Patrick Murphy (D-PA) for House

Patrick Murphy

Running for: House
Party: Democrat
State: Pennsylvania - 8th District
What you should know: If re-elected, Murphy will be the only 2-term Iraq war veteran in Congress.

As a soldier in the U.S. Army, Patrick Murphy served in Bosnia and fought in the current Iraq war - a war he is now fighting hard to end. A lawyer who taught constitutional law and ethics at West Point, he trained Iraqi Civil Defense Forces on rules of engagement as well as serving combat duty. He was instrumental in the prosecution of Sheik Moyad, a radical lieutenant of Muqtada Sadr. He was awarded the Bronze Star and his unit earned the Presidential Unit Citation.

When he returned from the war, determined to bring his fellow soldiers home, he spoke out and eventually decided to run for Congress. Murphy challenged freshman Republican Mike Fitzpatrick in Pennsylvania's 8th Congressional District. Fitzpatrick began as an ardent supporter of the war, stating that decisions about the war should be made by military commanders, not "political whims." However, finding himself running against an Iraq veteran calling for withdrawal, he switched his position and called for a "better, smarter plan in Iraq" without details. However, in the same statement Fitzpatrick criticized Murphy for calling for withdrawal. The voters were not impressed with Fitzpatrick's fickleness, and Murphy won a close 1,500 vote victory over the incumbent.

In Congress, Murphy quickly emerged as one of his party's spokesmen for the effort to bring U.S. troops home from Iraq. Shortly after being sworn in, he teamed with Senator Barack Obama and Congressman Mike Thompson to introduce the Iraq De-Escalation Act of 2007 which would withdraw all U.S. combat troops from Iraq by March 1, 2008. In the heated debates over Democratic attempts to pass anti-war legislation that followed, Murphy was selected to deliver the closing arguments for withdrawal.

In a speech on the House floor condemning President Bush's "surge" strategy, Murphy said:

"A few blocks away from this great Chamber is the Vietnam Memorial, where half the soldiers listed on that wall died after America's leaders knew our strategy would not work. It was immoral then, and it would be immoral now to engage in the same delusion. That is why sending more troops into the civil war is the wrong strategy."

Republicans are eager to silence this effective voice for peace, and the close vote on 2006 makes them think they can win in 2008. You can help Patrick Murphy in his effort to end the Iraq war.

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