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Russell Speaks at Tea Party Express EventCalls on Citizens to “Guard This Nation”September 9, 2009 (JOHNSTOWN, PA) – Republican 12th Congressional district candidate William Russell called on citizens to “Guard this nation” in a speech to a large crowd gathered at Johnstown’s Central Park Wednesday evening, as part of the National Tea Party Express. Crossing the nation and calling on all Americans to oppose the out-of-control spending, higher taxes, bailouts and growth in the size of government, the Tea Party Express is expected to draw hundreds of thousands to the final stop in Washington DC on Saturday. The following is...

About 300 - 400 patriots turned out for the Indiana, Pa. Tea Party in front of the Indiana County Courthouse. Not a bad turnout for a little-advertised event in a small town! There were Republicans, Democrats and Independents present. We had one disruptor carrying an "obama" sign who said his parents were going to lose their house and Obama took care of it for them. Just wait until "obamacare" throws them under the bus! He was yelling "obama! Obama!". We yelled "USA! USA!" The speaker pointed out that he had the right to free speech as well and everybody cheered!...

Murtha Rival Says Congressman's Top Aide Threatened to Have Him Court-Martialed Bill Russell, an Iraq war veteran who served with the Army, says Rep. John Murtha's chief of staff threatened to have him court-martialed when he ran against the Democratic congressman in 2008. By Judson Berger FOXNews.com Wednesday, May 13, 2009 Talk about hardball politics. Rep. John Murtha's opponent in the 2008 election claims the Pennsylvania congressman's chief of staff has threatened to have him recalled to active duty and court-martialed for campaigning while in the military, which is in violation of military code. Bill Russell, an Iraq war veteran...

Although six months have passed since Republican William Russell was defeated by Democratic U.S. Rep. John Murtha, the bad blood between the two camps lives on. Russell, a retired Army man who plans another run against Murtha next year, now contends that the congressman’s chief of staff used coarse language while threatening to have the GOP candidate “recalled” to active military duty. Russell further claims that Murtha’s office has contacted his former commanding officer, also to inquire about a potential recall. “This is a brazen abuse of power and a threat to the integrity of both the Department of Defense...

JOHNSTOWN (10.28.08): Former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson (R-TN) is appearing in a new :60 radio spot that begins airing throughout the 12th Congressional District today. The following is Senator Thompson’s portion of the just released commercial: “This is Fred Thompson. Whether it’s condemning Marines or insulting his own constituents, John Murtha has apparently forgotten who he works for. This year folks in the 12th District have a choice. Retired Lieutenant Colonel Bill Russell will be a strong, outspoken voice for families, fiscal responsibility and our values. Bill Russell will serve in Congress with honor as he served his country before.”

The anti-incumbent tide is so strong this electoral season it just might sweep out one of the most powerful bulls from the House of Representatives. Residents in Pennsylvania's 12 District have tolerated much controversy from Rep. John Murtha (Pa.) but his recent remarks about some Pennsylvanians being "racist" could end his 34-year Washington career. Murtha’s recent accusation that some voters in his state are “racist” has given his Republican opponent William Russell, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, some much-needed ammunition to unseat the incumbent. “There is no question that western Pennsylvania is a racist area,” Murtha told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette....

Recent polls in Pennsylvania show that Rep. Jack Murtha, the Democrat Congressman who said our troops “were murdering innocent civilians in Iraq,” is in serious political trouble this election cycle. His opponent, Republican Bill Russell, a retired Army colonel, is taking on Murtha with very little media attention thanks to the Democrat lackeys who run the mainstream news media. In one poll, according to blogger and author Michelle Malkin, Bill Russell is leading John Murtha among over 800 probable voters by 48-35. ... read more

Vets for Freedom is proud to announce its support of Bill Russell for United States Congress in the 12th District of Pennsylvania. Bill and his family represent the symbol of American patriotism. A third generation soldier, Bill attended West Point, eventually retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel after 28 years of Active and Reserve Duty, including six tours of duty in war zones. These deployments include Operation Desert Storm, Kosovo and most recently Operation Iraqi Freedom. On September 11th, 2001, Bill and his pregnant wife were working at the Pentagon when Al Qaeda brought war to America’s shores. After confirming...

On Friday, October 17, news broke that Rep. John Murtha told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that Barack Obama might have tough sledding in his home area: "There is no question that western Pennsylvania is a racist area." Trying to add context to his remarks, Murtha later said many in Western Pennsylvania were "rednecks" several years ago. Now he’s in danger of losing his House seat. But have the national media noticed? ABC, CBS, and NBC all brushed past the remarks in stories on other, broader subjects, as did NPR. Time and Newsweek have run nothing. Even the major newspapers – The...

