PA-08 Roundup

Lots of press releases and other info floating around today on the 8th congressional district.

Howard at Philly Future has posted a link to an article on PhillyBurbs about the odd bits of Montgomery County and Philadelphia that have been tacked on to the 8th district. Interesting stuff -- and worth remembering when the next round of redistricting is done after the 2010 census. (In 2004 Andy Warren was quoted in Bucks County Courier Times as saying that people in Bucks County were innately more civilized than those in Montgomery County, which will surely help ease these tensions).

Andy Warren has been endorsed by the Allentown Morning Call, the paper that brings us the beauteous John Micek and his always thought-provoking Capitol Ideas. Allentown is not, however, in the 8th district. [Update -- Yes, I do know that the MC does have a lot of subscribers in the 8th. I put this in primarily in response to the Warren campaign's questioning of Murphy's residence in the district, down to their checking to see if the house he grew up in inside district lines or outside of it by a matter of blocks. If you nitpick at that level you should expect some nitpicking back.]

Patrick Murphy would like us to know that 40 of his volunteers from MurphyCorps showed up to give blood last week, and that he planted trees at an Earth Day celebration in Middletown. (Mr. Jane was out planting trees for 2 hours on Saturday also, although at a different locale. It is not easy work, but I was relieved to find out there was a good reason for him to be keeping a pick axe and a shovel in the trunk of the car.)

And, lastly, the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America Political Action Committee would like Andy Warren and his campaign staff and volunteers to stop denigrating Patrick Murphy's military service. I've mentioned before that I'm from a military family and I really have a problem with this. A lawyer in the 82nd Airborne still has to jump out of a few planes. A lawyer on the field in a war doesn't have a magic bubble around him that keeps the bullets and bombs out. A recent letter to the editor of the Bucks County Courier Times referred to his work in Iraq as that of a "claims adjustor," but I think resolving disputes in a war zone is a little different than looking at the damage from a fender bender on the Blue Route. Unless you were over there yourself at the same time in the same place and can speak to the circumstances personally, I don't think you should say a whole lot. So, I would request that those who do not want Murphy in office find something else to hang their hat on. Being a veteran doesn't automatically make someone fit for office, but it's nothing to sneeze at either.