Endorsement

Why endorse? These are the answers I got from the State Committee and the County chairmen:
If we do not endorse, why bother having a state committee?
I worked hard, and deserve to choose the candidate.
These committee folks were elected by the local citizens.
The citizens of the Commonwealth are not smart enough to make the decision. We need to help them.

True, we did elect them. True, in the past, we were too trusting, allowing them to give us such foxes as Gov Spendell and Sen Specter.

I think we could have done better if we had randomly chosen from the phone book. The Republican/Democrat habit of endorsement has given us the mess we are in. If you like the way your elected employees are running the government, vote for another candidate endorsed by the Republocrat Machine.

If not, look at the Rohrer for Governor, and Luksik for Senator. Two God fearing leaders who have been fighting the Machine (in both the Democrat and Republican flavors) for the last two decades.

You own a business, called government. Your children need you to manage it. If you lack understanding, ask God to lead you, and visit the www.pfa-pa.org web site.

John Murtha's wife Joyce Is Now A Possible Candidate For Her Husband's Seat

Salena Zito has a great story today in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Zito reports that there is growing support for John Murtha's wife Joyce to take her husband's seat in Congress. Apparently, many Democratic Party insiders both at the state level and in the 12th Congressional District itself feel that Joyce would win the seat and hold it for the Democrats.

"While people have been mindful that this is a difficult time for the family, many have called to suggest Joyce as the perfect person to hold her husband's seat," Murtha spokesman Matthew Mazonkey said. Murtha represented Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District. His term expires at the end of this year.

I don't think in this current political climate that choosing the wife of a dead Congressman is a wise choice. Although, Joyce Murtha's candidacy would definitely change the dynamics of the upcoming Special Election. But I would have to disagree that Joyce would be a strong candidate to hold the seat for the democrats. Her candidacy would give a republican candidate like Bill Russell the opportunity to run a grassroots, anti Washington type campaign similar to Scott Brown in Massachusetts.

More: Support builds for Murtha's wife taking seat (Tribune-Review)

Also: Murtha's death sparks inquiry (Tribune-Review)

Special Election For Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional Seat Favors GOP Candidate Bill Russell

Left vacant by the unexpected death of Rep. John Murtha, the race for Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District is sure to heat up real soon. Most of the election rating sites like CQ Politics and the Cooks Political Report have already moved the election status to a tossup. Primarily because an open seat election is quite unpredictable.

By law Governor Ed Rendell has until February 18th to make a decision on the timing of the special election. After that Rendell has 60 days to hold a special election. Pennsylvania's regular primary is already scheduled for May 18, and Gov. Ed Rendell is expected to set the twelfth district’s special election for that date as well. Rendell, however, withheld the right to change his mind pending what leaders in Washington, D.C. desire.

Because of the abbreviated schedule, there will be no primary for the special election; each state party will simply choose a candidate to run in the special election. However both parties have different methods to choose a candidate so it will be interesting how it plays out.

50 members of the state Democratic Party's central committee will pick the Democratic candidate to run in the special election. State Sen. John Wozniak is the most commonly mentioned Democratic name at the moment. However former Lt. Gov. Mark Singel (D) has also been mentioned as a potential candidate. Both candidates have some challenges to overcome if chosen. Wozniak is tied to a very unpopular pay raise vote and Singel has been a Harrisburg lobbyist for over a decade.

On the Republican side local county committees will choose their candidate. Right now the favorite would have to be Bill Russell. A former Iraq War veteran who was defeated by Murtha in 2008. Other names have been floated around such as state Rep. Dave Reed, state Sen. Kim Ward, state Rep. Jeff Pyle and the 2006 GOP nominee and former Washington County Commissioner Diana L. Irey. All of which would have to quickly make a power play to wrestle the nomination away from Russell.

There is no doubt that Russell is sitting in the drivers seat. He has already announced his candidacy and has been raising money for his campaign. In fact, Russell was out raising Murtha. Russell reported an impressive total of $2,865,593 raised through Dec. 31, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission.

That dollar amount alone makes Russell the front runner. GOP county committee members who are even thinking about choosing another candidate over Russell to run in the special election risk losing this race for the GOP.

Russell is the right kind of candidate to serve the constituents of the 12 District. Even going head to head with Murtha last time he held Murtha to 58 percent of the vote. The lowest total since Murtha first ran in 1974. Like Murtha, Russell is a military veteran. The 12th District has a high number of WW II and Vietnam veterans that will most likely vote for him.

The national mood right now favor's a candidate like Russell. Russel is an outsider. He is not viewed as a political party insider or government crony. If Russell aligns him with national and local Tea Party groups there is no doubt he will win this election. In fact, I don't understand when you seriously look at the direction of this race why this seat isn't rated leaning Republican.

John Murtha's Republican Opponent, Bill Russell, Issues Statement On Congressman's Death

Monday, February 8, 2010

On behalf of Kasia and our entire family, I want to express our deepest sympathy on the passing of Congressman John Murtha. Today’s news will be met with profound sadness by the hundreds of thousands of constituents he served in Johnstown and throughout the 12th Congressional District.

To Joyce, their children and grandchildren, we extend our heartfelt respect as you honor Mr. Murtha’s memory and reflect on his legacy in the upcoming days and months.

Sincerely,

Bill Russell
Lt. Colonel USAR (ret)

http://www.russellbrigade.com/

Congressman Murtha's Death Will Make It More Difficult For Democrats To Pass Health Care Reform

The American Specter has a great article on how Congressman Murtha's death will impact Speaker Nancy Pelosi's ability to pass the democrats health care reform through the House of Representatives. Back in November the House passed the health care bill 220 to 215 margin, with 39 Democrats voting against it.

To pass the bill at some point in the next few months, she'll need to flip a Democrat who is already on record voting against the bill. This doesn't even take into account the pro-life Democrats led by Bart Stupak who are prepared to vote "no." While there's been talk that Pelosi had some votes in reserve the first time around, the point is that any of those members felt the needed to vote against the bill -- and the political environment has deteriorated substantially for Democrats since then. Click Here To Read More

The results of the looming special election for Murtha's seat will also impact the mood in the House of Representatives. If a republican wins the special election in the way Scott Brown won the Massachusetts special election for Senator Ted Kennedy's seat, many conservative democrats in purple districts will no doubt be thinking twice about supporting the bill the second time around.

Congressman John Murtha Dies At Age 77

WJAC TV News is reporting that longtime U.S. Congressman John Murtha died today at 1:18 PM at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Va. Murtha has served the constituents of the Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District since 1974. Murtha apparently died from complications that resulted from gallbladder surgery.

The 77-year-old Murtha underwent scheduled laparoscopic surgery to remove his gallbladder last week, said spokesman Matthew Mazonkey. "Complications did arise from the surgery, and he is currently at the Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington," he said. Click Here To Read More

Prior to serving his 19 terms in Congress Murtha also served in the state legislature. He also served 37 years in the Marines and Marine Corps Reserves. He retired from the Reserves in 1990 and received the Navy Distinguished Service Medal.

Despite my own political disagreements with Representative Murtha, I always thought he was just a great guy to get to know. Jack as he was so lovingly called by those who knew him well, was a straight shooter. He was also always willing to lend a hand no matter how small the issue was. This is why he was elected to so many terms in Congress by the people he served.

My heart goes out to Congressman Murtha's family. May God ease their suffering during this time of loss.

More Links:

Congressman John Murtha Dies At Age 77 (WJAC TV New)

John Murtha dies at 77 (The Politico)

Rep. Murtha Dead at 77 (Fox News)