Murtha: People in western PA are rednecks

[Manedwolf]

Will someone kick this clown out of office already? And make him liable for the ___ that comes out of his mouth, particularly about soldiers?

Rep. Murtha Clarifies 'Racist' Remark, Calls Western Pa. 'Redneck'

Democratic Rep. John Murtha said Monday some of his constituents in western Pennsylvania are "rednecks" and the entire region just five to 10 years ago was "really redneck."

The comments come one week after he called his own constituents "racist" in an interview with his local newspaper.

"What I said, that indicted everybody, that's not what I meant at all. What I mean is there's still folks that have a problem voting for someone because they are black," Murtha said.

Murtha said the history of southwestern Pennsylvania is teeming with racism. "This whole area, years ago, was really redneck," he told WTAE-TV Pittsburgh.

Murtha, a Democrat, apologized last week for calling the area "racist," but challenger Bill Russell said it was a reckless insult to the people in his district and the "cheapest of cheap shots."

Russell, an Iraq war veteran, swiftly put out a 30-second Web video on Murtha's quote and plastered his Web site with references to it, using it as a fundraising pitch with 19 days to go until the Nov. 4 election.

"It shows once again how much he has lost touch with our constituents," Russell told FOXNews.com on Thursday. "A lot of people are ticked off. It's just one more issue that is ticking off a lot of our constituents and why so many of them feel it is time for a change."

Murtha has held his seat for 17 terms, and Democrats outnumber Republicans by two-to-one in the state's 12th District -- but Russell, a first-time candidate, said the latest development should give him a boost.

Russell, a 28-year Army veteran who recently retired, has been railing against Murtha, also a veteran, for calling for the withdrawal of troops in Iraq and for voting for the financial bailout package.

"We're very much running a race and it may or may not have occurred to him yet," Russell said.

Russell's been almost keeping pace with Murtha on fundraising. The latest finance reports showed Murtha raised $2.1 million for the race. A Russell spokesman said the GOP campaign pulled in $1.6 million in that period.

Murtha touched off the latest firestorm when he offered the possibility that his home base could reduce Barack Obama's margin in Pennsylvania by a few points, though he still expects the Democrat to win the state.

"There is no question that western Pennsylvania is a racist area," he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, accounting for potential Election Day poll numbers.

On Thursday, Murtha said he was sorry.

"I apologize for making the comment that 'Western Pennsylvania is a racist area,'" he said in a statement.

"While we cannot deny that race is a factor in this election, I believe we've been able to look beyond race these past few months, and that voters today are concerned with the policy differences of our two candidates and their vision for the future of our great country," he said.

Russell said some voters will always hold "racist attitudes," but that voters in western Pennsylvania who break with Obama will mostly do so over his views on issues like abortion and gun control.

"To take that and apply that to the entire population itself in western Pennsylvania, as he did, is absolutely wrong," Russell said.

But Murtha's campaign chided Russell, who only recently moved to western Pennsylvania, for calling the Democratic veteran out of touch.

"Someone who has lived in Pennsylvania for less than three months can't possibly be an expert on the views and needs of Pennsylvanians," spokesman Matthew Mazonkey said in a statement to FOXNews.com.

http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/10/21/rep-murtha-calls-western-pa-redneck/

[Viking]

Anything wrong with being a redneck now? Oh yes, I forgot...they make urban liberals wet their pants, what with them being self reliant, and less likely to depend on the all-knowing, almost-benevolent state .

[Manedwolf]

Anything wrong with being a redneck now? Oh yes, I forgot...they make urban liberals wet their pants, what with them being self reliant, and less likely to depend on the all-knowing, almost-benevolent state .

He is using it as a synonym for "racist", race card for Obama, etc.

[Viking]

He is using it as a synonym for "racist", race card for Obama, etc.

"Racist" has lost it's meaning over here, and I figure it's the same for you? Oh noez, they dont want to vote for the Obamessiah, they must be teh racist!1111!!!!
...or they just don't want socialism...

[Lennyjoe]

Something tells me his political career ends after this election.

[Viking]

Something tells me his political career ends after this election.

Would it involve tar, feathers and a piece of rail?

[Manedwolf]

Would it involve tar, feathers and a piece of rail?

In case you hadn't known, this guy publicly said that Marines deliberately murdered Iraqi civilians "in cold blood". They were completely exonerated, and some are now suing him.

[Viking]

In case you hadn't known, this guy publicly said that Marines deliberately murdered Iraqi civilians "in cold blood". They were completely exonerated, and some are now suing him.

Yeah, I knew that one. Bastard, he deserves to be kicked in the groin a few times to begin with...

[Harold Tuttle]

I were in Johnstown PA last weekend

i seen a few Yinzers, Hunkies & I-talians

I also seen some Jamaican Americans hangin out behind the gas station

I also seen a few McCain signs outside of da big city

[MechAg94]

Rednecks?  And here I thought y'all were all just Quaker.  :D

I thought redneck was once more of a southern term, but I guess not anymore. 

