Patrick J. Murphy

Former U.S. Representative (January 2007 - January 2011)

(Jeff Fusco/Getty Images)

Why He Matters

Leaders in the Democratic Party love Murphy. A veteran of the Iraq war who is now one of its fiercest critics, Murphy gives his party credibility on national security and defense against those who say voting against war funding is a vote against U.S. troops.

Murphy, who was the only member in the 110th Congress to have served in the Iraq war, vowed to never vote for an Iraq funding bill that didn't tie funding to benchmarks for withdrawal of U.S. troops. He has consistently lobbied for more funding for veterans benefits.

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: Attorney (2004 to 2006); U.S. Army (1996 to 2004)
Birthday: Oct. 19, 1973
Hometown: Philadelphia, Pa.
Alma Mater: Bucks County Community College, attended, 1991-92; King's College (Pa.), B.S. (psychology and human resources), 1996; Widener University, J.D., 1999
Spouse: Jennifer

Religion: Catholic
DC Office: 1609 Longworth House Office Building, 202-225-4276
District Offices: Bristol, 215-826-1963; Doylestown, 215-348-1194
Email
Web site

Path to Power

Born in Philadelphia, Pa., Murphy grew up the son of a police officer and a legal secretary. He was a hockey player and wanted to play at Kings College in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. When he didn't get accepted, he went to Bucks County Community College for a year and applied again to Kings College. This time, he was accepted and he graduated with a B.S. in psychology and human resources in 1996. He not only made the hockey team, but eventually became its captain.

At college, Murphy was voted student body president, but in general said he was so disinterested in politics that he rarely voted. While at Kings College, he also enrolled as a cadet in the Army ROTC, and after graduating, he became a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He earned a J.D. from Widener University in Harrisburg, Pa., and went to West Point, where he worked as a staff assistant and later became a professor.

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Deployments

Murphy was deployed to Bosnia with the 25th Infantry Division in 2002. One year later, he was sent to Iraq with the 82nd Airborne Division. He served from June 2003 to January 2004. He led units through Baghdad and worked with the JAG Corps, handling court marshal cases and helped prosecute a deputy of Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr. He served as captain of the 82nd Airborne Division and earned a Bronze Star. But he also saw 19 members of his unit die, and he came to the conclusion that the war was wrong. "The political leaders of America have failed our troops," he said.

When Murphy returned to the U.S., he switched his registration from independent to Democrat and volunteered for Vietnam veteran and Sen. John F. Kerry's (D-Mass.) 2004 presidential campaign while working at a Philadelphia law firm.

Murphy was an unlikely congressional candidate in 2006: a young, political neophyte in a majority-Republican district. But he began cold-calling prominent Democrats asking for support and announced his candidacy in May 2005 in what turned out to be a good year for Democrats nationally. Murphy beat Bucks County Commissioner Andrew Warren in the Democratic primary, and defeated one-term Republican Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick by just 1,500 votes in a nasty general election contest in a seat formerly held by ex-Rep. Jim Greenwood (R).

Given his political vulnerability, Murphy received plum committee assignments for a first-term congressman. He considers Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) a mentor and supported Murtha's bid for House majority leader against Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) without much consequence. That likely earned the favor of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who campaigned for Murphy twice during the election. Murphy said he was interested in serving on the Intelligence Committee, and got that assignment and a spot on the Armed Service Committee when Democrats retook the House majority during the 2006 elections.

Murphy was a targeted Democrat in 2008, but he outraised his opponent, Tom Manion (R), four-to-one, and won 57 percent of the vote, a significant improvement from his first race. In 2008, he published a memoir titled "Taking the Hill: From Philly to Baghdad to the United States Congress."

The Issues

"Walking in my own combat boots, I saw firsthand this administration's failed policy in Iraq," Murphy said on the floor of the House in February 2007, just over a month after being sworn in. In his first two terms in Congress, Murphy was one of the Democratic Party's strongest advocates for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. He wants more funding for veterans and says he is opposed to excessive government spending. He voted with the Democratic Party 93.1 percent of the time in the 110th Congress.

