Is Jim Moran on the Hot Seat?
FrumForum recently spoke to Patrick Murray, a GOP primary candidate who hopes to unseat Democrat Jim Moran in Virgina’s 8th congressional district. In the interview, Murray, a resident of Alexandria and a 24-year veteran of the U.S. Army stressed his national security credentials, referring to the decision to Mirandize the Christmas bomber as a “colossal mistake” and pushed for keeping Guantanamo open.
The 8th Congressional District of Virginia, located just west of Washington, D.C., encompasses Alexandria, Falls Church, as well as parts of Arlington and Fairfax County. The district has voted Democratic for nearly twenty years, electing Jim Moran to eleven terms. Moran, of course, is no stranger to controversy. His comments about Jewish support for the Iraq war landed him in hot water. Plus, he’s also under investigation by the House ethics committee for possibly allocating government contracts to a now-defunct defense appropriations lobbying group, which then donated nearly a million dollars over ten years to Moran’s PAC.
Could 2010 be the year voters in the 8th District decide they want someone different? According to a recent CNN poll, only one-third of voters believe that members of Congress deserve to keep their jobs. Anti-incumbent feeling is running incredibly high at the moment, which may portend significant upheaval in the 2010 Congressional elections. Republican candidate Patrick Murray certainly hopes so.
*Update- Congressman Jim Moran was cleared of any wrongdoing by the House Ethics Committee on Friday, Feb 26th. However, the lobbying group PMA continues to be investigated by the Justice Department for alleged improper campaign donations to lawmakers.
Murray on Extending Rights to Terror Detainees:
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yo1CBsRmJnw
On the status of Guantanamo Bay:
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxklgehGRmg
On Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell:
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3mHiFO1IXw
On Local Issues:
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNRk2DqV8fo