[freedom lover]

Nope. You'll find them in most any poor rural area.

 All of the ancestors on my fathers side were quite poor. I don't think any of them would have liked handouts.

There's a difference between poor rural people, rednecks, and welfare bums. A poor rural type has more taste than a redneck and is less hillbilly-ish. A real hillbilly doesn't accept welfare, they have to much pride. The bums are the decendants of hillbillys. They live off welfare.

[Harold Tuttle]

You Might Be A Redneck if
You think "loading the dishwasher" means getting your wife drunk.
You ever cut your grass and found a car.
You own a home that is mobile and 5 cars that aren't.
You think the stock market has a fence around it.
Your stereo speakers used to belong to the Drive-in Theater.
Your boat has not left the drive-way in 15 years.
You own a homemade fur coat.
Chiggers are included on your list of top 5 hygiene concerns.
You burn your yard rather than mow it.
Your wife has ever said, "Come move this transmission so I can take a bath."
You read the Auto Trader with a highlight pen.
The Salvation Army declines your mattress.
You've ever raked leaves in your kitchen.
Birds are attracted to your beard.
Your wife's job requires her to wear an orange vest.
You were shooting pool when any of your kids were born.
You have the local taxidermist's number on speed dial.
You've ever hit a deer with your car...deliberately.
Your school fight song was "Dueling Banjos".
You think a chain saw is a musical instrument.
You've ever given rat traps as gifts.
You clean your fingernails with a stick.
Your coffee table used to be a cable spool.
You keep a can of RAID on the kitchen table.
Your wife can climb a tree faster than your cat.
Your mother has "ammo" on her Christmas list.
Every socket in your house breaks a fire code.
You've totaled every car you've ever owned.
There are more than five McDonald's bags in your car.
The Home Shopping operator recognizes your voice.
There has ever been crime-scene tape on your bathroom door.
You've ever been kicked out of the zoo for heckling the monkeys.
The taillight covers of your car are made of red tape.
You think a subdivision is part of a math problem.
You've ever bathed with flea and tick soap.
You think "taking out the trash" means taking your in-laws to a movie.
You have every episode of Hee-Haw on tape.
You've ever been involved in a custody fight over a hunting dog.
Your considered an expert on wormbeds.
Your kids take a siphon hose to "Show and Tell."
The dog catcher calls for a backup unit when visiting your house.
You've ever bought a used cap.
Your CB antenna is a danger to low-flying planes.
You pick your teeth from a catalog.
You've ever financed a tattoo.
You've ever stolen toilet paper.
You think a hot tub is a stolen bathroom fixture.
People hear your car a long time before they see it.
The gas pedal on your car is shaped like a bare foot.
You prefer car keys to Q-tips.

[Regolith]

Your wife's job requires her to wear an orange vest.

That one reminds me of

"If you work without a shirt on and so does your wife, you might be a redneck."

[Hawkmoon]

Will someone kick this clown out of office already? And make him liable for the ___ that comes out of his mouth, particularly about soldiers?

"Someone who has lived in Pennsylvania for less than three months can't possibly be an expert on the views and needs of Pennsylvanians," spokesman Matthew Mazonkey said in a statement to FOXNews.com.

But someone who moved to New York specifically to run for the Senate from there is obviously an expert on the views and needs of New Yorkers, because she's ... well ... a Democrat, that's what she is.

[slingshot]

I sure hope that Murtha has cooked his goose.  Unfortunately, he'll probably still win re-election.  Accountability does not exist unless there is a major organization pushing against their re-election.  That doesn't happen much.

Speaking from the perspective of a former resident; most vote "D" on the ballot.

He is an embarrassment to his party and the people who elected him.  BUT he gets the $$ for his area. 

[Hutch]

You might be a redneck if:

You've ever gotten too drunk to fish.

Your mother doesn't remove the Marlboro from between her lips as she tells a State Trooper to kiss her @$$.

[Harold Tuttle]

the federal jobs that Murtha has pork barreled into "dawntawn" Johnstown guarantee his re-election

theres a huge project at the old Sani Dairy site

Murtha tours Johnstown tech park
By DAN DiPAOLO
Daily American 30 North Chief
Friday, September 5, 2008 10:58 PM EDT
JOHNSTOWN — Rep. John Murtha and his wife, Joyce, joined business leaders, city and state officials for a tour of the Conemaugh Health System’s Greater Johnstown Technology Park on Friday.

The hard hat tour took place as workers from P.J. Dick continued to weld, paint, tape and build the $22.5 million facility around the group of 20 visitors.

Doug Brown, a construction superintendent for P.J. Dick, said the goal is to move the first tenant, Northrop Grumman, into the building on Oct. 30.