Want the dirty details on Murtha? Then read an op-ed in the WSJ’s OpinionJournal that concludes with this paragraph:
Gary Ruskin, director of the liberal Congressional Accountability Project, told Roll Call that “when it comes to institutional policing of corruption in Congress, John Murtha is a one-man wrecking crew.” Now with the support of Ms. Pelosi, that “wrecking crew” stands just one ballot away from becoming House majority leader. Should he win the sealed-ballot election of his peers tomorrow, Democrats may have a hard time explaining just what has changed regarding the Congress’s “culture of corruption.”
Both the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal have now weighed in against Murtha. And what have we heard from that guardian of propriety in American politics? The New York Times has said nary a word. The Times is stuck between Iraq and a hard place. Having fallen all over itself praising Murtha for his stance on Iraq, can it now do a 180 and repeat—or at the very least—try to refute the charges against Murtha? A very hard place, indeed. The kind of place that might lead some to question the Times’ integrity. What a shame that would be.
A correction, Marc. The only people who still seriously believe the Times has any integrity left will never question that belief, even if the Times drops all pretense and calls for the execution of all Republicans starting with the President.
Marc I’m beginning to think you are a bit cynical towards the NYT.
While dealing with another bit of pork associated with a certain senator from AK, I happened to become aware of a example of Mr Murtha’s taxpayer funded largess in the early 90’s.
It seems that a man from Mr Murtha’s home state proposed to upgrade some ground cooling carts for the Air Force. Problem was, the Air Force did not need the carts to be upgraded. In fact, the carts were going to be scrapped in the near future. But Mr. Murtha made it very clear that his constituant WAS going to get the $3M he had earmarked for the work OR ELSE programs such as the F-22 and B-2 were going to have some funding problems. The Air Force gave up and bought the unneeded mod to the carts – which then went more or less straight to the salvage yard.
This kind pork isn’t just bad because it wastes our tax money – it also typically represents blackmail by politicians who are willing to hurt the country in more direct ways for their own interests.