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John Murtha

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John Murtha
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania's 12th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
February 5, 1974
Preceded byJohn P. Saylor
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
from the 72nd district
In office
January 7, 1969 – November 31, 1973
Succeeded byJames O. Whelan, Jr.
Personal details
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseJoyce Murtha
ResidenceJohnstown, Pennsylvania
Alma materWashington and Jefferson College
University of Pittsburgh
Occupationsmall business owner
AwardsAmerican Spirit Honor Medal
Bronze Star
Purple Heart (2)
Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry
Navy Distinguished Service Medal
WebsiteU.S. Congressman John Murtha
Military service
Branch/serviceUnited States Marine Corps
RankColonel
Battles/warsVietnam War

John Patrick “Jack” Murtha, Jr. (born June 17, 1932) is an American politician from the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Murtha, a Democrat, has represented Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 1974. The district presently stretches southwest from Johnstown (the largest city in the district and Murtha's hometown).[1] A former Marine Corps officer, he is the first Vietnam War veteran elected to the U.S. House. A member of the Pennsylvania House from 1969 to 1974, in 1974 he narrowly won the special election held to choose the successor to the incumbent, who died in office. In the first decade of the 21st century, Murtha has been best known for his calls for a withdrawal of American forces in Iraq.

In 1980, Murtha was one of the many Congressmen ensnared in the Abscam scandal growing out of an FBI investigation into corruption in Congress. In 2006, after the Democrats won control of Congress in the 2006 midterm elections he made a failed bid to be elected House Majority Leader for the 110th Congress (2007-2009) with the open support of the new House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi.[2].[3] He lost to Steny Hoyer of Maryland.[4] Despite this defeat, Murtha became chairman of the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee. He had previously chaired this subcommittee from 1989 to 1995 and served as its ranking Democrat from 1995 to 2007.

Early life and military service

Murtha was born into an Irish-American family in New Martinsville, West Virginia; near the border with Ohio and Pennsylvania, and grew up in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania; a largely suburban county east of Pittsburgh.

As a youth, he became an Eagle Scout. He also worked delivering newspapers and at a gas station before graduating from The Kiski School, an all-male boarding school in Saltsburg, Pennsylvania.

Murtha left Washington and Jefferson College in 1952 to join the Marine Corps and was awarded the American Spirit Honor Medal for displaying outstanding leadership qualities during training. Murtha became a drill instructor at Parris Island and was selected for Officer Candidate School at Quantico, Virginia. Murtha was then assigned to the Second Marine Division, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

Murtha remained in the Marine Corps Reserves, and ran a small business, Johnstown Minute Car Wash. He also attended the University of Pittsburgh on the G.I. Bill, and received a degree in economics. Murtha later took graduate courses from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Murtha married his wife Joyce on June 10, 1955. They have three children and live in Johnstown.

In 1959, Murtha, then a captain, took command of the 34th Special Infantry Company, Marine Corps Reserves, in Johnstown. He remained in the Reserves after his discharge from active duty until he volunteered for service in the Vietnam War, serving from 1966 to 1967, serving as a battalion staff officer (S-2 Intelligence Section), receiving the Bronze Star with Valor device, two Purple Hearts and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. He retired from the Reserves as a Colonel in 1990, receiving the Navy Distinguished Service Medal.


Abscam investigation

Main article: Abscam
John Murtha with Governor Robert P. Casey.

In 1980, during his fourth term as a Congressman, Murtha became embroiled in the Abscam investigation, which targeted dozens of congressmen. The investigation entailed FBI operatives posing as intermediaries for Saudi nationals hoping to bribe their way through the immigration process into the United States. Murtha met with these operatives and was videotaped. He did agree to testify against Frank Thompson (D-NJ) and John Murphy (D-NY), the two Congressmen mentioned as participants in the deal at the same meeting and who were later video taped placing the cash bribes in their trousers. The FBI videotaped Murtha responding to an offer of $50,000, with Murtha saying, "I'm not interested... at this point. [If] we do business for a while, maybe I'll be interested, maybe I won't", right after Murtha had offered to provide names of businesses and banks in his district where money could be invested legally.[5] The U.S. Attorneys Office reasoned that Murtha's intent was to obtain investment in his district. Full length viewing of the tape shows Murtha citing prospective investment opportunities that could return "500 or 1000" miners to work.

Elections

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania, 2008 § District 12

Murtha faced tough primary challenges in 1982, 1990 and again in 2002. The 1982 challenge occurred when the Republican-controlled state legislature took advantage of Murtha's connection to Abscam, and incorporated most of the district of fellow Democrat and Vietnam War veteran Don Bailey of Westmoreland County into the 12th District.

