In Pennsylvania, two Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives are facing challengers from within their own party, candidates they will need to compete against in the April 2010 Democratic primary even before they have the right to defend themselves from Republican opponents? Why are there Democratic challengers to incumbent members of Congress in these two districts?

One thing the incumbents, Paul Kanjorski and John Murtha, share in common is the rightward tilt of their voting records in Congress. Representative Murtha has earned only a net score of 15 out of a possible 100 progressive points so far in the current session of Congress. Representative Kanjorski’s legislative score is even lower, at just 12 out of 100.

Specifically, both Kanjorski and Murtha voted in favor of an amendment to the health care reform bill that would block many women from getting full family planning insurance coverage, even if they paid for their health insurance completely on their own, without any government assistance. That anti-choice vote has many Democratic activists particularly upset.

On the other hand, political ideology may have nothing to do with the challenges to Murtha and Kanjorski. Another trait that the two incumbents share is that they are rather elderly, near the ends of their careers. It may be that young Democrats merely see an opportunity to challenge politicians who are past their primes.

The challengers have done very little so far to distinguish themselves from the incumbents, when it comes to the issues. Kanjorski’s challenger, Corey O’Brien, has only released the following vague set of bullet points as a kind of first draft policy statement:

* Create High Paying, Family-Sustaining Jobs
* Ensure Access to Affordable, High-Quality Health Care
* Strengthen Education as the Foundation for Economic Prosperity
* Renew Confidence in Our Leaders
* Restore Fiscal Discipline and Require Pay-as-You-Go
* Focus on Energy Conservation & Energy Independence
* Rebuild Our Information and Technology Infrastructure
* Support Our Troops & Veterans

These bullet points are ambiguous enough to cover a broad range of potential issue positions, ranging from right wing to progressive.

Ryan Bucchianeri, the challenger to John Murtha, is even less revealing about his political agenda. His issues page has no content at all at this point, suggesting that Bucchianeri decided to run for Congress before deciding upon his political platform.

Both challengers make thinly-veiled references to the advanced age of the incumbents. Bucchianeri promises to be “a new voice”, while Corey O’Brien pledges to “replace old-style politics with new-style leadership”.

Kanjorski and Murtha have poor records, usually failing to support progressive legislation in the House of Representatives, but Democratic voters in their districts would do well to hold back from supporting O’Brien and Bucchianeri until they are able to articulate specific, progressive alternatives.