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 Tags: John Murtha, Nancy Pelosi, Earmarks, Pork, Ethics, Scandal, Culture Of Corruption, Mike Rogers, FBI, Homeland Security, Reprimand

Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog

1. [...] Cross-posted at California Conservative Categories: Homeland Security, Intel, Pelosi, Corruption, John Murtha, FBI, Election 2008, Ethics | [...]

   Pingback by Let Freedom Ring » Blog Archive » Rep. Rogers Seeking Murtha’s Reprimand — May 19, 2007 @ 5:53 am

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1. Can we also keep a constant vigil on Diane Feinstein and her husband regarding the rejection of Medicare claims in California rehabilitation hospitals to reap profits at the expense of patient care?
   Murtha, Pelosi, Feinstein all have to go. Let’s not forget Dingy Harry:)

   Comment by John Houghton — May 19, 2007 @ 8:53 am

2. But wait, there’s “more to the story” and Paul Harvey would say. It seems one of the repiblican’ts who attempted to stop the funding for the NDIC is, himself, involved in a much dirtier pet project, one involving Boeing, retrofitting jets, and the military… which coincidentally, is in the republican’ts home district.

   You see, Murtha brought the NDIC to Johnstown, his hometown, in 1993. It is now the rural town’s main employer. So yeah, it is a pet project, one that is without doubt, good for his constituents. And somehow, I think, were the NDIC in a republican’ts home district, its funding would be sacrosanct.

   But Rogers wanted to embarass Murtha, and the best way was to engage in this partisan chicanery.

   So, bring on the reprimand! I want to see and hear the republican’ts fume and fumble when the little Boeing-earmark project is exposed — one that has its own history of questionable practices, investigations, and at least one person going to jail.

   And that’s what’s great about the republican’ts attempting to use the ethics argument against the democrats… there’s always something a little bit dirtier, a little bit more sordid, and a little bit more incriminating on the republican’t side.

   Comment by Rocky — May 19, 2007 @ 3:53 pm

3. Bush lied (due to faulty information given to him by an agency packed with donkey sycophants), soldiers died = the biggest sin ever committed.

   Clinton committed perjury = no big deal.

   Yeah, I can see where the elephants are pure evil and the donkeys are pure as the driven snow.

   Face it, Rocky, neither side is worth the air they steal from we, the people, and they’re all vipers. Just ’cause one from either side of the aisle attacks one from the other side doesn’t make the attackee any purer than the attacker. I’d personally be real happy to see real, average citizens as our legislators instead of all the Murthas, Boehmers, Kennedys and other sleazebucket thieves who are “representing” us.

   Comment by Carlos — May 19, 2007 @ 7:26 pm

4. It isn’t a binary question; I’d rather see some real, honest people represent us, too. But real, honest people get involved in politics all the time, and just as soon, become corrupt. I can’t believe that there is something in the personality or makeup of a person that leads him or her to politics that, at the same time, leads them to corruption. Is it simply human nature to give in to greed, lust and power?

   For instance, I wondered why Clinton simply couldn’t have kept his zipper up, at least while he was president. On the other hand, you have to judge others based on the severity of the actions. We have first degree murder, second degree and manslaughter; and certainly, we can’t compare a matter that was at it most basic level a transgression between husband and wife, and the other woman, versus leading us into war under false pretenses. Bush did lie, and the information he was provided, it’s coming out now, was largely in contrast to the public statements coming out of the administration in the buildup to the invasion.

   I personally don’t care that Clinton cheated on Hillary, it has no bearing on my life, or on anyone I know. I care very deeply about the war, and I know people who have died and are currently on the front lines. It does impact my life, no matter how little the administration asks that anyone sacrifice anything besides their civil liberties. Why is it that republican’ts can’t see the dramatic distinction here?

   Unless and until you remember that its us v. them, all the time. Do we really need to be starting the ‘08 elections this far in advance? To bring it back to the topic that started this thread, why did Reps. Rogers and Tiahrt poke a stick in Murtha’s eye, if for no other reason than to embarass him for political points?

   Comment by Rocky — May 19, 2007 @ 11:33 pm

5. Out of the 535 or so people who “represent” us in D.C., how many times in the last day, week or month can you remember that any of them did anything that was not a move to politically embarass the other side, from either direction?

   Just a thought: the above figure (535) is supposed to be accurate. Why is it that then “our” interests are considered to be promoted so eagerly to them by the thousands of lobbyists and all their thousands/ millions of dollars? Doesn’t that mean that we are in reality being represented by far in numbers by people who have no interest in we, the people, and our (we, the people) interests can go suck a lemon for all they care because we have no control over who they are and what they do and what they promote?

   Wonder what the Founding Fathers would think of K Street?

   Vipers, and a den of vipers, supported and promoted by vipers.

   Comment by Carlos — May 20, 2007 @ 7:46 am

6. Rocky- I don’t care if Clinton cheated on his wife either. I do care when someone lies under oath. According to democrats that is ok, if you lie about certain things under oath. I will never understand that. So each person decides when he gets to lie under oath? Is that how our system should work?

   Comment by hippster — May 20, 2007 @ 8:08 am