(Of misinformation, name-calling and innuendo, I mean…).The following Guest Opinion appeared in the Courier Times today from John Wible who, as noted in the bio here, is a retired Teamster and a 35-year resident of Bucks County (I hate competition, especially when it’s good – snark – I spoke with John some time ago, and he’s a good dude).
From the looks of the recent surge of letters critical of Congressman Patrick Murphy, I started to suspect he committed a sacrilege or some other dastardly deed.Funny...
Did he avoid military duty then vote to send others off to war as so many in Congress and the Bush administration have? No.
Did he support the Bush/Cheney/Gonzalez gang in all they do, or don't do? No. Did he cavort with scarlet women? Nope. Was he married and divorced two or three times? Nope. Was he a Jack Abramoff crony? Nah.
Did he divulge the name of a covert CIA agent? Nope. Did he write a book and accept an illegal or unethical payment? No, not according to Common Cause and the Congressional Ethics Committee.
Did he suddenly join the political party that lost control of Congress last year due to corruption, the war in Iraq, and the rubber stamping of all that our arguably incompetent and irresponsible White House wanted? Did he go to Washington and forget those in Bucks County? No. Did he push the iceberg in front of the Titanic? No, Bill Clinton did that.
Well then, what did he do to cause such an outbreak of negative letters?As always, to help Patrick, click here.
He sponsored the following:
H.CON.RES.162: expressing the sense of Congress that Congress and the president should increase basic pay for members of the Armed Forces.
H.RES.97: providing for Operation Iraqi Freedom cost accountability.
H.RES.467: condemning the decision by the leadership of the University and College Union of the United Kingdom to support a boycott of Israeli academia.
H.R.2072: to authorize and request the president to award the Medal of Honor to Richard Gresko, of Newtown, for acts of valor in the Republic of Vietnam on March 11 and 12, 1970.
H.R.2195: to amend Title 10 to expand the education loan repayment program for members of the Selected Reserve.
H.R.2385: to provide and enhance education, housing, and entrepreneur assistance for veterans who serve in the Armed Forces after Sept. 11, 2001, and for other purposes.
H.R.2699: to amend title 38 to repeal authority for adjustments to per diem payments to homeless veterans service centers for receipt of other sources of income, to extend authorities for certain programs to benefit homeless veterans, and for other purposes.
H.R.2853: to require the Environmental Protection Agency to promptly notify state and local authorities and the public of certain enforcement actions under environmental laws.
Murphy also co-sponsored, among others measures:
H.R. 6: Clean Energy Act of 2007. This bill repeals $14 billion in subsidies given to oil companies that are raking in record profits. A gift from the prior Congress and the Bush gang.
H.R. 1152: Open Space and Farmland Preservation Act of 2007, which approved $18,000 in federal funds to support the Delaware Riverkeeper Network to operate the Delaware Estuary Restoration Assistance Program, restoring 90 acres of watershed habitat in our area.
Approved $100,000 in Federal funds to support Bucks County Trout Unlimited's Lindquist Farm and Watson Creek Restoration project. This program furthers the Mill Creek Watershed restoration program and will improve fish passage, forest buffers and stream banks.
Apart from trying to get our troops out of Iraq as safely and as quickly as possible. Murphy has also been working with local and federal authorities regarding flood relief, and to bring the veteran's cemetery to Bucks County. Not bad for someone in Congress for only six months.
In reality, the sacrilege Murphy committed was winning an election and taking the seat from the party that thought it was theirs forever.
Sources: Courier Times, Aug. 14, 2007. Government references from The Library of Congress.
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