Murtha dedicates the National Drug Intelligence Center in Johnstown in 1993.

The 2002 challenge occurred when the state legislature redrew the district of fellow Democrat Frank Mascara to make it more Republican-friendly, but shifted a large chunk of Mascara's former territory into Murtha's district. Mascara opted to run against Murtha in the Democratic primary, since the new 12th contained more of Mascara's old territory than Murtha's. However, Mascara was badly defeated.

In 2006, Murtha's Republican challenger was Diana Irey, a county commissioner from Washington County, the heart of Mascara's former district. Irey attacked Murtha for his criticism of the Iraq war. Even though Irey was Mascara's strongest Republican opponent in decades, she polled well behind Murtha throughout the campaign. An 12 October, 2006 poll by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review showed Murtha with a commanding lead over Irey, 57%–30%.[6] In the November election, Murtha won 61%–39%.[7]

On 9 June, 2006, Murtha informed Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi that he would run for Majority Leader if the Democrats gained control of the House in the 2006 midterm elections. Despite Murtha receiving Pelosi's support, current Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer was elected to the post.[2]

In September 2006 the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) listed Murtha under Five Members to Watch in its Second Annual Most Corrupt Members of Congress Report. The report cited Murtha's steering of defense appropriations to clients of KSA Consulting, which employed his brother Robert, and the PMA Group, founded by Paul Magliocchetti, a former senior staffer on the Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Defense.[8]

On March 18, 2008, Murtha endorsed Hillary Rodham Clinton, former First Lady and current Junior Senator from New York, in her bid for the presidency[9].

Political views

Murtha is a Democrat with a relatively populist economic outlook, and is generally much more socially conservative than most other House Democrats. He is opposed to abortion, consistently receiving a 0% rating from NARAL and 70% rating from National Right to Life Committee[1]; however, he supports embryonic stem cell research. He generally opposes gun control, earning an A from the National Rifle Association.[10] Murtha was also one of the few Democrats in Congress to vote against the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 and also one of the few Democrats to vote in favor of medical malpractice tort reform.

However, he is strongly pro-labor, and opposes both the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). He opposed President George W. Bush's tax plan and Social Security privatization, and also opposes the Federal Marriage Amendment. In 2004, he was one of only two congressmen to vote for a measure proposing reinstating the draft.[11] He is also considered more "hawkish" than most other Democrats currently holding office.

In 2001, Murtha and Duke Cunningham (R-CA) co-sponsored the Flag Desecration Amendment, which passed the House of Representatives, but not the Senate.

In late 2005, he led the effort of House Democrats to offer a motion to endorse language in a military spending bill, written by Senator John McCain, a Republican from Arizona and a fellow Vietnam veteran, that would forbid abusive treatment of terror suspects.

Murtha has been targetted by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington as one of the 20 most corrupt members of Congress.[12] Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page). In 2008, Esquire Magazine named him one of the 10 worst members of congress because of his opposition to ethics reform and the $100 million a year he brings in earmarks to his district.[13]

Views on the 2003 Iraq War

Murtha voted for the 10 October, 2002 resolution[14] that authorized the use of force against Iraq. However, he later began expressing doubts about the war. On 17 March, 2004, when Republicans offered a “War in Iraq Anniversary Resolution” that “affirms that the United States and the world have been made safer with the removal of Saddam Hussein and his regime from power in Iraq”,[15] when JD Hayworth called for a recorded vote, Murtha then voted against it.[16]

Still, in early 2005 Murtha argued against the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. “A premature withdrawal of our troops based on a political timetable could rapidly devolve into a civil war which would leave America’s foreign policy in disarray as countries question not only America’s judgment but also its perseverance”, he stated.[17]

2005 Resolution on removing American forces from Iraq

On November 17, 2005 Murtha submitted the H.J. Res. 73 in the House of Representatives, calling for the redeployment of U.S. troops in Iraq, saying, "The U.S. cannot accomplish anything further in Iraq militarily. It is time to bring them home.”[18]

The bill cited that lack of progress of towards stablizing Iraq, the possibility that a draft would be required to sustain sufficient troop numbers, Iraqi disapproval of US forces and approval of attacks on the soldiers, and the increasing costs of the war. The bill proposed that deployment to Iraq be suspended and that US Marines establish a "over-the-horizon" presence in nearby countries.[19]

Murtha's comments forced a heated debate on the floor of the House on November 18.[20] Republicans led by Duncan Hunter of California, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, responded by proposing their own resolution (H. Res. 571), which many Republicans said was intended to demonstrate that those calling for immediate troop withdrawal from Iraq were “out of the mainstream”.

