Posted on 05/09/2010 9:48:46 AM PDT by Clintonfatigued
The ghost of John P. Murtha looms large over this congressional district: from the hundreds of millions of dollars the late Democratic legislator famously funneled to western Pennsylvania to the many eponymous buildings, highways and even an airport that memorialize him. And now he is the elephant in the room in an increasingly contentious congressional race to succeed him.
This once safely Democratic district where Murtha reigned for 35 years is now a toss-up. Longtime Murtha aide Mark Critz, 48, vows to carry on his former boss's legacy, while Republican businessman Tim Burns, 42, tries to leverage anti-Washington passion by treating his opponent as an incumbent tied to the "liberal Pelosi-Obama agenda."
The May 18 special election is the first competitive matchup of the 2010 cycle, and the stakes are high: Both parties are showering the district with high-wattage names and an overwhelming amount of paid media. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has spent about $650,000 on the race and the National Republican Congressional Committee nearly $700,000.
Burns refers to Critz as "a career government bureaucrat" and contrasts that with his own background as a self-made entrepreneur who started a pharmaceutical technology company in his basement and sold it a few years ago for millions. "I worked hard, and I made it," Burns said.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Time to take our country back; one RAT at a time.
Tim Burns wasn’t my first choice, but he’s a self-made businessman and Tea Party supporter whose election would improve Congress.
In 2008 Murtha’s Republican opponent was Lt. Col. William Russell.
Russell is on the ballot in the Republican Primary May 18th.
Tim Burns was picked by the Republican Party committee people to run in the special election on May 18th.
Burns is touted as the wealthy businessman who can “self-finance” his campaign making him “electable.”
He’s the insider candidate but I won’t argue with him winning the special election.
I do hope Colonel Russell wins the Republican primary that day so he can be the GOP candidate for the general election.
We won in Salt Lake CIty (Bemmett). If we take this one, than it’s on to Hawaii. If you’re right, this is the beginning of something big.
In 1776 the stated purpose of government was to secure our unalienable rights. How far we have fallen.
Is Monessen in this district? It’s a VERY gerrymandered district-hard to tell. If Monessen IS in the district, my granddaughter will vote.
So, the real question is; how much can the voters of Murtha’s district be bought for? Their loyalty to America, the Constitution and the rule of law is obviously for sale.
Blue collar Democrat voters have to be the most pig head ignorant suicidal voters in the world. No matter how much damage "their guys" do to their, and their childrens, futures, they still mindlessly flock to the polls year after years to keep voting for the same people who are so energetically sodomizing them politically.
Since so many of the dead vote for democrats, I’m kinda surprised they didn’t try running one for office this time.
ping
The same nitwit union Rat zombies that caused all the steel industry there to dry up?
I’ve been there a couple times in the last few months-place looks like a war zone. My granddaughter hates it there, but her boyfriend’s in school there for another year...
TE, its not the voters, there is a R machine in PA that is tied at the hip to the Demrat machine. They work together to maintain the status quo.
Murtha 30 years, Specter in office 30 years... You see? Its all about power in the hands of a few.
The endorsements are handed out along with favors BEFORE the primary.
They don’t count votes there?
The Chair does this cute little game of musical meetings where he invites only those committee people who he already knows will vote his way. He has done this in multiple districts throughout the state.
When no committee person is there that supports the non-Gleason candidate, the response is routinely that the campaign of Joe Candidate did not respond to the invitation, which is technically true, since it won’t have been sent.
A vote takes place WITHOUT all interested parties and voi-la, we have an endorsed candidate.
So yes, the votes of all the committee people present are counted.
If there is some kind of slip up and people are their that support the “wrong” guy, then mysteriously no vote takes place. The Chair tries it all over again on a different day.
Hmmm. That’s terrible. It sounds like that corruption needs to be exposed and rooted out before an honest popular vote can be held. I wish you all the best in that.
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