If there is one thing I’ve noticed about the Bootrib community, it’s that we all want more Democrats to stand up for our beliefs and values, and we want more Democrats to come straight out and tell the truth about what a corrupt bunch of goons the Republicans have become.

If you’re looking for congressional candidates to support in 2006, candidates that fit the above criteria, you need look no further than Lois Murphy who is running in Pennsylvania’s 6th District. I just got off an hour long conference call with her and several other Philly bloggers. She had three main messages. She’s strongly and unapologetically pro-choice, she wants to focus on homeland security, health care, and education, and her opponent is a corrupt tool who is completely beholden to the criminal, Tom DeLay.

Above Average Jane has a good piece on Representative Jim Gerlach’s relationship with indicted (and soon to be indicted) members of the Republican leadership.

Gerlach has seen some controversy lately over his associations with Karl Rove and Tom DeLay. This past July Karl Rove headlined a fundraiser for him. Just getting in cost $1000, but a lucky few paid $2500 to sit in on a round table with the two…

While that might make some fodder for Lois Murphy’s campaign, it might not have long enough legs to last until next fall. Fortunately for Murphy, Gerlach also have close ties to Tom DeLay. In fact, he is ranked (by someone who sits down and does such things) as among the congressmen closest to DeLay. He voted in favor of weakening ethics rules to keep DeLay in power, and to allow him to stay in power even if indicted. For those working people who can be fired for so much as a bad urine test or being late on the job a few times, the idea that you can keep a position even after being indicted might seem a bit much. Gerlach has received a lot of money from DeLay’s PAC. Last October, the only Pennsylvanian to receive more was Pat Toomey. Plus, Gerlach was the only congressperson from Pennsylvania to contribute to DeLay’s legal defense fund.

If Gerlach is a transparent hack, Lois Murphy has a very impressive resume:

Lois, 42, was born in 1963 in Hempstead, New York, and her parents, both public educators, helped her learn the importance of education. Lois excelled in school and graduated from Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges magna cum laude in 1984. The next year, she enrolled in Harvard Law School where she graduated cum laude in 1987. At law school Lois met her husband, Benjamin Eisner, now a labor attorney who represents working people.

After graduating from law school, Lois clerked for a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. She then joined the U.S. Justice Department before serving as associate legal counsel for NARAL Pro-Choice America, where she defended reproductive rights and worked to reduce the need for abortion through more effective and accessible family planning.

Lois is now on leave from her job as a member of the growing law firm of Heckscher, Teillon, Terrill & Sager, P.C. She has been an adjunct professor at Temple University’s School of Law. She has also served as president and as a board member of NARAL Pro-Choice Pennsylvania. Lois is a trustee of the Women’s Law Project and was appointed in 2003 by Governor Rendell to the Pennsylvania Commission for Women.

On top of that, she is a very personable, friendly, down-to-earth person. She’s exactly the kind of candidate that we need in Washington. With any luck, Gerlach will be swept away along with Frist, DeLay, Santorum, Rove, Libby, and the rest of the crooks running our country.