Posted on 07/23/2008 7:44:51 AM PDT by smoothsailing
The Man Who Could Topple Jack Murtha
Michelle Malkin
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
A jaw-dropping political miracle may be on the horizon. No, I'm not talking about the second coming of the Obamessiah. I'm talking about the long-deserved comeuppance of troop-smearing, pork-feasting, scandal-tainted Democratic Rep. Jack Murtha of Pennsylvania.
The 18-term congressman's challenger, staunch conservative Republican newcomer William Russell, raised nearly $670,000 in the second fundraising quarter. Earmark king Murtha scraped together a measly $119,000. Russell's underdog campaign bested Murtha without the perks of incumbency, national name recognition, big PAC donations or mainstream media support.
Even more amazing: The 45-year-old Russell, a Desert Storm veteran, former Army lieutenant colonel and Army reservist who survived the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the Pentagon, was not even publicly campaigning during the quarter. He is on active duty with the Army until after Aug. 1 and is barred from actively campaigning until then.
If all that didn't make this enough of an inspiring David and Goliath story: In February, a Pennsylvania judge ruled that Russell had failed to collect enough signatures to make the primary ballot. But Russell refused to give up on his goal of permanently redeploying Murtha from his entrenched seat of power in Washington. The GOP neophyte persevered on a shoestring budget and won more than 4,000 write-in votes in the spring to earn a spot on the general election ballot. According to Russell's campaign manager and veteran GOP activist Peg Luksik, the bulk of contributions from about 16,000 donors in the second quarter were less than $50.
Russell's clear on where he stands. No doubt Barack Obama would label him bitter and clingy. "I am a Conservative," he says in his defining campaign statement. "I believe in the sovereignty and security of this one nation, under God. I believe the primary role of government is to provide for the common defense and a legal framework to protect families and individual liberty. … I believe that no one owes me anything just because I live and breathe."
The excitement and buzz around Russell stand in stark contrast to grass-roots disgust on the right with Beltway Republicans who continue to push the party to the left in a brain-dead attempt to "rebrand" the GOP. He has united pro-troops families, social conservatives, fiscal conservatives, Reagan Democrats and Independents fed up with Murtha's culture of corruption dating back to his Abscam days in the 1980s. Murtha was not indicted in the infamous bribery probe, but he was videotaped entertaining a $50,000 bribe from undercover FBI agents posing as emissaries for Arab sheiks trying to enter our country illegally.
"The incredible story about Bill's campaign is that the $15 and $25 contributions are coming in from all over Pennsylvania and every corner of the country," Luksik noted on the Russell Brigade website (www.russellbrigade.com). "This is K-Street versus Main Street. These are patriotic families expressing support for soldiers, sailors and Marines, and people saying they've had enough of the old 'pay-to-play' culture in the Capitol. That's what's fueling this campaign."
Russell decided to enter politics after hearing Murtha's slanderous 2006 accusations that Marines in Haditha "overreacted because of the pressure on them, and they killed innocent civilians in cold blood." As I reported in June, seven Marines have been cleared or won case dismissals in the Iraq war incident Murtha recklessly adjudicated in the court of public opinion -- with willing mainstream journalists at The New York Times, MSNBC, and in the world press swinging their nooses.
Perhaps that complicity explains the great media wall of silence around Russell's upstart campaign. Republican Bill Russell offers ethical, freedom-enhancing, pro-responsibility, anti-retreat, unapologetically conservative change they don't want to believe in.
Copyright © 2008 Salem Web Network. All Rights Reserved.
Irey worked with the RNC. Russell is not. His campaign manager is a very independent woman and takes no garbage from anyone. Peg Luksik is the only person in state history to get on the PA ballot, back in the 90’s, with enough signatures 60,000 I think to run for Governor as an Independent.
It’s time to take him out and Peg might just be the person to do it for Russell. And I hope without the RNC. Then he can stay independent of politics as usual.
I am an Alternate Delegate to the convention. I plan to expose Gleason at the PA party on Aug. 31. I am also in Murphy’s district.
For Russell - I’ve met him personaly. He has learned a lot. He has had a great teacher in Peg. Gunowners will be endorsing him.
DONATE DONATE DONATE
Ping
Thank you, mombrown1 and for the informative post. He is a sad excuse for a Repub and his behavior with Diana Irey was despicable.
I take your ping to mean you want on the Russell ping list, your on but let me know if that wasn't your intent. :-)
With a high-spending tv driven campaign (saturation) filled with merciless attacks that tell the blunt truth about scum congressman I’ve convinced we could win several safe rat seats in white areas. But no one will ever run that campaign.
He's a backstabber in these parts, and mombrown1, I live on the borderline between the 12th and 18th, and Tim Murphy is my rep as well.
Gleason's nose is so far up Murtha's wazoo he'll never get his head out.
But Murtha's weaker now than he was in '06, and Bill Russell may well be just the guy to finally drop the old fool once and for all.. He's got my support.
I'll never forget what Diana said on election night in '06 as she gave her heartfelt and sincere concession speech; "We didn't beat Jack Murtha, but we beat him up".
She was right, we had exposed him for the fraud he is and that old toad has been losing ground ever since.
That’s right, Smooth. Diana and your team exposed Murtha for the fraud that he is and hopefully the crack in his armor from that effort will enable Bill Russell to succeed, the old man needs to go.
He could use your donation. I sent a few candidates 20.00 ea
Every dollar helps.
Congress? Hell this guy should be McCain’s VP pick.
Thanks for donating. I and more here have donated and I’ll donate more to Russell. He’s getting donations from all over the country just like Diana Irey did.
I’ve got a Bill Russell For Congress ping list if you’re interested in being pinged to the upcoming threads, just let me know.
The local media was totally against us,and the GOP locally (with the exception of Tim Murphy) and nationally was out to lunch, so the folks who voted weren't getting the info we were putting out in almost daily press releases.
But over time since then there's been a definite shift in the local folk that I've been observing.
The local media is still in the tank for Murtha, and I see little change there. But word of mouth, discussions at my VFW, other places, even folks in my neighborhood, have taken on a different tone.
I find it all very encouraging.
The Irey campaign plowed the field and planted the seed, it's up to the Russell campaign to bring in the harvest.
But please, can't we let him bump off Murtha first? ;-)
No but I’ll donate to him in the near future. I have his website saved in my bookmarks.
We plan on putting up info on the Russell campaign on a regular basis until election day.
Hey, I’d go for him being VP but like you say, let him knock off Murtha first. :-)
I just posted a good Ollie North column.
The End of John Murtha's Political Career
I'm off to the foxhole, brother, I'll catch ya tomorrow. :-)
Almost snoring now, gotta go.
G’Night, Smooth. :)
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