Jean Schmidt and the “coward” controversy

During debate on adopting the rule for the resolution, Congresswoman Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio) made a statement attributed to Danny Bubp, an Ohio state Representative and Marine Corps reservist, “He also asked me to give Congressman Murtha a message: that cowards cut and run, Marines never do.”[21]

Seeing Schmidt's remarks as an unwarranted "cheap shot" against Murtha, outraged Democrats brought House business to a halt for ten minutes until Schmidt herself asked and received permission to withdraw her comments. Bubp has since stated that he never mentioned Murtha when making the quoted comment. He added that he would never question the courage of a fellow Marine. Bubp later said, “I don't want to be interjected into this. I wish (Congresswoman Schmidt) never used my name.”[22]

Haditha, Iraq killings

Main article: Haditha killings

The Haditha incident occurred on 19 November, 2005, and since then there have been differing accounts of exactly what took place.

In November 2005 Murtha announced that a military investigation into the Haditha killings concluded U.S. Marines had intentionally killed innocent civilians.[23] Referring to the first report about Haditha[24] that appeared in Time magazine, Murtha said:[25]

The Marine Corps responded to Murtha's announcement by stating that "there is an ongoing investigation; therefore, any comment at this time would be inappropriate and could undermine the investigatory and possible legal process."[26] Murtha was criticized by conservatives for presenting a version of events as simple fact before an official investigation had been concluded.[27]

On 2 August, 2006, Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich filed a lawsuit against Murtha for character defamation during an ongoing investigation into the Haditha incident. Donald Ritchie, associate historian in the Senate Historical Office, said "that such defamation suits happen from time to time but that they tend not to go anywhere because of the constitutional protections members have."[28] Murtha noted his statements were based on a report prepared by the military in July.[29]

On December 21, 2006, the US military charged Wuterich with 12 counts of unpremeditated murder against individuals and one count of the murder of six people "while engaged in an act inherently dangerous to others".[30] Charges against Wuterich and other involved Marines were later dropped. That is to say, they were innocent, because by American law, defendants are innocent unless proven guilty.

Sun-Sentinel story and correction

In a 24 June, 2006 speech at Florida International University,[31] Murtha said that the military presence in Iraq was hurting U.S. credibility, citing a poll by the Pew Research Center indicating that people in several countries consider the U.S. in Iraq to be a greater threat to world peace than either Iran or North Korea.[32] When the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported the speech on 25 June, it asserted without further evidence that it was Murtha's own view that the U.S. was a greater threat to world peace: “American presence in Iraq is more dangerous to world peace than nuclear threats from North Korea or Iran, U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., said to a crowd of more than 200 in North Miami Saturday afternoon.”[33]

The Sun-Sentinel story was picked up by the wire services and the Drudge Report website,[34] leading several conservative pundits, including Bill O’Reilly, Tucker Carlson, and Newt Gingrich to comment.[35] After the Sun-Sentinel issued a correction, O'Reilly publicly apologized.[36]

