Rep. Patrick Murphy (D. PA) has ulimited potential' He's smart, a straight shooter, the only Iraq Vet in congress-- and will always be the senior Iraq vet. This has made him THE rock star of the freshman class in congress.
I like Patrick. I really think that if he plays his cards right, he'll be, in years to come, a strong candidate for the US Senate, PA Governor, and even the presidency. But all that future potential could come to naught, if Patrick fails to embrace the potential and opportunity he now faces.
As an Iraq veteran, Patrick has the unique ability to offer the Democratic party the opportunity to regain its spine. He can do it by taking a stand, stating that the best thing for the troops is for the congress to refuse to fund the war, and refuse to fund the military any further, except funds to bring the troops home. That does not require legislation. It requires blocking legislation, something both the house and senate dems have the ability to do... NOW.
This scares the hell out of the democratic leadership. They are terrified that the Republicans will accuse them of not supporting the troops. They are cowards who are failing to stand up for the troops. That's why the polls show the ratings for congress much, much lower than the ratings for Bush and Cheney.
If Murphy takes such a stand, as a freshman representative, it will be going against the Democratic leadership. It will be an act of courage, of doing the right thing.
Recently, Murphy voted to censure Moveon.org for calling General Petraeus, General Betray Us. I expected that vote, because Patrick is a military man. He felt he needed to honor a general, even though he knew he'd catch flack in his home district. Now, Patrick has the opportunity to again take a stand that will also be unpopular, but this time, among the right wing leaders of the Democratic party.
If he takes the stand and acts like the leader he has the history of being and the potential to be, he will be taking a big risk. But I think it will sell well at home. Here in Bucks county, and even more in Northeast Philly, the war is not popular. His risk will not be about losing voter support. It will involve the funding for his 2008 re-election campaign. Will Rahm Emanuel and Stenny Hoyer and the other members of the right wing of the democratic party punish him for doing the right thing? That's what Murphy will have to struggle with. I don't think that Emanuel and the other DLC invertebrate dems will be able to punish him for breaking with their spineless stance. If Patrick has the courage to LEAD the stand against further war funding, he will become one of the most powerful members of the Democratic party. Frankly, he already is, if you go by the power he has to access the media. They love this young Iraq vet.
If Murphy takes a stand, as an Iraq Veteran, and even better, if he persuades other military veterans to stand with him-- Murtha, Webb-- he could pull it off. He could persuade enough dems to refuse to vote to fund the $150 billion the spineless Dem sellouts in the senate already approved.
Because let's be clear. When the leaders of the Democratic party say they don't have the votes to end the war, they are dissembling. They don't have the votes to pass legislation, but they DO have the votes to block legislation. And they have refused to use this power. I'll spell it out again. The Democrats have, right now, and have had, since January, the ability to stop the war by stopping its funding, by refusing to vote for any legislation which provides funding. This is the approach Dennis Kucinich has been advocating.
To Murphy's credit, he has voted against the funding so far. But he can do more. He is in a unique position to almost single-handedly stop the war. It's not a sure thing. He will surely be attacked at home by right wingers who have already been attacking him, spending a lot of money on lame ads funded by nursing homes. But the majority of his constituents are ready to bring the troops home. This war has gone on long enough. Once Murphy, as an Iraq veteran, starts this ball rolling, it will gather momentum. Even the mainstream media will have to give it respect.
If Murphy makes this brave move, he could lose his job in congress, though that is unlikely. Or, he could save the lives of hundreds, even thousands of troops, tens or hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and hundreds of billions of dollars the USA could better use rebuilding a nation that George Bush and Dick Cheney have ravaged and torn apart.
Murphy could be a hero-- a big hero. Or he could go along to get along. I hope Patrick has the courage to take the big steps that put him on a very different journey than just getting by would. He'll have to look into his soul and into his infant daughter's and wife's eyes and make the decision. I hope he makes the right one. If HE takes the stand, then the lead will then fall to the other military veterans in the dem congress to support him, and former generals, like Wesley Clark. This is a message America is ready to embrace. But it will take military leaders to start it.
If he chooses not to stand and lead, he'll merely be doing what the rest of the dems and all of the republicans are doing. Not that he'd be doing anything bad, that could be criticized by the right, just sad, that he would choose not to rise to his potential for greatness, an opportunity few individuals face in their lives.
use the action page link below, and or call Murphy at one of his offices:
215 547-5211 in PA or in Wash. DC 202 225 4276
I don't think you need to be a constituent to tell him to call him as the member of congress who best represents Iraq troops and vets.