about what is going on the real world? Obviously not, because if some pressure was being applied by some influential person…like…maybe Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi or President Barack Obama, Mabus apparently had a very convenient out, according to this: previous San Antonio class ships have been named for American cities -but didn’t take it.

The Jawa Report:

From 9/11 Families for a Safe and Secure America come the news that the Secretary of the Navy has named a new ship “The USS John P. Murtha.”

Tim suggests the Navy instead name the ship The USS Michael A. Monsoor. I agree. Naming it after a hero is much more appropriate than naming it after a slimer of heroes.

Blackfive:

This is probably one of the worst administrative ideas in the history of the Navy (this might be number two) – to name a ship after Murtha and that ship will carry MARINES?! While I believe that a garbage scow should not carry his name, this is obviously pandering by the Navy.

I think Michael Monsoor would have been a great choice to name the ship after, except there’s already going to be one named after him. Instead, I think Michael Murphy would be an excellent choice. There hasn’t been a ship named after Chesty Puller, who would also be an excellent choice. Hell, anyone except John Murtha would be fantastic. If we’re going to go with Murtha, then why stop there? We could name an entire fleet after troop slandering slimebags: the USS Jane Fonda, the USS Cindy Sheehan, the USS John Kerry, the USS Jodie Evans… even the USS Barack Obama. I bet that would be really inspirational to our sailors and Marines. Is this the road that Mabus wants to start down? No sailor or Marine is going to want to serve on a ship named for a man who accused honorable Marines of murder. This kind of honor belongs to honorable men, which John Murtha was not.

This very well may have been Nancy Pelosi’s idea, but as Maggie pointed out, Mabus had an easy way to get around this, considering this class of ship is usually named after a US city. Why did he not just do that? If it was Pelosi’s idea, then why would he let himself be bullied by her? The entire spectacle is just ridiculous and insulting to every sailor or Marine that has to serve on that ship. Even The Navy Times couldn’t avoid the controversy of this choice. I honestly, for the life of me, cannot comprehend what Mabus is thinking.

(On second thought, there is the USS Jimmy Carter. I guess there’s precedent for this.)

Hopefully, Mabus will realize his folly and give the ship a more appropriate name. Anyone who so severely slanders Marines should never, ever be recognized or honored by the United States Military. Only in the Obama administration could such an egregious insult to our troops ever happen.

There’s only one thing to be done here, and it’s simple enough to do. Secretary Mabus, sink the Murtha.

Cross-posted at The Green Room and Stop the ACLU.