See also

References

  1. ^ Map of the district
  2. ^ a b "Murtha to Run for House Majority Leader if Dems Prevail in November". FOXNews. 2006-06-09. Retrieved 2006-10-28. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  3. ^ "Pelosi supports Murtha for majority leader". CNN. 2006-11-12. Retrieved 2006-11-13.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  4. ^ "Democrats defy Pelosi, elect Hoyer House leader". Reuters. November 16, 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-16.
  5. ^ The American Spectator
  6. ^ "Poll: Murtha has big lead". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. October 12, 2006. Retrieved 2006-10-05.
  7. ^ Josh Krysak, "Murtha captures 61 percent of vote", Herald Standard, November 9, 2006.
  8. ^ "Rep. John Murtha". 20 Most Corrupt Members of Congress. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics. Retrieved 2006-10-28.
  9. ^ The Tribune-Democrat. Murtha backing Hillary Clinton March 18, 2008
  10. ^ "Representative Murtha — Interest Group Ratings". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved 2006-10-28.
  11. ^ Bolton, Alexander (2003-10-07). "Dems to revive draft demand". The Hill.com. Capitol Hill Publishing Corp. Retrieved 2006-10-28.
  12. ^ CREW's most corrupt members of Congress (PDF) (Report). Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. Retrieved 2008-11-04. "CREW's most corrupt members of Congress". Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. Retrieved 2008-11-04.
  13. ^ http://www.esquire.com/features/esquire-endorsements-2008/10-worst-members-congress-1108 Esquire Magazine
  14. ^ "H. J. Res 114 Vote on Passage". GovTrack.us. 2002-10-11. Archived from the original on 2002-10-12. Retrieved 2006-10-28.
  15. ^ "H. Res. 557 Text of Legislation". GovTrack.us. 2004-03-11. Retrieved 2006-10-28. {{cite web}}: Check |archiveurl= value (help)
  16. ^ "H. Res. 557 Vote on Passage". GovTrack.us. 2004-03-17. Archived from the original on 2004-03-17. Retrieved 2006-10-28.
  17. ^ "Murtha Details His Exit Strategy". 60 Minutes. CBS News. 2006-01-06. Retrieved 2006-10-28.
  18. ^ Epstein, Edward (2005-11-17). "Murtha calls for immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq". SFGate.com. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2006-10-28.
  19. ^ H.J. Res. 73
  20. ^ "Lawmakers reject calls for troop pullout Conflict in Iraq". MSNBC. NBC News. 2005-11-19. Retrieved 2006-10-28.
  21. ^ "VIDEO: Schmidt's shame". ThinkProgress.org. Center for American Progress Action Fund. 2005-11-18. Retrieved 2006-10-28.
  22. ^ "Limbaugh, Carlson falsely claimed Marine referenced by Rep. Schmidt is serving in Iraq". MediaMatters.org. Media Matters for America. 2005-11-22. Retrieved 2006-10-28.
  23. ^ Talev, Margaret (2006-08-22). "'Everything I said has turned out to be true'". McClatchy News Services. Retrieved 2006-10-18.
  24. ^ McGirk, Tim (2006-03-19). "One Morning in Haditha: U.S. Marines killed 15 Iraqi civilians in their homes last November. Was it self-defense, an accident or cold-blooded revenge?". TIME. Retrieved 2006-10-18.
  25. ^ "Murtha press conference transcript on Iraq" (Press release). U.S. House of Representatives. 2006-05-18. Retrieved 2006-10-28. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  26. ^ Viqueira, Mike (2006-05-17). "Lawmaker: Marines killed Iraqis 'in cold blood'". NBC News. Retrieved 2006-10-18.
  27. ^ Editors (2006-05-23). "Profile in Disgrace". National Review Online. National Review. Retrieved 2006-10-28. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  28. ^ White, Josh (2006-08-02). "Marine Names Murtha in Defamation Suit". The Washington Post. The Washington Post Company. Retrieved 2006-10-28.
  29. ^ Cloud, David (2006-08-18). "Marines May Have Excised Evidence on 24 Iraqi Deaths". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2006-10-28.
  30. ^ "U.S. Marines charged with murder in Haditha". Reuters AlterNet. Accessed December 22, 2006.
  31. ^ "Rep. John Murtha D-PA" (streaming video). Yahoo! Video. Yahoo!. 2006-06-24. Retrieved 2006-10-28. {{cite web}}: Check |archiveurl= value (help)
  32. ^ "America's Image Slips, But Allies Share U.S. Concerns Over Iran, Hamas" (PDF). Pew Global Attitudes Project. Pew Research Center. 2006-06-13. Archived from the original on 2006-06-13. Retrieved 2006-10-28.
  33. ^ "Murtha says U.S. poses top threat to world peace". AZStarnet.com. Arizona Daily Star. 2006-06-25. Retrieved 2006-10-28.
  34. ^ "Murtha says USA poses top threat to world peace; more dangerous than North Korea, Iran..." DrudgeReportArchives.com. 2006-06-25. Retrieved 2006-10-28. {{cite web}}: Check |archiveurl= value (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  35. ^ "Murtha Attacked by the Right for Quote Falsely Attributed to Him". ThinkProgress. Center for American Progress Action Fund. 2006-06-27. Archived from the original on 2006-06-27. Retrieved 2006-10-28. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  36. ^ "O'Reilly apologizes for Murtha misquote". MediaMatters.org. Media Matters for America. 2006-06-30. Retrieved 2006-10-28.

Books by Murtha

  • Murtha, John (2004). From Vietnam to 9/11: On the Front Lines of National Security with a New Epilogue on the Iraq War. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press. ISBN 0-271-02396-1.

Articles


Political offices
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district
1974–present 		Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by United States Representatives by seniority
9th 		Succeeded by
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