Club Gitmo

John Murtha's One of the Most Corrupt Members of Congress

[H/T AmericasNewsToday1]

Murtha's Earmarks & Actions in the Hawaiian Press

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin published a story about their Sen. Daniel Inouye using earmarks. However, Inouye has been praised for not making his earmarks secret. However the story, take a unusual turn by addressing at the end of the article. It mentions Rep. John Murtha (D, PA District 12) sort of as contrast. I guess the Honolulu press wanted to show that compared to Murtha, Inouye is a "honest and forthright politician." Murtha, the "King of Pork" in the House, is displayed as not being so forthright in his earmarks and or other news has chronicled in his actions and relationships with defense contractors and lobbyists which have been called into question. The story end by highlighting Murtha:

Rep. John Murtha, D-PA, Inouye's counterpart as chairman of the House subcommittee on defense appropriations, has been sharply criticized for inserting 15 earmarks worth $61.4 million that would benefit companies that have donated nearly $200,000 to him through political action committees. Murtha finally relented and introduced the amendment that stripped the F-22 expenditures from the defense bill this month . . . .

Rep. Murtha pressured to attend town hall

Susan Crabtree, The Hill: Tim Burns, the Republican [sic, One of the Repubicans] challenging longtime Rep. John Murtha (D-PA), has invited the incumbent to attend a healthcare town hall meeting on Thursday in Murtha’s district. The move is aimed at highlighting Murtha’s decision not to host a town hall where Burns said constituents would be able to express their views on the healthcare debate directly to the lawmaker.

Murtha has held several telephone conference calls with constituents on healthcare, and plans to host another in September. But so far he has not held a town hall meeting where he would have more direct interaction with constituents. Town halls across the country have erupted into shouting matches over healthcare reform, and many Democrats have found themselves facing hostile crowds. . . .

Murtha is the co-sponsor of a healthcare overhaul bill sponsored by Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. (D-MI) that contains a single-payer provision, which is controversial with Republicans. . . . “There’s been four weeks of recess and [Murtha’s] had no face-to-face meetings with his constituents to discuss healthcare at a critical juncture for our country,” said Burns’s spokesman, Kent Gates. . . .

In addition to his support for a single-payer component of any changes to the healthcare system, Murtha voted for the controversial cap-and-trade climate change legislation, which passed the House by a slim margin in late June.

Murtha has recently attracted headlines for the hundreds of millions of dollars in earmarked projects he has secured for the district — several of which are now under FBI investigation. Burns has seized on the negative publicity, calling on voters to restore ethical credibility to the district by electing him. [Full Story]

Russell Responds To Murtha’s Change Of Heart

Calls Murtha's On-Again, Off-Again Support for Bills “John Kerry-like”

JOHNSTOWN, PA) – Responding to the latest surprise announcement from Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) that he now doesn’t support the current health care plans of the Obama administration, GOP candidate in the 12th district William Russell drew comparisons to the now infamous statement by Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, “I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it.”

“Mr. Murtha has been on board with the President’s health care plan from the beginning,” said Russell. “Now that public opposition to a government-run health care system has gone south, Mr. Murtha has changed his mind.”

Russell also pointed out that Murtha voiced full support for the Cap and Trade Bill, including voting for the House version. “After voting for the Cap and Trade bill,” said Russell, “Mr. Murtha now says he is opposed to the measure, which is not expected to pass the Senate. You can’t have it both ways, Mr. Murtha. The voters in the 12th Congressional district know exactly what you are doing.”

Recycled - Democrat John Murtha Wasting Tax Dollars

Tax dollars wasted by congressman John Murtha in Johnstown PA Airport. John Murtha is a Democrat by the way helping Barack Obama push through more federal and pork spending.

Russell Leadership Memo - "Oh Canada"

Bill Russell has launched "Leadership Memo"video - his views, unfiltered. The first titled: "Oh Canada!" is asking the question that if our friends to the north love state-run health care so much, why are they scheduling major medical procedures in American hospitals?

The August political heat wave is hitting Pennsylvania pretty hard isn't it?

Jack Murtha's best friend in Congress, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, has been fanning the flames with wild, personal attacks on those of us who don't live in her San Francisco district. For his part, Mr. Murtha is spending his summer vacation inviting his constituents to "telephone town halls" -- with no live audience and a mute button! No questions about FBI investigations or his bad vote for the Obama healthcare takeover.

ICYMI: Murtha's Money; Corruption, Pork & Scandle Continues

The Philidelphia Inquirer: The more federal court documents you read, the less optimistic you become about Rep. John Murtha's future in politics.

Murtha (D., Pa.) is the powerful chairman of the House defense appropriations subcommittee. Over his 18 terms, he has been best known for his ability to bring federal pork projects to his home base in tiny Johnstown. But lately, defense contractors with ties to Murtha have been running afoul of federal prosecutors. . . .

Despite all of this, the Democrat-controlled House in March refused to proceed with a sensible call by Republicans to investigate the lobbying firm. The House also rejected an effort to cut any earmarks for PMA clients in a $410 billion spending bill. It's not clear where these probes will lead. But it's crystal clear that Murtha is becoming more of a headache, not less of one, for his Democratic colleagues. [Full Article]

Murtha & Pelosi Retreat on Jets for Congress

Peter Flaherty, National Legal & Policy Center: Nancy Pelosi and John Murtha have retreated half way on their plan to spend $550 million on private jets for use by members of Congress. This is not good enough. Plans for the remaining four aircraft must be abandoned as well.

Murtha was quoted by AP as saying, "If the Department of Defense does not want these aircraft, they will be eliminated from the bill." I guess the public uproar over the jet purchase had nothing to do with it. After years of ramming unwanted projects down the throat of the Defense Department, Murtha this time just wants to defer to the Pentagon.

It is amazing that Pelosi continues to allow Murtha such a high visability as his cronies get indicted one by one, and he unapologetically defends earmarks for projects like the Airport for No One in his distirict.

The fact that these aircraft purchases were even contemplated shows how out of touch Congress has become. Pelosi and Murtha are becoming symbols of everything that is wrong with Congress. Until they relent completely, this issue will not go away.

Members of Congress should fly commercial. That is how 99% of their constituents travel. They will learn about the problems of real people and the see the real economy first hand.

Testing Government Run Health Care

Fiends discuss the importance of "testing" something before you risk it all. This lesson is applied to the health care reform debate in Washington. Check out more videos like this at Not So Sure. [Source]

Let's Trade In This Clunker --> Congress

by William Warren:

Cartoon -- Couple Discusses Using Cash for Clunker Program:

"It's inefficient, drains our budget, and doesn't work well at all. We should trade it in!
So how much can we get for this clunker?" - - -> Pointing to the US Congress

by Ozark Guru: Well, in 2010, we (the people) have an opportunity to trade in a large part of Congress. Get involved and work to turn America back from the rampant socialist spending and the destruction of American businesses, jobs and the economy and our health care and our WORKING class. Yes, the working class; those who work! Those who have lived free and choose not to surrender their freedom for a few empty promises that in reality strip away everything they have and make them part of welfare class needing the government to decide when, where and how to take care of them.

Card Checked! - The Game

[H/T ARRA News Service]