by Lowman S. Henry | July 24, 2006

Anti-war rhetoric creates a race in the 12th Congressional district

Pennsylvania will be in the national spotlight as a major battleground for control of the U.S. Congress. While the race for the Keystone State’s U.S. Senate seat will dominate the headlines, campaigns in four Congressional districts could well determine whether the GOP’s 12-year reign in the lower chamber comes to an end, or continues through the conclusion of the Bush Presidency.

Three of the four toss-up districts are currently represented by Republicans and lie in the southeastern corner of the state. Deemed vulnerable by political pundits are Congressman James Gerlach of Chester County, first- term Congressman Michael Fitzpatrick of Bucks County and veteran Congressman Curt Weldon of Delaware County.

Until recently no Democrat seat was seen as being particularly competitive, but Congressman John Murtha’s outspoken and sometimes bizarre opposition to U.S. involvement in Iraq has created an unexpected opportunity for the GOP.

Murtha represents one of the most conservative and economically depressed districts in the state. The 12th Congressional district sprawls from Washington County east through Somerset and Johnstown. It is a largely rural “salt of the earth” district that embraces traditional American values with a passion. A former Marine, Murtha has generally reflected those values throughout his decades-long congressional career. But, he has recently taken a sharp turn to the left and become a darling of the liberal anti-war movement.

In and of itself, opposing U.S. policy in Iraq would not place Murtha at electoral risk. However, he has handled himself poorly making a series of rhetorical gaffes and political missteps. In making the case for immediate U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq, Murtha cited polling numbers claiming that America’s presence in Iraq was more dangerous to world peace than nuclear threats from North Korea or Iran. Murtha then claimed the killing of terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi could have been accomplished without a U.S. physical presence in Iraq – a claim flatly disputed by the Marine officers involved.

Further doubt was cast on Murtha’s military judgment when he told NBC’s Tim Russert on “Meet the Press” that U.S. troops should be pulled back to Okinawa, Japan and could respond to problems in Iraq from that location. A Pentagon spokesman said it would take nearly a month to send troops the 6,000 nautical miles to Iraq if the need for further military action arose.

Murtha was among the first to condemn and proclaim guilty U.S. Marines suspected of engaging in atrocities in Haditha, Iraq. In addition to the fact he spoke before the facts surrounding the killing of Iraqi civilians were known, legal experts say he actually jeopardized the case by making public information given to him in confidential briefings – thus tainting any possible military jury pool.

All this activism by Murtha on Iraq has renewed the spotlight on his own past brushes with questionable activities. Opponents note he was designated as an “unindicted co-conspirator” in the infamous ABSCAM investigation back in the 70s. There are also questions surrounding efforts by a firm his brother is affiliated with to land a $20 million defense contract.

Then, Murtha ruffled feathers within his own party by announcing he would run for the post of House Majority Leader if Democrats took control of Congress in the new session. That created such a political firestorm he was forced to rescind his declaration of candidacy.

With Pennsylvania voters in a demonstrably bad mood – as evidenced by the ousting of legislative incumbents in the Primary – anything could happen. Washington County Commissioner Donna Irey is challenging Murtha in the upcoming general elections, but it remains to be seen whether she can raise the money and mount the type of campaign needed to oust an entrenched incumbent. While it is far too early to know the answer to that question one thing is certain: John Murtha has gone to extraordinary lengths to create an opportunity for Irey and the Republicans where none had previously existed.