About Contact Archives RSS Columns Photos About Contact Archives RSS Columns Photos Michelle Malkin Breaking: New poll shows Russell over Murtha, 48-35 By Michelle Malkin • October 23, 2008 02:58 PM A Pennsylvania source has just leaked me brand spanking new poll data showing GOP upstart Bill Russell leading John Murtha among over 800 probable voters by 48-35. This comes on top of the Susquehanna poll showing Murtha ahead of Russell by 4 points, within the margin of error. The new poll is from Dane and Associates, which surveyed over 800 probable voters, randomly selected to reflect the district makeup,...

  Blog  |  Talk Radio Online  |  Columnists  |  Your Opinion  |  The News  |  Photos  |  Cartoons  |  Books & Movies  |  Issues  |  Action Center Boot Murtha: The Change America DeservesMichelle MalkinFriday, October 24, 2008 A real referendum on hope and change is taking place in western Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district. If the change agent in the race were a Democrat and the status quo defender were a Republican, this battle would be all over the nightly news. The challenger would be heralded as a maverick and photographed with halo effect and angel wings. Instead, the national...

Two veteran warriors battling to represent the 12th Congressional District appear locked in the closest race in the district in years. Democratic Rep. John Murtha leads retired Army Lt. Col. William Russell by a little more than 4 percentage points, within the Susquehanna Poll's 4.9-point margin of error. The poll of 400 likely voters was conducted for the Tribune-Review on Tuesday, amid uproar over Murtha's statement that some of his constituents are racist.

Front Page Poll Confirms: Murtha in Trouble And What Democrat Has Done More to Merit Defeat? Posted by: Brian Faughnan Thursday, October 23, 2008 at 07:28AM CDT 0 Comments Hot off the presses: Democratic Rep. John Murtha leads retired Army Lt. Col. William Russell by a little more than 4 percentage points, within the Susquehanna Poll's 4.9-point margin of error. The poll of 400 likely voters was conducted for the Tribune-Review on Tuesday, amid uproar over Murtha's statement that some of his constituents are racist...About 54 percent of voters among those polled say it's time for someone else to represent...

A Pennsylvania source has just leaked me brand spanking new poll data showing GOP upstart Bill Russell leading John Murtha among over 800 probable voters by 48-35. This comes on top of the Susquehanna poll showing Murtha ahead of Russell by 4 points, within the margin of error. The new poll is from Dane and Associates, which surveyed over 800 probable voters, randomly selected to reflect the district makeup, on Wednesday night.

Two veteran warriors battling to represent the 12th Congressional District appear locked in the closest race in the district in years. Democratic Rep. John Murtha leads retired Army Lt. Col. William Russell by a little more than 4 percentage points, within the Susquehanna Poll's 4.9-point margin of error. The poll of 400 likely voters was conducted for the Tribune-Review on Tuesday, amid uproar over Murtha's statement that some of his constituents are racist. Stanley Shemanski, 67, a retired meat cutter who lives in Apollo, said he's undecided about the congressional race. He doesn't know much about Russell, but he's upset...

Family Security Bill Russell is committed to advancing the pro-life, family-security agenda in Congress. More than lip-service, he’s pledged to make the defense of families and innocent unborn life a hallmark of his public service. Here’s where Bill stands on key family policy issues: Supports a Human Life Amendment to the Constitution recognizing the personhood of unborn children, and extending legal protection to all innocent life. Supports gunowner freedoms clearly enumerated by the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution. He opposes any effort to strip or redefine these rights by courts and legislatures. Supports a Federal Marriage Protection Amendment preventing activist...

From:pluksik@aol.com To:(undisclosed e-mail recipients Subject:signs Date:Monday, October 20, 2008 12:21:36 PM Signs are now available at the Johnstown office - 401 Franklin St, the Mt. Pleasant office - 638 W. Main St. and at county HQ's. Come on in and pick yours up. Just to let you know - our wonderful Hot Dog Day coordinators (all 21 of them) and their volunteers put together an event that district-wide brought as many people into contact with Bill Russell as the Sarah Palin rally in Johnstown last week. That's about 5,000 people in one day in 2 hours. Talk about a successful...

Fresh from calling his western Pennsylvania constituents racists and issuing a stuttering non-apology, Representative John Murtha (D-PA) cancelled a debate with his Republican opponent, retired Army Lt. Col. Bill Russell. As Russell's campaign manager stated Apparently, Mr. Murtha does not want to face his constituents, but is okay with calling them racists. Describing the citizens he wants to represent, the ones Murtha smeared as racist: Russell said Murtha's latest comments reveal a "strange, arrogant disconnect from the people who live and work in Western Pennsylvania. He forgets that this is a melting pot of hard-scrapping immigrants. My wife Kasia is...

