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from Philadelphia's The
Evening Bulletin
"Murtha-Irey Contest Hinges on the War"
[EXCERPTS:]
...Whether he [Murtha] is driven by conviction, experience or
something he senses in the political wind, is a matter of conjecture.
What is not conjecture is that, over the past several months, he has
been openly lobbying with U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-California) to
become House Majority Leader, should she become Speaker of the House
after the November elections. He has admitted to talking to others
about the post for nearly a year. His current competition for the
powerful post is U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Maryland).
As the publicity for Murtha's antiwar stance grew and he received
awards form groups like "Code Pink," a women's anti-war group that
regularly stages protests outside military hospitals, he began to
anger hawks, veteran groups and supporters of the Bush regime's Middle
East policy.
Irey, no political neophyte and married into a wealthy and
politically-connected family, believed she smelled blood in the water
and an opportunity to build her career and send Murtha into a
lucrative retirement in Johnstown.
Like the U.S. in Iraq, Irey is finding a campaign against Murtha is
not a "cakewalk" and not without pitfalls of its own.
Murtha has raised about $2.3 million for his reelection bid, and Irey
has garnered $400,000 for her effort, not insignificant since
political observers have viewed Murtha as unbeatable over the years.
Her most vociferous support has come from supporters of an Iowa-based
group called BootMurtha.com. BootMurtha is an organization of former
veterans akin to the Swift Boat Veterans who battered U.S. Sen. John
Kerry (D-Massachusetts) during his unsuccessful 2004 presidential run.
In addition to financial support, BootMurtha has a continual stream of
anti-Murtha messages on its Web site and has nationally advertised an
anti-Murtha rally in Johnstown on Oct. 1.
Like most federal candidates, Republican and Democrat, Irey addresses
issues on her Web site such as federal spending, health care costs,
secure borders and family values.
But the club she uses to beat Murtha every chance she gets is the Iraq
War. Irey says Murtha's claims of American atrocities are unfounded
and that he is not honoring his word and the commitment of his nation
to bring democracy to a country that is rife with civil and religious
war, not to mention the American military presence. And, she stays "on
message."
>>>read entire commentary
Murtha:
favorite of the Left
Rep John Murtha has become the "...favorite of the Left " because of
his advocacy of abandoning Iraqis to their fate the way John Kerry
advocated abandoning Vietnamese to the killing fate at the hands of
the Communists.
From
Robert Novak column, TownHall.com:
DEMOCRATIC INFIGHTING
In expectation of a Democratic takeover
of the House in this year's elections, advocates of Minority Whip
Steny Hoyer and Rep. John Murtha are engaged in a fierce backstage
battle for their candidate to become majority leader.
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who would
be unopposed to become speaker of a Democratic-controlled House, is
considered certain to vote for Murtha against Hoyer. Murtha managed
Pelosi's successful campaign for party whip against Hoyer in 2001,
which provided the stepping stone toward her current dominance in the
House. Hoyer associates say Pelosi is working behind the scenes for
Murtha, but Hoyer told this column he sees no such activity by her.
Although both Hoyer and Murtha once were considered part of the
Democratic Party's relatively moderate wing, Murtha's aggressive
opposition to U.S. intervention in Iraq has made him a favorite of the
left.
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