October 6, 2007 by Grainne.

Video from Patrick’s appearance on NECN in the only live televised 5th District (post-primary) debate is now available: click here.  For now, at this late hour, let’s just say, “res ipsa loquitur.”   

And, well done, Patrick.

In case you missed it, the NECN debate will re-air at 7 p.m. on Monday, October 8.  If you’d prefer a live debate, the last one is this coming Tuesday, October 9 at UMass Lowell. 

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October 4, 2007 by Grainne.

Since its inception, this campaign has had several conversations with congressional staffers of select offices, including Congressman Jim McGovern’s office, searching for a sponsor for Patrick Murphy’s ”Shared Sacrifice” bill.  Yesterday, Congressman McGovern (D-Mass, 3rd District) officially introduced legislation in Congress that would impose a “war surtax,” based on a Patrick’s “Shared Sacrifice Act.”  McGovern has partnered with House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey and Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania in introducing this legislation.   Murphy and his staff are happy that their persistence has paid off and that in Congressmen McGovern, Obey and Murtha they have found allies and champions for this important cause. 

Early in August, WBUR, Boston’s NPR affiliate, highlighted McGovern’s announcement of his intention to introduce this legislation and attributed the idea behind it to Patrick Murphy.  NPR also discussed the proposal later that week when host Tom Ashbrook and guest host Jack Beatty, editor for the Atlantic Monthly, featured it as one of the week’s top stories and, once again, attributed the proposal to Patrick Murphy.  On August 5, 2007, the Lowell Sun also wrote a brief piece crediting Patrick with the idea for the legislation (article posted in comment below). 

As Patrick has stated all along, however, what is far more important than who receives credit for his idea is that such creative ideas are put forth and acted upon.  Introducing new, independent ideas is what this campaign is all about.  The fact that a senior Democrat in Congress adopted Patrick’s idea, found other senior congressmen to support it, and introduced it as legislation is a shining example of how a true independent will create new ideas for legislation that will garner support from all (rational-thinking, intelligent, non-corrupt) parties.   

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October 3, 2007 by Grainne.

For the Lowell Sun article on Micky Ward’s endorsement of Patrick, click here.

Today’s Sun also included a story about all 5th District candidates.  The section devoted to Patrick focused on his Shared Sacrifice Act, a form of which Congressman Jim McGovern and other senior Democrats introduced in Congress today (more on that later). 

We were also pleased to read a letter to the editor of the Sun from Mr. Patrick Hughes of Ayer, entitled “Murphy is an independent thinker.”   It seems that Mr. Hughes shares not only Patrick’s good name,  but also his good ideas.  We wish to thank Mr. Hughes for his letter, his vote and his courage to stand with Patrick and the campaign in ensuring that a “new voice” is heard.

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October 3, 2007 by Dan.

Better pictures and more to come in the Lowell Sun, but for now, I can say with pride that fighting great”Irish” Micky Ward has endorsed Patrick’s run for Congress. Patrick and I trained down the West End Gym for years. We come from a family of champs. Patrick, when studying over at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, was an All-Ireland junior welterweight champion in the amateurs. We’re hoping the 5th lets Patrick take the fight to Washington. He’s definitely the candidate who will stand up for the regular guy, because he’s one of us.

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October 1, 2007 by Dan.

Today Patrick and the Murphy campaign visited Haverhill, meeting with seniors at their center, and touring the Northeast Veterans Outreach Center. While we didn’t stay for bingo, Patrick was well-received and well-wished, with many seniors promising their support. At the Veterans Outreach Center, Executive Director John Ratka led a tour of the facilities, which were very impressive. The center has a number of newly renovated and well-kept buildings both for housing veterans and for providing meals and recreational and meeting space.

The center is an outstanding model for others in the state that share its main aims in serving our veterans. The center provides veterans of all wars with a wide range of services, from daily meals, to housing, counseling, job training and preparation, and is a great source of stability. For those veterans who are homeless or have substance abuse problems, the center has a proven, comprehensive approach to rehabilitating and rebuilding their lives. The center works to facilitate the provision of medical and mental health care required of individuals, and to also help residents earn their keep, either through employment or community service. There are three different kinds of housing. The center groups residents based on their ability to operate independently. In the final stage of housing, residents pay for their own single apartments, hold jobs, and are productive and independent members of the community. There remains at all stages the support of the center and this encourages greater development, rehabilitation and confidence. The center also has a number of computers and opportunities for recreation. Additionally, the center has set up a telephone connection with web cam for those who want to communicate with their friends and family serving overseas, and hopes to set up more of these kind of video-phone stations.

One of the great privileges of this campaign has been meeting all kinds of good people doing good for people in this district. Private contributions comprise about 3-4% of the center’s total operating budget. We are proud, particularly after our tour with Mr. Ratka who is most certainly one of these good people, that it is one of our chosen charities. The center has proven to make the most of each dollar it receives, and to be an invaluable service for many of the Merrimack Valley’s veterans. I encourage you all to visit our fundraising page and donate to the center. It is well-run, well-cared for, and deserving of your generosity. For more information, you may visit the center’s website.

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September 27, 2007 by Grainne.

