The real Dem. candidate for the House in the 8th District of Pennsylvania is Patrick Murphy. He is one of the fighting Dems - he was an Army officer who served in Iraq.
His Democratic opponent is Andy Warren. Up until last year, Warren was a life-long Republican. He tried to run for this same seat as a Republican in 2004, but the local GOP boss picked Fitzpatrick instead. Suddenly, Warren decided he is now a Democrat.
An attorney who is a supporter of Warren is now challenging Murphy's right to be on the ballot based on extreme technicalities. The challenge was filed under the name of a woman who was convicted of forging signatures in her own election petition.
The challenge under State law must be filed by a Democrat. The woman who filed it used to be a Republican.
The 8th District in PA. is a key race that deserves our support. It is one of the few districts in PA. where there is great potential to throw a right wing nut out of office. John Kerry won the district in 2004. (Although the boundaries changed slightly, Clinton won the area twice and Gore also won it.) The district includes Bucks County in the suburbs north of Philadelphia.
Murphy was not only an officer in the 82nd Airborne in Iraq, and a paratrooper, but also was a prosecutor in Philadelphia. He previously taught at West Point and now lectures at Widener's Law School. In addition, he served in a legal clinic for the poor. While in Iraq, he earned the Bronze Star and worked to reform Iraq's legal system. He also served in the Army in Bosnia. He comes from a family full of persons who served in the military and as police officers.
The Republican, Fitzpatrick, is a freshman incumbent from the Tom Delay wing of the party. He is a staunch anti-abortionist.
Links:
http://www.ourcongress.org/...
http://www.dailykos.com/...
Here is Murphy's website:
http://www.murphy06.com/...
(I live in a different district that is non-competitive. I've chosen this district as one where I can help influence the result.)