Study these pictures. Would the real John Murtha please stand up?
John Murtha is an asshole. There’s no more polite way to put it, enough of the garbage about his military service and wounds. That’s the kind of stuff that earns medals. It is no certification of political prowess nor is it a meal ticket to be entitled to hold office.
John Murtha is a thoroughly corrupt politician who is totally confused, misguided, and wrong on the wide spectrum of issues on which he has attracted attention. Further, some of his inflammatory comments about our fighting men and women and vicious stereotypes directed at citizens in his district reveal a sick, demented mind that shows a lack of awareness of what’s going on in the real world but also reflects a degree of prejudices and limited intellect that is absolutely terrifying.
The Republicans had a figure who shared some of John Murtha’s problems, Jesse Helms, but where the media tends to overlook and sugar coat issues regarding Murtha’s archaic thinking, Jesse Helms couldn’t belch in the bathroom without it becoming a major inside the Beltway scandal.
The case against Murtha is long and troubling. Currently, The Washington Post reports his directing $250 million Federal funds to key supporters, companies documented to be the most active Murtha financial supporters. The nebulous Electro-Optics Center created under the umbrella of Penn State was supposed to create high-tech jobs in Western Pennsylvania, an economically struggling region. Murtha used tactics which went beyond the normal earmark procedure to avoid public disclosure. The chief beneficiary of Murtha’s pork feast is the lobbying firm, PMA, a close ally of Murtha enriching his campaign coffers significantly.
Scandal is nothing new for John Murtha, in fact, it is a chief driving force of his tenure in the House. First elected in 1974, the first major scandal that Murtha’s benefitted from was the notorious Abscam in 1980, an FBI string where agents posed as Arab businessmen. Though never indicted, evidentiary tapes show Murtha involvement.
In an episode which clearly revealed Murtha’s twisted character and foggy thinking stood out in response to the Haditha episode in Iraq where American soldiers were implicated in killing innocent Iraqi civilians. Murtha stated publicly that the Marines involved were guilty before an investigation was concluded. Ultimately, all charges against the Marines were dropped. Nevertheless, Murtha has never apologized or offered any clarification of his remarks assuming their guilt.
One June 24, 2006 in a speech delivered to Florida International University, Murtha argued, “American presence in Iraq is more dangerous to world peace than nuclear threats from North Korea or Iran.” Once again, Murtha smeared the reputation of the American military.
While Murtha publicly attacks the military lying about their conduct, how ironic it is how much defense spending he has been able to pull into his district thanks to his seniority in the House of Representatives. Ironically, many measures he’s supported are for projects the Pentagon neither requested nor budgeted amounting to a power play simply to push the pork.
While Murtha has been successful enriching the fortune of select deep pocketed supporters in his district, on the eve of the 2008 elections in an interview with a local television station, WTAE, Murtha took shots at his constituents as being racist and “rednecks”
Murtha’s ability to wield such substantial influence pulling on the all powerful purse strings is clear illustration of how the seniority system works to the detriment of the public interest. While generally despised by the population in his district, his ability to satisfy key groups including labor provides just enough margin to keep him in office term after term.
The news media’s soft treatment of Murtha provides one of the classic examples of how media bias in Washington works. Because Murtha is a powerful Democrat whose outrageous comments are directed at the military and stereotypes the kind of people the elites can’t stand, his long record of corruption is all but overlooked. Give The Washington Post credit for spearheading the media revelation of his latest scandal.
If Murtha were Republican, where would he be today?
John Murtha is an asshole. There’s no more polite way to put it, enough of the garbage about his military service and wounds. That’s the kind of stuff that earns medals. It is no certification of political prowess nor is it a meal ticket to be entitled to hold office.
John Murtha is a thoroughly corrupt politician who is totally confused, misguided, and wrong on the wide spectrum of issues on which he has attracted attention. Further, some of his inflammatory comments about our fighting men and women and vicious stereotypes directed at citizens in his district reveal a sick, demented mind that shows a lack of awareness of what’s going on in the real world but also reflects a degree of prejudices and limited intellect that is absolutely terrifying.
The Republicans had a figure who shared some of John Murtha’s problems, Jesse Helms, but where the media tends to overlook and sugar coat issues regarding Murtha’s archaic thinking, Jesse Helms couldn’t belch in the bathroom without it becoming a major inside the Beltway scandal.
The case against Murtha is long and troubling. Currently, The Washington Post reports his directing $250 million Federal funds to key supporters, companies documented to be the most active Murtha financial supporters. The nebulous Electro-Optics Center created under the umbrella of Penn State was supposed to create high-tech jobs in Western Pennsylvania, an economically struggling region. Murtha used tactics which went beyond the normal earmark procedure to avoid public disclosure. The chief beneficiary of Murtha’s pork feast is the lobbying firm, PMA, a close ally of Murtha enriching his campaign coffers significantly.
Scandal is nothing new for John Murtha, in fact, it is a chief driving force of his tenure in the House. First elected in 1974, the first major scandal that Murtha’s benefitted from was the notorious Abscam in 1980, an FBI string where agents posed as Arab businessmen. Though never indicted, evidentiary tapes show Murtha involvement.
In an episode which clearly revealed Murtha’s twisted character and foggy thinking stood out in response to the Haditha episode in Iraq where American soldiers were implicated in killing innocent Iraqi civilians. Murtha stated publicly that the Marines involved were guilty before an investigation was concluded. Ultimately, all charges against the Marines were dropped. Nevertheless, Murtha has never apologized or offered any clarification of his remarks assuming their guilt.
One June 24, 2006 in a speech delivered to Florida International University, Murtha argued, “American presence in Iraq is more dangerous to world peace than nuclear threats from North Korea or Iran.” Once again, Murtha smeared the reputation of the American military.
While Murtha publicly attacks the military lying about their conduct, how ironic it is how much defense spending he has been able to pull into his district thanks to his seniority in the House of Representatives. Ironically, many measures he’s supported are for projects the Pentagon neither requested nor budgeted amounting to a power play simply to push the pork.
While Murtha has been successful enriching the fortune of select deep pocketed supporters in his district, on the eve of the 2008 elections in an interview with a local television station, WTAE, Murtha took shots at his constituents as being racist and “rednecks”
Murtha’s ability to wield such substantial influence pulling on the all powerful purse strings is clear illustration of how the seniority system works to the detriment of the public interest. While generally despised by the population in his district, his ability to satisfy key groups including labor provides just enough margin to keep him in office term after term.
The news media’s soft treatment of Murtha provides one of the classic examples of how media bias in Washington works. Because Murtha is a powerful Democrat whose outrageous comments are directed at the military and stereotypes the kind of people the elites can’t stand, his long record of corruption is all but overlooked. Give The Washington Post credit for spearheading the media revelation of his latest scandal.
If Murtha were Republican, where would he be today?
For more background on John Murtha's current scandal, consult the following link to The Washington Post.
No comments:
Post a Comment