R.I.P. John P. Murtha Jr.

From Wiki:

Murtha was a Democrat with a relatively populist economic outlook, and was generally much more socially conservative than most other House Democrats.[citation needed] He was pro-life, and voted against abortion, consistently receiving a 0% rating from NARAL and 70% rating from National Right to Life Committee[2]; however, he supported federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. He generally opposed gun control, earning an A from the National Rifle Association.[51] Murtha was also one of the few Democrats in Congress to vote against the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 and also one of the few Democrats to vote in favor of medical malpractice tort reform.

However, he was strongly pro-labor, and opposed both the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). He opposed President George W. Bush's tax plan and Social Security privatization, and also opposed the Federal Marriage Amendment. In 2004, he was one of only two congressmen to vote for a measure proposing reinstating the draft.[52] He was also considered more "hawkish" than most other Democrats holding office at the time of his.

In 2001, Murtha and Duke Cunningham (R-CA) co-sponsored the Flag Desecration Amendment, which passed the House of Representatives, but not the Senate.

In late 2005, he led the effort of House Democrats to offer a motion to endorse language in a military spending bill, written by Senator John McCain, a Republican from Arizona and a fellow Vietnam veteran, that would forbid abusive treatment of terror suspects.

Murtha voted for the Affordable Healthcare for America Act (HR 3692), which passed in the House 220-215 on November 7, 2009. [53] He said of the bill, "For nearly a century, both Democrats and Republicans have failed to enact comprehensive health care reform. Today's historic vote moves us closer to solving America's health care crisis." [54] However, Murtha did not support allowing abortions as part of health care reform. He voted for the Stupak-Pitts Amendment to the health care bill that prohibits elective abortions for people covered by the public healthcare plan and to prohibit people receiving federal assistance from purchasing a private healthcare plan that includes abortions, except when the woman’s life is in danger. [55] He also voted for a bill to prohibit pregnant minors from crossing state borders to obtain abortions. [56]