Hot on the heels of Congressman Jack Murtha charging the voters of western Pennsyvania as being racists who will probably hurt Barack Obama in that state comes the breaking news this evening that Murtha has cancelled a scheduled debate set for tonight with his election opponent. Pretty big news but guess what? Your humble correspondent is currently unable to find this stunning information in any mainstream news outlet. All reports of this debate cancellation by Murtha has come entirely from the Blogosphere which the MSM has derided for years as being an "unreliable source" for information. Unreliable source? How about...

JOHNSTOWN [10.15.08] Lt. Col. Bill Russell (ret), the Republican nominee in Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District, responded today to new comments from Rep. Jack Murtha calling Western Pennsylvania “a racist area.” According to an article published by the Post-Gazette, Murtha made the following statements to reporters regarding Barack Obama’s prospects the upcoming presidential contest: “There’s no question Western Pennsylvania is a racist area.” Murtha would make similar comments to the Pittsburgh-Tribune Review saying, “Obama has got the problem of the racist issue in Western Pennsylvania.”SEE VIDEO HERE Russell responded saying, “Once again Mr. Murtha is using the prestige and platform of...

Retired U.S. Army Reserve Lt. Col. Bill Russell of Johnstown will challenge incumbent U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Johnstown, in the upcoming general election. The Republican candidate retired July 31 from the U.S. military. He and his family moved to Johnstown earlier in the year. "It is a beautiful area; the people are friendly and my wife and I thought it would be a good place to raise our kids," he said, adding that region had caught his interest while serving as a Reservist. The son of a military career officer, Russell attended West Point and then earned his undergraduate degree...

Republican Rep. Terry Everett of Alabama unleashed an unusually harsh attack on a House colleague, calling decorated Vietnam War veteran John Murtha, D-Pa., a cut-and-run idiot. "Don't talk to me about defense," Everett, who is retiring at the end of this term, said during a radio interview this week. "Cut-and-run John Murtha is in charge of the appropriations committee for defense and he is certainly no friend of the military.

Russell team takes aim at Murtha’s House seat BY MIKE FAHERThe Tribune-Democrat August 09, 2008 11:39 pm — While Republican congressional candidate William Russell gave a television interview in an Upper Yoder Township backyard, campaign manager Peg Luksik worked a crowd of about 15 on a nearby porch.Her high-energy pitch included showing off several varieties of Russell T-shirts and urging supporters to each take two bumper stickers to better advertise the candidate while driving.“This really is a little-guy campaign,” she said. “Anything you can do, we certainly appreciate it. It does make a difference.”The campaign event last week, complete...

August 04, 2008 Murtha's reckoning Thomas Lifson Rep. John Murtha's disgrace in denouncing the Marines of the Haditha incident is not going to fade away gently into the night. William Russell, has returned from a tour of duty in the military and is running against him. His campaign has produced this video featuring Darryl Sharratt, the father of one of the Marines accused by Murtha of being a "cold-blooded killer." His son Justin Sharratt has subsequently been fully vindicated, and all charges dropped. Darryl Sharratt's video does not have the produiction values of a normal campaign commercial, but in his...

August 1, 2008 - 9:21am After retiring from the military, Russell joins his own campaign By Alex Roarty UNIONTOWN -- Bill Russell knows how to make an entrance. Now can he do the seemingly impossible? Just past midnight Friday, the Republican congressional candidate literally roared into his first campaign event in three months, driving his motorcycle into the center of Uniontown with the help of the military veterans biker group "Rolling Thunder." After shaking hands with many of the 40 supporters gathered to greet him, Russell wasted little time taking aim at his opponent, U.S. Rep. John Murtha (D-Johnstown). In...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FOR INFORMATION: Peg Luksik, Campaign Manager | 814.244.8948 Grassroots Contributions Challenge Murtha War chest in PA’s 12th RussellBrigade.com Launches JOHNSTOWN [07.16.08]: The campaign of Johnstown resident and Republican nominee for Congress Lt. Colonel Bill Russell outpaced incumbent Congressman John Murtha in the second fundraising quarter of 2008. According to campaign manager, Peg Luksik, William Russell for Congress reported raising $637,137 to Murtha’s $113,155 to the Federal Elections Commission (FEC). The combined totals from the first and second quarters of 2008 exceed $900,000. “The incredible story about Bill’s campaign is that the $15 and $25 contributions are coming...

Jack Murtha is invincible. He's survived ABSCAM [Hannity and Colmes vid] and waltzed through recklessly slandering our troops in Iraq. And he seeks to walk to his 18th term, with the help of two "Republicans." Bill Russell [campaign site] is a 44-year-old Army veteran who wanted to challenge Democrat Murtha as a Republican, but he might not be included on the Republican ballot in Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District because of two people referring to themselves as "Republicans": former Johnstown Mayor Don Zucco and Johnstown attorney Jeanne McKelvey. Those two have petitioned the Commonwealth Court to keep Russell's name off the...