Patrick Murphy Endorsed by Inquirer

Patrick Murphy, leading contender for the Democratic nomination in the 8th Pennsylvania congressional district, has been endorsed by the Philadelphia Inquirer. Read here.

Excerpt:

A native of Northeast Philadelphia, Murphy is the son of a city cop. He has worked as a staffer in the Pennsylvania legislature and in the U.S. Attorney's Office in New York. The lawyer joined the Army in 1993 and served two deployments as a JAG Corps officer, in Bosnia and Iraq. It's a background that could help Congress overcome its inability to police itself. Murphy, who favors tougher ethics rules to fight corruption, says: "People do not believe in our government anymore."

Few candidates for Congress have as intimate an understanding of the Iraq war as Murphy, who supports bringing the troops home this year. He called U.S. soldiers "targets with no clear mission."

Murphy, who is endorsed by the party, advocates abortion rights and supports federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research. He would expand the federal children's health insurance program, and calls cuts to Medicaid "Mike Fitzpatrick's legacy."