Withdrawal resolution fails, 403-3: It was a “Friday Night Massacre,” but the Republicans got killed

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Before the actual vote was taken, I suppose you could have envisioned a scenario where Democrats unanimously voted "yes" for the Republicans' counterfeit withdrawal resolution. Or just abstaining.

But after watching the debate, it was clear that the Republicans overreached and they're the ones who look transparently stupid:

Dressed in a red, white and blue suit, Rep. Jean Schmidt , R-OH (left), the most junior member of the House [having defeated Paul Hackett, an Iraqi war veteran] took to the floor to protest the resolution.

She told her new colleagues of a phone call she had just received from freshman Ohio state Rep. Danny R. Bubp of West Union, a colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve.

"He asked me to send Congress a message: Stay the course. He also asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message - that cowards cut and run, Marines never do," said Schmidt..

The House chamber erupted in angry booing, something seldom seen in my memory:

Rep. Harold Ford, D-TN, charged across the chamber's center aisle, screaming that Republicans were making an uncalled-for personal attack. "You guys are pathetic! Pathetic!" yelled Rep. Marty Meehan, D-Mass.

Schmidt, who narrowly beat Hackett last time, was forced by her leadership to withdraw her remarks and apologize.

There's no turning back now. I think the debate is out in the open. While the crass Republican withdrawal resolution failed, there will be others, hopefully from the Democrats. It would be appropriate to put Rep. Murtha's original resolution to an up or down vote.

And Karl Rove might think that he can smear Rep. Murtha with an ethics charge, but the public is hip to Karl Rove.

I think we've passed a tipping point.

In October of 1973, Richard Nixon succeeded in firing Archibald Cox, the Watergate Special Prosecutor in what was immediately dubbed "the Saturday Night Massacre." Nixon had jumped the shark. The next morning someone was standing on a street corner in Washington with a sign that said, "honk if you support impeachment." The din was undeniable. Nixon was gone 10 months later.