GOP Spends Scarce Funds On Bill Russell In Attempt To Target Mad Jack Murtha – With Videos
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by Deirdre Walsh – (CNN)
WASHINGTON — The National Republican Campaign Committee is using some its scarce resources to target one of the most senior Democrats in the House — Rep. John Murtha, D-Pennsylvania.
A new campaign commercial released Tuesday uses video clips of Murtha’s recent comments calling his western Pennsylvania district “a racist area” and “redneck.”
The ad also includes a clip from a news conference where Murtha talks about civilians killed in Haditha, Iraq, in 2005, saying U.S. Marines “killed innocent civilians in cold blood.” The ad ends by saying “Enough.”
In an interview October 15 with the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Murtha — who endorsed Sen. Hillary Clinton for president in March — predicted Sen. Barack Obama would win the state of Pennsylvania, but said that there was some hesitancy among voters.
The paper posted video of the interview on its Web site, showing Murtha saying, “There’s no question western Pennsylvania is a racist area.”
Murtha apologized the next day, saying, “I apologize for making the comment that ‘Western Pennsylvania is a racist area.’ While we cannot deny that race is a factor in this election, I believe we’ve been able to look beyond race these past few months, and that voters today are concerned with the policy differences of our two candidates and their vision for the future of our great country.”
“Sen. Obama has shown sound judgment and has presented us with a change from the failed policies of George Bush and John McCain. I believe he will win both Pennsylvania and the White House,” he added.
But Republicans seized on the remarks. Days later in an interview with a local television station, Murtha said his district years ago was “really redneck.”
Last weekend’s episode of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” included a spoof of Murtha’s remarks about his constituents in a skit about a visit by Democratic vice-presidential candidate Joe Biden to Pennsylvania.
Under campaign finance law, the NRCC is allowed to contribute up to $84,000 in “coordinated funds” to an individual campaign. Murtha’s challenger is William Russell, an Iraq war veteran. Russell authorized the ad.
A recent poll by Susquehanna University released last Thursday showed the race tightening, with Murtha ahead by just four points. Republicans feel they have an opportunity in an otherwise bleak environment to challenge the high-profile Democrat.
Ken Spain, spokesman for the NRCC, said, “John Murtha has called American soldiers cold-blooded killers and the voters of his district racists and rednecks. By doing so, he has besmirched the reputation of the voters he claims to represent and turned himself into a national embarrassment in the process.”
Jason Mattera
Veteran Sgt. Seavey confronts Senator Murtha
Darryl Sharratt, father of former Marine L/Cpl Justin Sharratt
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