Two Republicans try to ensure that Murtha runs unopposed
"Republicans" petition to have Bill Russell thrown of the Republican primary ballot.
By Mark Kilmer Posted in 2008 | Okinawa Jack Murtha — Comments (12) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Jack Murtha is invincible. He's survived ABSCAM [Hannity and Colmes vid] and waltzed through recklessly slandering our troops in Iraq. And he seeks to walk to his 18th term, with the help of two "Republicans."
Bill Russell [campaign site] is a 44-year-old Army veteran who wanted to challenge Democrat Murtha as a Republican, but he might not be included on the Republican ballot in Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District because of two people referring to themselves as "Republicans": former Johnstown Mayor Don Zucco and Johnstown attorney Jeanne McKelvey. Those two have petitioned the Commonwealth Court to keep Russell's name off the April 22nd ballot because, they insist, he did not collect the requisite 1,000 voters' signatures.
Read On…
The Murtha re-election committee, in an e-mail message on Friday, said that "it appears to us" that Russell's nominating papers contain "over 180 invalid signatures or unregistered voters in the 12th Congressional District."
Russell says he had more than 1,000 valid signatures, but he's counting on the stupidity of the two "Republican" petitioners. On the court papers, the listed him as "William M. Russell." His name is actually "William T. Russell."
"If they can't get my name right, what validity do their complaints have?" Russell said.
If the signatures are not valid, their complaint is. And if they win, Murtha is unopposed this November.
I got my story from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, who say they tried to contact the two "Republicans" for the story but received no comment.
Murtha's hometown paper, the Johnstown Tribune Democrat, got this comment from "Republican" Zucco: "There are lots of ways to support the congressman." He supports Murtha. Well, he's a former mayor of Johnstown who has at least seen his city's pockets stuffed by Murtha in the form of earmarks (pork). Nobody has talked to McKelvey.
We'll keep an eye on this one, but it looks like Murtha may have been spared another challenge by that solid Republican constituency: "GOPers 4 Okinawa Jack."
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Two Republicans try to ensure that Murtha runs unopposed 12 Comments (0 topical, 12 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
And she certainly would have lost. I don't know that Russell has much more of a chance barring another Murtha mess up, and they've become frequent when he opens his yap, but I would at least like to have an R on the ballot in case.
My friend Leo Pusateri has posted a couple things about this scandal.
Make sure & check back. Leo just told me that he's digging into other angles to this episode.
Mark,
There is more info on the second "Republican" in the Somerset Daily American (a paper in Murtha's district);
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Here's a link---http://www.dailyamerican.com/articles/2008/02/22/news/news915.txt
Here's the pertinent segment;
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McKelvey said she challenged Russell’s petition because it’s important to her that candidates follow the law.
“I guess I’m more concerned that he has played by the rules and he had the correct number of signatures like any other candidate would have to have,” McKelvey said.
Both Murtha and his wife, Joyce, have been personal friends of hers for years, she said. In press releases, Murtha’s office has described her as one of the key movers of the Joyce Murtha Breast Care Center.
So she was probably acting at her friend, the Congressman's request. He lined up two alleged "Republicans" to file the petition.
I wish Russell could win his case. Murtha is going to do or say something in this tense election year.
I think that Russell only filed 1,004 signatures from what I've heard. His only hope is that Pennsylvania courts are supposed to lean in favor of ballot access, so because he's being challenged on technicalities, the fact that his challengers screwed up may cause the court to decide in favor of leaving him on the ballot. The fact is, his petitions aren't being challenged, William M. Russell's are. I'm not hopeful that PA courts will be that lenient, though.
Russell filed 1,024 signatures. He needs 1,000 minimum. 100-180 are in question for various reasons. It doesn't look to good.
In all due respect to the candidate who sends in only 24 more registered names when everyone is aware some are always thrown out?
Challenging a republican, we'd be treated to news stories of disenfranchisement & "why not let the people decide?"
With all the stupidity demonstrated by Murtha over the last two years, especially as it relates to our troops and the Iraq war, that the local and national GOP could find a suitable candidate to oppose him. It never ceases to amaze me how the people of his district sit back and re-elect this man regardless of his actions. Although being in MA, it's hard to criticize them when my own backyard has become a rather desolate locale for Republicans/Conservatives of any stripe.
The 12th Congressional District was gerrymandered into a strongly democratic district by a Republican controlled state legislature in 2002. Both parties love the pork “Jack” brings home to PA. This move shored up Republican support in surrounding districts, but the 12th is a waste of GOP money right now. Even the local conservative news-paper tycoon, Richard Mellon Scaife, is a Murtha man. Scaife’s paper, the libertarian and right leaning Tribune-Review, endorsed Murtha in 2006. The paper opposed the war on the grounds that preemptive war and nation building are not conservative ideals. As to all the pork, I guess if the pork is coming to PA, then that makes it all right.
Not that I think that Murtha or any incumbent should be unopposed, but the lack of urgency is understandable.
The woman who opposed Murtha last time?
"Who will stand/On either hand/And guard this bridge with me?" (Macaulay)