WILLIAM RUSSELL: EXPOSING JOHN MURTHA

Quote for the Day: "Prejudging people on the basis of their type or group is unfair, absurd, at times cruel, and just plain stupid.” (Dr. Mark W. Hendrickson, Economist and Faculty Member at Grove City College)

WALL STREET JOURNAL EXPOSES MURTHA. Here's the link to the WSJ article on Murtha's deal-making to solicit government handouts: www.nrcc.org/news/view_article.asp?id=774

Johnstown publisher hits Murtha. See Chris Voccio's column on Murtha's spending of your tax dollars to ensure his election: http://www.pennrepublican.com/

I'd like to thank the many people who have come here in the last 48 hours. Please bookmark this site and return often. Your comments are always welcome. The campaign of Lt. Col. William Russell against John Murtha is going to be one of the most important in the nation.

You can learn more about how to support William Russell by going to his web site at: http://williamrussellforcongress.com/. If you'd like to make a small contribution (or a large one!), you can do so at his web site. He's also asking for volunteers to help in his campaign.

A week ago, I wrote about Christy Whitman's low-budget (but high-octane) campaign against Senator Bill Bradley nearly two decades ago. I mentioned how Christy relied mainly on (low-cost) radio ads rather than Bradley's (high-cost) TV ads.

What did Christy say? She said, in essence, "I'm one of YOU and he's one of THEM." By them, she meant Bill Bradley was one of the Beltway-Gang, someone so immersed in Washington politics that he'd lost touch with his constituents.

Sarah Palin took a similar approach in her uphill battle (that she won) in the race for Governor of Alaska. In her polite way, Sarah said, "I'm honest, and they're not." She beat an incumbent Republican governor and a former Democratic governor like they were a couple of rented mules.

Bradley spent $11 million and Christy Whitman spent less than one-tenth as much. He won by a whisper, much to the amazement of pundits..

I hope Lt. Col. William Trower Russell takes the same approach with Moneybags Murtha. I believe he will. Swat him like a fly.

You can find out how to support William Russell by going to his web site at: www.williamrussellforcongress.com. If you want to know how to "support our soldiers," a good way to start is by backing candidate Russell.

The race is taking place in the 12th congressional district, which is east and south of Pittsburgh, PA. It's NOT a depressed area, but it hasn't truly shared in the economic growth of the rest of Pennsylvania or the country.

In 2006, Diana Lynn Irey, the first serious Republican candidate in many years, garnered approximately 80,000 votes against Murtha's approximately 120,000. What Diana achieved in her intense campaign was to build a foundation for future candidates, such as William Russell.

Some self-described experts think the 12th District is not winnable by a Republican, but they're wrong. The 12th has a big Democratic edge in registered voters. However, the same is true of my own district, the 4th (including all of Beaver County, and segments of Allegheny, Butler, and Lawrence counties, which are west and north of Pittsburgh).

In the 4th, Melissa Hart, who is running to regain the seat she lost in the Democratic Tsunami of 2006, won the seat three times. In short, she was the kind of candidate who campaigned well enough to overcome the Democratic advantage in registered voters.

In the 12th District race for the presidency in 2004, George W. Bush (not exactly the most popular politician in Pennsylvania) split the vote with John Kerry 50-50. Even though the 12th has a lot more Democrats than Republicans, it's a district where no Party has a lock on voters.

The key for William Russell is to target -- and win the votes -- of Democrats who have little in common with John Murtha. Recently, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette columnist Jack Kelly noted that 19% of the Democrats nationally wanted the U.S. to lose in Iraq. From all his statements in the past several years, John Murtha is one of those Democrats.

When Murtha called the Haditha Marines "cold-blooded killers," he stereotyped brave soldiers who had not been accused, let alone convicted, of any crime. Murtha made the accusations for his personal political gain, and he provided aid and comfort to sworn enemies of the U.S. As Jack Kelly suggested, people who like Benedict Arnold are going to love Jack Murtha.

In other words, William needs to appeal to the 80%-plus of Democrats who have a lot more in common with him on national security than they do with John Murtha. I've recommended to William that he introduce himself in this way: "I'm William Trower Russell. I'm a veteran of Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom, and I would very much appreciate your support in my campaign for Congress."

In fact, the people of the 12th District overwhelmingly support our troops, and the best way they can show that is by backing William.

There are literally million of Republican, Independents, and -- yes -- Democrats who can't stand John Murtha. If even a relatively small percentage of these people strongly support Willam Russell, he can win in 2008.

On 9/11/2001, Lt. Col. Russell and his wife were in the Pentagon when suicide bombers struck it. Where was Jack Murtha on 9/11? He was in his usual place, "Murtha's Corner," in Congress. He was doing what Jack Murtha does -- not defending America, but rather cutting political deals with a handful of congressmen who share his cynicism about public service. Which of these men do you want in Congress?

I hope you're one of those people. Go right now to his web site at: http://williamrussellforcongress.com/.

In 2006, Diana Irey got contributions from 7,000 people across the country. If William can get contributions from 10,000 Americans, he will win . . . in one of the most important races in the history of this country.