Here are the links to some more recent articles:

http://www.townonline.com/littleton/homepage/x775332081

http://www.lowellsun.com//ci_7004133?IADID=Search-www.lowellsun.com-www.lowellsun.com

http://www.lowellsun.com//ci_7004140?IADID=Search-www.lowellsun.com-www.lowellsun.com

http://www.lowellsun.com//ci_6994025?IADID=Search-www.lowellsun.com-www.lowellsun.com

Patrick also appeared on both WUML and WCAP radio programs this morning.  We’ll post a link to the WUML interview once it’s available.  (WCAP, however, doesn’t post its shows online.) 

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September 26, 2007 by Doug.

Tomorrow, Patrick will be appearing on WUML, 91.5 FM, from 7:00-7:30 am, on WCAP, 980 AM, from 8:00-9:00 am, and will be debating in Andover at the League of Women Voters forum starting at 7:30 pm.  Between radio and debate appearances, Patrick will be canvassing the district with his balanced message of hope and reason.

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September 25, 2007 by Grainne.

Today, September 25: Acton-Boxborough High School, 7:30 p.m. Sponsored by the League of Women Voters.

Thursday, September 27: Andover High School, 7:30 p.m. Sponsored by the League of Women Voters.

Friday, October 5: LIVE televised NECN debate. Airs at 7 p.m. Replay on Monday, October 8, 7 p.m.

Tuesday, October 9: UMass Lowell debate. 7 p.m. Durgin Hall.

Please attend and watch Patrick in action. He’s a sight to see, inspiring to hear, and a force to contend with! If you’d like to support Patrick by holding signs with us before any of these debates, please contact us at volunteer@sendmurphytocongress.com as soon as possible. Thanks!

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September 24, 2007 by Grainne.

Here’s a reminder for anyone who’s not yet registered to vote in the 5th District. This Wednesday, September 26, is the last day to register. We plan to visit some of the local colleges tomorrow and Wednesday with voter registration applications.

Information about how to register may be found here.

Information about where to vote may be found here.

As Patrick’s campaign is about a reinvigoration of democracy and drawing more people back into the political process for a “truer reflection of our will as a people,” it is not only important to register by the 26th and vote on October 16th, but also to vote for the candidate who represents true progress and who will represent our best interests.  One voter recently put it poetically, “He mightn’t be well known, but he’s one of our own.” Send Murphy to Congress!

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September 23, 2007 by Grainne.

We are grateful for the recent influx of thoughtful and articulate letters to the editor published in some of the local papers, including the Lowell Sun and Littleton Independent. 

In his letter to the Lowell Sun, Mr. Joseph Smith of Lowell praises Patrick’s “wise policies and depth of conviction.”  He also gives excellent summaries of Patrick’s positions on some of the most important issues, and encourages people to take a serious look at Patrick so that “the average citizens of the 5th District might just start a needed revolution of the politics of this country.”  Up the revolution!  Thanks, Joe, for the letter and for keeping us on our toes with your helpful comments and encouragement through the blog and otherwise.

Mr. Peter Barbella’s letter to the Littleton Independent, entitled “Once in a Blue Moon,” takes its title from Mr. Barbella’s line, “once in a blue moon, a candidate comes along whose words exude real sincerity; whose logical thinking gets your immediate attention; a candidate who shows compassion not for big business, but rather for the common man; a candidate who speaks about family strength in a believable manner; a candidate who recognizes that our past is the foundation upon which we must build our future.”  Barbella goes on to say that, in Patrick, he has found such a candidate.  He writes, “If you, like me, are tired of high society politicians who have never had to work a day of their lives; of politicians with staggering ego; of politicians who worry more about getting votes than doing the right thing, then you owe it to yourself to take a close look at independent candidate Patrick Murphy. I promise you will find a breath of fresh air.”  We couldn’t agree more.   Thanks, Mr. Barbella, for your kind and sincere words, for they have been, one might say, breaths of fresh air.

In “All 5th District Candidates Deserve Media Attention,” Joe Donlan’s letter to the editor of the Sun, Donlan makes a plea to the editor to give Patrick the press coverage that his ideas and proposals deserve.  Donlan echoes our sentiments when he writes, “I’ve been getting tired of the lack of coverage the media’s given to Patrick, because if people heard what he had to say there would be a lot of people voting for him. The party candidates haven’t said anything meaningful and yet they’re given all the press. You people have declared it a two-person race before all the debates have been heard. That’s not democratic at all.”  Many thanks to our long-time friend, stonemason extraordinaire, Joe Donlan of Dunstable.

Lastly, our own father, Daniel P. Murphy, took matters into his own hands and penned a letter to the Sun in response to Evan Lehmann’s front-page Lowell Sun article entitled, “No Money?  No Problem, Says Independent Murphy.”  While our father was pleased, as were we, with the well-written and, overall, wise piece, he challenges Lehmann’s reliance on politically-entrenched lobbyist Craig Holman and Brookings-institutionalized “congressional scholar” Tom Mann for their cynical gauge on Patrick’s prospects.  Thanks to Mr. Lehmann for his piece, and thanks to Dan Sr. for leaving no stone unturned. 

Thanks again to all, including the editors of the Littleton Independent and Lowell Sun, for spreading the good word.

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