I grew up reading comic books wanting to be a superhero. Comics taught me that those who speak the truth are heroes, all the rest are liars.

Monday, September 11, 2006

Murtha to Visit Minnesota In Support of Coleen Rowley!

Congressman John Murtha (D-Penn.) will visit Minnesota to support Second District Congressional Candidate Coleen Rowley on Sunday, September 17th. Congressman Murtha, Minnesota's senior Congressman, Jim Oberstar (D-MN 8th) and Ms. Rowley will meet U.S. military veterans and the public at the Rosemount American Legion Post No. 65 at noon.

Press release from the campaign:
Northfield, MN, September 11, 2006--Congressman John Murtha (D-Penn.) will visit Minnesota to support Second District Congressional Candidate Coleen Rowley on Sunday, September 17th. Congressman Murtha is a 37-year Veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps who has served in the U.S. Congress since 1975. He has taken the lead in Washington by proposing to redeploy American troops in Iraq with a resolution widely known as "The Murtha Plan."

A strong proponent of U.S. defense and security initiatives throughout his 32 years in Congress, Murtha regularly visits wounded soldiers at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland. Congressman Murtha's Iraq redeployment plan is based on those conversations. By visiting the troops who are in harm's way in Iraq, Murtha learns about conditions on the ground, training and equipment issues from those who have experienced the situation first-hand. Murtha was awarded the Navy Distinguished Service Medal by the Marine Corps Commandant when he retired from the Marines.

Congressman Murtha, Minnesota's senior Congressman, Jim Oberstar (D-MN 8th) and Candidate Coleen Rowley will meet U.S. military veterans and the public at the Rosemount American Legion Post No. 65 at noon. The event is free and open to the public.

Jim Oberstar began representing Minnesota's Eighth Congressional District in Congress in 1975, and is now in his 16th term, the longest service in the U.S. House of Representatives from the state of Minnesota. Oberstar is now the senior Democrat on the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and says it's natural for Congressman Murtha to visit Minnesota to support Coleen Rowley: "They speak the same language of truth, integrity and telling it like it is," Oberstar said. "They are my good friends and I admire them for standing up and telling Americans the inconvenient truths and how to address the mistakes that this Administration has made."

Coleen Rowley, the DFL-endorsed candidate in Minnesota's Second Congressional District, running unopposed in her party's primary, will face Republican incumbent John Kline in the general election November 7th. According to the Rowley campaign, Kline has voted with the Bush Administration 95% of the time and is a leading advocate for the Administration on the Iraq war as well as privatization of Social Security.

Rowley has consistently opposed the Iraq war since before it was launched, stating that there was no link to al Qaeda, as the Administration and her opponent both claim. Rowley is a 24-year veteran of the F.B.I. and was a Time Magazine "Person of the Year" in 2002 as a whistleblower on intelligence failures prior to 9/11.

Rowley noted, by way of contrast, that Kline's continued praise for and defense of George Bush and Donald Rumsfeld is not playing well in the district. "Bush and Kline's cumulative refusal to admit mistakes by "staying the course" comes at too high a cost to the country. So the race here in Minnesota's 2nd District is shaping up as a key one that could help John Murtha re-take the Chairmanship of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee and Jim Oberstar become the next Transportation Committee Chair."

The public is invited to call Coleen Rowley's campaign headquarters in Northfield at (507) 664-3850 for more information about Congressman Murtha's visit.

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