Iraq War

During his first campaign in 2006, Murphy has called for a three-stage withdrawal from Iraq that would decrease the number of troops to less than 50,000 by the end of 2007. But when Murphy got to Congress, the debate was focused on President George W. Bush's requested troop "surge."

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Murphy opposed the surge, and continued to rally against legislation that did not begin to end the war. On his Web site, he vows not to vote for funding for the war unless it is tied to benchmarks for the Iraqi government and timetables for withdrawal of U.S. troops.

He was supportive of Obama's proposal in February 2009 to withdraw combat troops from Iraq by August 2010 and agrees with the president that more troops should be deployed to Afghanistan to hunt al Qaeda and patrol the border of Pakistan.

National Debt

Murphy gets a lot of attention for his strong criticism of the war, but when he was running for Congress in 2006, he also courted the support of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of conservative Democrats with a particular interest in controlling the national debt.

"While campaigning over the last 18 months, there were two issues that families were most concerned with: the war in Iraq and irresponsible spending in Washington," Murphy said. "I reached out to the leaders of the Blue Dog Coalition to show my dedication toward restoring fiscal responsibility in Washington."

During his 2008 campaign, Murphy continued to advocate for troop withdrawal, but his politics also became more practical as the economic recession intensified. He said the key issues for the 111th Congress would be health care, alternative energy jobs and the economy. But "when you spend $3 trillion in Iraq, that's $3 trillion you can't spend on your own economy," Murphy said on the campaign trail.

Like Obama, Murphy takes a broader approach to the national debt, arguing that health-care spending, education spending and green jobs will help reduce its future size. He supported Obama's $787 billion stimulus bill in early 2009, and supported the Wall Street bailout in the fall of 2008, despite the fact that both had enormous price tags. "This is what's wrong with Washington: Reckless partisan extremists just made it much harder for Pennsylvania families to keep their homes, seniors to protect their pensions, and students to get loans," he said after the first Wall Street bailout failed to pass (a different version passed the following week).

The Network

Murphy considers Murtha to be one of his mentors, and that makes him close to House Speaker Pelosi too. He also campaign vigorously for Sen. John F. Kerry during Kerry's 2004 presidential run, and Kerry returned the favor two years later when Murphy ran for Congress. Murphy actually voted for George W. Bush for president in 2000, but switched his party affiliation after returning from Iraq.

He is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition.

Additional Resources

Kaplan, Jonathan E., "'I am still trying to find a balance,'" The Hill, Feb. 15, 2007
Orenstein, Robert H., "Patrick Murphy scores big victory in re-election bid," The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.), Nov. 5, 2008
The Almanac of American Politics, 2008 edition
Schiavo, Christine, "Murphy focuses his candidacy on Iraq service," The Philadelphia Inquirer, Oct. 5, 2006
The Almanac of American Politics, 2008 edition
Goldstein, Steve, "Leaders of the House pack?" The Philadelphia Inquirer, Nov. 30, 2006
Nussbaum, Paul, "Most area lawmakers vote party line," The Philadelphia Inquirer, Sept. 30, 2008
"Veterans front and center during Iraq debate," CNN.com, Feb. 14, 2007
Kaplan, Jonathan E., "'I am still trying to find a balance,'" The Hill, Feb. 15, 2007
Reddington, Dana, "Not just another vet for Congress," The Philadelphia Inquirer, April 10, 2006
Response by Patrick Murphy to Whorunsgov.com question on March 2, 2009
CQs Politics in America 2008
Blake, Aaron, "Murphy recount meteoric rise in post-9/11 America," The Hill, March 7, 2008
Patrick Murphy's congressional Web site
Zengerle, Jason, "Magic Bullet," The New Republic, Feb. 6, 2006
King, Larry, "Changed game in the 8th District," The Philadelphia Inquirer, Oct. 12, 2008
The Washington Post's Congressional Votes Database