MichaelMoore.com

Murtha's a star on the campaign trail

By Mark Preston / CNN

WASHINGTON -- Eight months ago, Rep. John Murtha (D-Pennsylvania) choked back tears when he called for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq saying the "military has accomplished its mission and done its duty."

It was a stunning statement from this decorated Marine veteran, who had established a long record in Congress of being a hawk on defense matters. Republicans criticized Murtha, but he was immediately showered with praise by likeminded Democrats.

Murtha continues to speak out against the war, but his words now have a sharper political edge.

"To all the Republicans who sit in their air-conditioned offices and talk of the courage it takes for them to keep young kids in harm's way - I say enough," Murtha wrote in a fundraising letter sent Friday on behalf of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. "Karl Rove talking about 'cutting and running' while he sits on his big, fat backside-saying 'stay the course.' I say enough! That's not a plan! We've got to have a new direction, and it's clear we need more Democrats in Congress to get that done."

His willingness to lock horns with President Bush and his top political advisor Rove on the issue of Iraq has made Murtha a political star on the campaign trail. Today, he attends a fundraiser in Pittsburgh for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. This event follows on the heels of Murtha's keynote speech at the Palm Beach County Jefferson-Jackson Dinner Saturday night in West Palm Beach, Florida. He heads to New Hampshire in late July to attend the Hampton Democratic Town Committee's annual picnic.

At least once a week, the Pennsylvania Democrat is participating in a campaign event for House Democrats, and he has helped to raise more than $1 million for the DCCC, according to figures provided to the Grind by the campaign organization.

A Murtha spokeswoman said he has received "hundreds of requests" since his November declaration. So many, the spokeswoman said, that "he could not have physically done them all since November."

Wahid Mahmood, chairman of the Palm Beach County Democratic Party, told the Grind that he invited Murtha to speak because the Pennsylvania Democrat is a "well known Congressman, who has been very forthcoming and a steadfast leader on Capitol Hill for years." But Mahmood acknowledged that Murtha's willingness to take on the President is certainly part of the reason why he asked him to keynote the dinner this weekend.

"What Jack Murtha is saying is we need a new direction in Iraq ... not the same rhetoric that this President and this political party are trying to tell us," Mahmood said. "What Jack Murtha is saying and many Americans are saying, 'We need a new direction.'"

Should Democrats take control of the House in November, Murtha has said he will run for majority leader and most likely will seek to cash in all of his political "chits."