I was a bit surprised to see so much activity here over the announcement of Rep. John Murtha's (PA-12) endorsement of Hillary Clinton. I'm not sure if it's the lack of Hillary endorsements recently, disappointment over his choice, or some other factor. I've posted several thoughts in the comments of the original diary, but thought I could kind of pull things together in my own (and my debut!) diary to see if I could give my view on exactly what kind of impact this has on the race. Thoughts after the jump...
Who is John Murtha?
Murtha has been in Congress since 1974. He is the former (1995-2007) ranking member as well as former and current (1991-1995, 2007-present) chairman of the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee. In 1980 he was caught up in the ABSCAM sting where federal investigators posed as go-betweens for Saudi Arabian investors hoping to bribe their way into immigrating to the United States. Though he was filmed meeting with operatives, he never agreed to the bribes/investments offered and was therefore not charged.
This affair has remained with him throughout his career, and was a possible factor in his failed bid for House Majority Leader following the 2006 elections.
In 2005 he publicly called for the redeployment of US troops out of Iraq, citing mismanagement of the war by the Pentagon as well as the lack of any clear military objectives to be acheived by further occupation.
Who are John Murtha's constituents?
With the shrinking population (and congressional delegation) of Pennsylvania over recent decades, Murtha's district (see map) has expanded beyond merely the Johnstown area, now stretching westward to the southwest border of the state and including all of Greene County and parts of Allegheny, Armstrong, Cambria, Fayette, Indiana, Somerset, Washington, and Westmoreland Counties.
That's the academic piece. Let me tell you more about the area from over twenty years of growing up there.
This region has never recovered from when the steel business died off in Pittsburgh. That industry was literally fueled by the coal mined from rural areas then shipped by barge down the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers to Pittsburgh. The southwestern portion of the state especially has been hit hard by poverty and unemployment.
In many respects, this region is stuck in an earlier generation that is rapidly dying out: economically, socially, racially and demographically. Pennsylvania as a whole has one of the older populations in America and the PA-12 district is a prime example. Many live off of a pension (if they're lucky) and Social Security. Student participation in the free or reduced-price lunch program is well over 90% throughout many counties. New industries are not interested in setting up shop because the population is aging rapidly and generally not educated past high school. Younger people who pursue a college degree either leave the area for good or take a teaching job for around $21,000 a year to start.
A Volkswagen manufacturing plant closed there in the early 1990s. It took nearly ten years and substantial tax breaks for Sony to take over the facility and make television sets there. This is an area that is constantly and desperately in need of aid.
Enter John Murtha. It's no secret that he brings home the bacon in the form of earmarks; it's part of why he is so beloved in this area. Another reason is his voting record: rating of A from the National Rifle Association, 0% from NARAL and a vote against NAFTA. He exudes an air of no-nonsense pragmatism to his constituents who generally won't be brought into the more abstract parts of political discourse.
They want to know when new jobs are coming, if they can continue to afford to gas up their cars and trucks, and when their sons, daughters, nieces, nephews and grandchildren are coming home from the wars.
They don't want undefined talk of "hope" and "change" and "challenges"; they want to know that their cog in the big Washington machine is still turning and will deliver help in the only way they've known for decades.
Talk of reaching out to heal the wounds of racial conflict doesn't resonate here, African-Americans are a tiny fraction of the population.
What is the impact of this endorsement?
Negligible at best. John Murtha has been a stalwart fighter for his people in Washington, and I recognize and applaud him for having his constituents' interests at heart. He is an old-time player on a shrinking field, a Beltway dinosaur still holding court over his withering habitat. Despite his earlier outspoken calls for an end to the Iraq invasion, he is far from a being an agent of change. A public endorsement of Hillary today was notable for only for its timing, as I'm sure he has been supporting her from the day her candidacy was launched. He's an establishment man backing the establishment candidate... nothing more, nothing less.