What A Tangled Web They Weaved
The Sunlight Foundation’s Paul Blumenthal put some graphics together to chart the earmarks that Rep. Visclosky ‘won’ for his Indiana district and the campaign contributions that flowed to him as a result of those earmarks. He’s also put together a great post on Visclosky’s hijinks.
In the past two weeks, Visclosky’s offices and campaign committess have been subpoenaed and he has reliquished control of the Energy & Water Appropriations Subcommittee to Rep. Ed Pastor.
This is just the tip of the Democrats’ ethical iceberg. The Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting that Kuchera Industries, a firm that won many earmarks thanks to John Murtha, “received an infusion of cash during its start-up years from a narcotics trafficker…”
According to this Washington Post article, Jim Moran is mixed up in this ethics quagmire, too:
Visclosky has been among the largest recipients of donations from PMA lobbyists and their clients, along with Reps. John Murtha (D-Pa.) and Jim Moran (D-Va.). All three men have authored earmarks that benefited PMA clients.
The firm was founded by a former House committee staffer close to Murtha and later hired senior aides to both Visclosky and Moran. Murtha, in particular, has come under intense scrutiny in recent months for his ties to PMA and to several different defense contractors.
It’s time for the courts to sort things out and determine whether it’s an official pay-to-play scheme. Whether the investigations prove their case or not, one thing’s perfectly clear: Mssrs. Murtha, Moran and Visclosky need to be expelled from the House for acting in such a way that their constituents and their colleagues can trust them.
It’s time for this trio to go.
Technorati Tags: Scandals, Corruption, John Murtha, Peter Visclosky, Jim Moran, Lobbyists, PMA Group, Paul Magliochetti, Earmarks, Investigation, Pay To Play
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog
June 7th, 2009 at 12:52 am
That’s one hell of an ROI. Money invested in politicians grows faster than anywhere else.
While waiting in the dark, first in line for the release of the new Palm Pre today, I continued reading several chapters of Atlas Shrugged. I got to Francisco’s monologue on money. The truth of it made me so sick I almost got out of line and shrugged off Palm and Sprint. I’m still half sorry I didn’t.
I may not have been heroic today, but I’m going to find more and more sleazy corporations and causes to shrug off in the future. I’m going to lighten my load and take it easy. No sense working hard when government is going to take it all away. California and the IRS already take most of my income. Retirement savings (can’t count on Social Insecurity) takes up another 12%. Whatever’s left over is hardly enough to pay the bills.