Am I the only one who thinks he did it because he expects Murphy to win in November and Carney lose? They’re both vulnerable, but Carney’s in a truly Republican-leaning district…

I don’t either Carney or Murphy should have replaced Murphy. We’ve got too many Blue Dogs mucking up the works as it is.

murphy has wilkes-barre ties also. he and his are king’s college grads. his brother JJ is also wilkes-barre city administrator.

Diano,

This garbage about Murphy being a Blue Dog and therefore not qualified for advancment in the Committee system or Leadership hierarchy needs to stop. As I said before, give the Congressman another term and see what his political philosophy looks like; he may be more in tune with you then you think. As Murphy continues to get re-elected and gain power in Congress he will strengthen and build the Democratic voter base in Bucks County.

If Murphy was a down the line liberal he would never be able to carry that district. Northern Bucks County may as well be the nether regions of hell if you are running as a Democrat. They breed some wacky Republicans up there. So either we get Blue Dog Murphy or Bush Lap Dog Fitzpatrick? We can both agree that we’d rather have Murphy than some swine from the Party of No.

One other thing, what other Democrat in the PA delegation would you like to see in the seat on Approps? Altmire and Holden didn’t go with us on healthcare, Carney is way more moderate and vulnerable than Muprhy, Dahlkemper is a freshman, and Fattah is already on Approps. I hate to put it so bluntly but Schwartz is pretty much a non entity back bencher on the Hill. Brady likes his role as mayor of the House which involves assigning Rayburn parking garage spaces and the like. The guy probably has more favors lined up than anyone on the Hill. Kanjorski is not giving up a Subcommittee chairmanship that brings him a boat load of PAC money from the financial industry. So Murphy pretty much would get it by default. If you have a better line of reasoning for someone else I’d love to hear it.

Question for al: after this primary is O’Brien the heir apparent to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton seat when Kanjo decides to hang it up? What do you all think NEPA congressional districts will look like after the upcoming resdistricting?

TB-
I’m not saying his isn’t qualified. I’m saying I’m sick and tired of the Blue Dogs f*cking things up, so I don’t want to see them on important/powerful committees.
We already have Chaka Fattah, which is good. We could add Brady.
Why does it have to be another PA rep?
There are over 150 Dems more liberal than Murphy.

Because somebody needs to bring home the bacon Diano.

TB-
“Bring home the bacon”? You mean the pork.

So, are you FOR the nepotism and cronyism?

Approps isn’t necessarily all about nepotism and cronyism. And if you are looking for someone who will bring increased transparency and public scrutiny to the earmarks process, Patrick Murphy is your man. If you make him an appropriator, you will have a young gun who believes in a greatly reformed and transparent earmark process.
After all, sunlight is the best antidote to corruption and cronyism.

EK-

Why on earth would you think that Murphy is vulnerable? Fitzpatrick is going to be the eventual nominee and he’s looking pretty damn weak against Murphy.

Carney, on the other hand, does look a bit more vulnerable, even though he’s sided with the GOP on some legislation in a traditionally conservative part of the state.

TB- How is it you think that Schwartz is a non-entity on the Hill? She’s got a lot of respect and pull in congress and I wouldn’t mind seeing her on Apropriations. She has a great mind for politics and is a champion for working people and the state.

flynnbw- I agree that Murphy would bring a lot of integrity to the job and he’s a rising star on the Hill.

Diano, bacon amd pork both come from swine and in this instance are interchangeable. Don’t be a nit picker. I do not believe in nepotism and cronyism. I believe that Pennsylvania was, is, and always will be the Keystone of our Union and therefore should have its voice heard on Approps. If Murphy had not ascended to this seat and it had left the hands of the Pennsylvania delegation, we would have had only one appropriator in the majority out of a 19 member House delegation. That is simply unacceptable. Also, I tend to agree with flynn’s comment that Murphy will approach his work on Approps with transparency. He seems to know that honesty is the best policy from the get go.

If you can think of a better way than the appropriations committee to disburse federal funds that eliminates nepotism and cronyism all together then let’s hear it. Transparent government is a noble goal and we should constantly strive for it but keep in mind that our government is one of human institutions. Humans and our institutions are inherently imperfect.

Ed, my apoloies for my hasty dismissal of Ms. Schwartz.

I am a conservative, But i have to disagree with the attacks on Schwartz as a back bench-er. She is on Ways and Means which is a great committee and some ways more powerful than Aprops (Unlike other committees their efforts cannot be thwarted by Aprops), For example Ed and labor sets a new grant program, but Aprops can not fund it, While if Ways and Means aets nerw Tax Policy, there is nopthing around it.

Schwartz had a choice, Be a player on tax policy making, with some seniority, or go and be a low ranking member on Aprops. She made the better choice.

I think Patrick Murphy was an excellent pick for Appropriations. I don’t think you’ll find a more trustworthy congressman in PA (or the country for that matter).

TB-
There are 50 states, and YOU find it unacceptable to have less than 2 out of 19.

But the 2nd one, Murphy, is very far from the left or center of the Dems. A non-PA center-left Dem would be more representative of the party and better for PA than having another Blue Dog because Murphy simply doesn’t have the proper Dem philosophy to be representing the party on such an important committee.