Posted on Thu, Aug. 17, 2006 Months after making headlines, John Murtha's popularity booming By Margaret Talev McClatchy Newspapers Rep. John Murtha, (D-PA), ranking member on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. JOHNSTOWN, Pa. - What a difference nine months makes. Last November Rep. John P. "Jack" Murtha, D-Pa., thundered onto the national scene insisting that the U.S. military could accomplish nothing more in Iraq, could only make things worse. He called for pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq. At the time, many of his Democratic colleagues considered his stance suicidal for their party when they're trying to regain control of Congress...