John Murtha’s temper got the best of him when Mike Rogers challenged the need for another pile of pork delivered to Murtha’s district. Now Mike Rogers is poised to get the better of him, too. Here’s the details of the incident:
Mr. Rogers said Mr. Murtha confronted him on the House floor Thursday night, vowing to block federal money for his district, according to a draft of the motion.
“I hope you don’t have any earmarks in the defense appropriation bill because they are gone and you will not get any earmarks now and forever,” Mr. Murtha allegedly told Mr. Rogers in a “loud voice.” He referred to the pet projects lawmakers often tuck into large spending bills.
“This is not the way we do things here,” Mr. Rogers replied. “Is that supposed to make me afraid of you?”
“That’s the way I do it,” Mr. Murtha said.
Murtha’s been ladling out pork for so long that he sees himself as the gatekeeper of defense pork. He snapped when Rogers, a former special agent in the FBI, challenged the need for $23 million going to the NDIC:
“We are a nation at war, and when we find wasteful spending we must stop it. This comes down to a choice between spies catching terrorists or pork barrel spending in a congressional district,” Mr. Rogers said in a news release. “We can’t allow members to be threatened and intimidated when they stand up to protect hardworking taxpayers’ money.”
The NDIC in Johnstown, Murtha’s hometown, doesn’t have a great legacy:
A statement from House Minority Leader John Boehner cited a House committee report from last year, calling the NDIC an “expensive and duplicative use of scarce federal drug enforcement resources.”
That’s of little concern to Rep. Murtha. His sole mission is to keep the pork flowing in overabundance to his district. Setting smart policy isn’t a consideration. Murtha forgot about the notion of working for the public good long ago. That’s why he’s been one of the most corrupt politicians in Washington for a couple decades.
Unfortunately, there’s little chance of Rep. Rogers’ reprimand getting enough votes:
With Democrats in control of the House, Mr. Rogers’ reprimand has little likelihood of success.
This is just another example of the bald-faced lie Ms. Pelosi told about ethics:
Democrats, Pelosi said, “intend to lead the most honest, the most open and the most ethical Congress in history”.
Somehow, I don’t think that threats and intimidation is the definition that the American people have of “the most ethical Congress in history.” The truth is that Pelosi and Murtha are corrupt to the core. Frankly, I’d doubt that there’s an ethical bone in Murtha’s body.
The good news is that Republicans can use this incident against Pelosi, Murtha and Co. in next year’s campaign. Here’s hoping that they use this incident like a billy club to pound the Democrats into submission.
The House code of official conduct states that a congressman “may not condition the inclusion of language to provide funding for a congressional earmark…on any vote cast by another member.”
I’d say that Murtha’s threat is in direct violation of the official code of conduct. It’ll be interesting to see how Democrats will rationalize their votes.
Technorati: John Murtha, Nancy Pelosi, Earmarks, Pork, Ethics, Scandal, Culture Of Corruption, Mike Rogers, FBI, Homeland Security, Reprimand
Cross-posted at California Conservative