HOW DO WE TAKE BACK THE HOUSE?

Here's a place to start: Patrick Murphy of Penn-sylvania. First the story, fast as I can tell it.

The kid grew up in Northeast Philly, the son of a cop, worked his way through college and got the law degree. He did legal aid for poor people in Harrisburg as well as working as a prosecutor. He went into the Army in 1993, became a JAG attorney, went to Bosnia and then to Baghdad with the 82nd Airborne where he earned the Bronze Star. Murphy's taught at West Point and lectured around town and around the world.

And he wants us to get out of Iraq.

The latest addition to the Patrick Murphy story is the mid-campaign wedding to local girl Jenni Safford. They met while working together at a Philadelphia law firm.

Murphy's plan for Iraq is to withdraw the National Guard and the Reserves by summertime, then send home 50,000 more troops by the end of 2006. The rest of the troops would pull back and protect the borders with Iran and Syria, and an elite strike force would remain in the region, either in Iraq or Kuwait. He calls for a timeline for withdrawal and a clear plan from the White House. In making his case Murphy takes a first person perspective:

"I spent 7 months in Iraq as a JAG officer, assisting local Iraqi officials and U.S. forces create and maintain the rule of law. Having seen my share of combat, I am keenly aware of how security, military operations, and local politics are woven into a complex web of challenges that often defy simple solutions.

"But even in complex situations, the truth is the truth. And the truth is that we have asked far too much of our National Guard and Reserves fighting in Iraq. It is time to bring them home now and create a framework for drawing down our regular forces in 2006....

"To those who say this idea fails to clean up the mess we created in Iraq, let me tell you as someone who has been there that staying the current course actually undermines the mission of our troops and will not fix anything."

Patrick Murphy's website is thoughtful and detailed. He's got a commitment to what bloggers and the media are calling the netroots, and that's a commitment to democracy. The site gives simple, straightforward progressive stances on the things that matter and his signature issues, Iraq, veterans, and corruption are backed up with readable position papers.

http://www.murphy06.com

Murphy believes in choice, stem cell research, healthcare for all, and balancing the deficit. He's against the war, drilling in ANWR, letting drug companies write our drug policy and letting oil companies write our energy policy.

The incumbent, Mike Fitzpatrick is having trouble extricating himself from the Tom DeLay scandal. His healthcare position does offer some positive band-aids, but mostly hews to the PA Republican party line, which is that capping consumer lawsuits will solve everything. He voted against stem cell research, he's for the war and against a woman's right to choose. In his favor, he does have a half decent record on the environment; League of Conservation Voters gives him a 61%. That's ballsy for a Republican, but de rigueur for any politician in the Philly suburbs.

http://www.capwiz.com/lcv/bio/keyvotes/?id=150964&congress=1092&lvl=C

The Pennsylvania 8th is one of the key swing districts in the United States. Gore and Kerry won here by a few percentage points. This is one of those races that has national implications, and it's one of those districts that Democrats need to reach out to. Electing a smart, solid Democrat will go a long way in the long term toward turning PA blue. Putting more Democrats on the streets knocking on doors will also help Bob Casey Jr. beat Senator Rick Santorum. The 8th has a lot of swing voters per square inch.

If you want to take back the House and you're agonizing over where to send your money, look no further.

http://www.murphy06.com/tocontribute.html

And here's a blog of support from the netroots:
http://www.mydd.com/story/2006/5/31/213730/972