An incumbent who is not worried ignores his opponents. An incumbent who is very worried reacts to his opponents.
Murtha is crapping cinder blocks about now. He has hitched himself so closely to the antiwar movement that he has no chance of distancing himself come November.
LOL...I think you nailed it. He'll have a very hard time trying to explain the ties to that antiwar movement.
"Murtha is crapping cinder blocks ... "
Maybe, but not necessarily. The left hates opposition and hates people who -- in any serious way, like Diana Irey -- oppose them. For these thugs, loudly expressing their contempt for us is its own reward. It's not neccessarily that they're worried Murtha will lose. More likely, they are just reacting naturally to the fact that people are denouncing them. For the left, the natural reaction is to scream and threaten.
In addition, certain people will believe anything they see on TV, and this will be on TV with no negative commentary or disapproving tone from the anchor or the reporter, so a few votes will be gained for Murtha. Some might be lost, too, but they'd be lost sooner or later anyway. In addition, from the liberals' standpoint, there is one more plus: The anti-Irey demonstration might shake up a few of Irey's supporters and get them to keep quiet or not attend the rally the next day. At least, that's how these thugs think.