By ROBERT D. NOVAK

Democrats controlling the House of Representatives demonstrated this month the hollowness of their claim that they have ended the corruption of 12 Republican years. Rep. John Murtha quietly slipped into the intelligence authorization bill two earmarks costing taxpayers $5.5 million. The beneficiary was a contractor headquartered in Murtha's hometown of Johnstown, Pa., whose executives have been generous political contributors to the powerful 17-term congressman.

This scandalous conduct would be unknown except for reforms by the new Democratic majority. But the remodeled system is not sufficiently transparent to expose in a timely manner machinations of Murtha and fellow earmarkers to his colleagues, much less to the public.

It took Republican Rep. Jeff Flake of Arizona, the leading House earmark-buster, to discover the truth.

Jack Murtha, the maestro of imposing personal preferences on the appropriations process, looks increasingly like an embarrassment to Congress and the Democratic Party. But there is no Democratic will to curb Murtha, one of Speaker Nancy Pelosi's closest associates. Nor are Republicans eager for a crackdown endangering their own earmarkers.

On May 10, as the intelligence bill neared passage, Flake took the floor of the House to relate how Capitol Hill works. Told there were no earmarks attached to the bill, a skeptical Flake sought the measure's classified annex but was sent on a wild goose chase for earmarks — first to the clerk of the House and then to the parliamentarian. When he finally found 26 earmarks, it was five hours after the deadline to submit amendments to the bill. Flake requested a secret session of the House on intelligence earmarks, but got no support from either party.

Five days later, in a letter to House Republican Leader John Boehner, Flake revealed (without describing them) Murtha's two earmarks for the Johnstown-based Concurrent Technologies. One provides $2.5 million for the Mobile Missile Monitoring and Detection program. The other supplies $3 million for the Joint Intelligence Training & Education with Advanced Distributed Learning Technological Phase II.

Murtha's earmark requests attest (as required by the new reforms) that "neither I nor my spouse had any financial interest" in either project. What he did not attest was that officers and employees of Concurrent Technologies contributed $56,475 to Murtha from the 2000 election cycle to the present. That includes $4,500 from CEO and President Daniel DeVos and $5,000 from Vice President Emil Sarady.

Flake, in his May 15 letter to Boehner, made "another appeal" for House Republicans "to take a more proactive position in opposition to earmarks." The minority leader did not respond. Instead, on May 21, Boehner wrote Speaker Nancy Pelosi that Murtha's $23 million earmark for a National Drug Intelligence Center in Johnstown was "a questionable project" secured by "highly suspect methods." Indeed, the project was not placed on the earmark list, as required by the new rules. An effort by Republican Rep. Mike Rogers of Michigan to eliminate this project led to Murtha's notorious threats, in violation of House rules, to eliminate Rogers' own earmarks "now and forever."

In fact, Rogers, a 43-year-old former FBI agent, has 10 current earmarks to protect, costing more $45 million. Flake is a rare Republican who understands that pounding on Democrats will not cure the GOP's earmark addiction. "I am concerned," Flake wrote Boehner, "that the only action taken regarding earmarks by Republicans thus far this year is to ask for clarification of the earmark rules, in order to ensure that we can take full advantage of earmark opportunities." Boehner, who personally does not use earmarks, told me "I can't agree with that." But he did not respond to Flake.

Nor do Democrats show interest in curbing earmarks. Rep. Silvestre Reyes of Texas, Pelosi's hand-picked Intelligence Committee chairman, blamed nondisclosure of earmarks on a mistake by the Government Printing Office. House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey first skirted the new rules by claiming no earmarks were contained in the supplemental appropriations. Last week, he decreed that henceforth, earmarks in his bills would not be revealed until a measure passes both the House and Senate. The test for Democrats is what they will do about Murtha now that it is known he rewards contributors with federal funds.

Novak is a nationally syndicated columnist based in Washington.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/4848627.html

The Democrats are an embarrassment that the Democrats can't hide.

Al Gore
Hillary Clinton
John Edwards
John F Kerry
Howard Dean
Michael Moore
Al Sharpton
Jesse Jackson
Chuck Schumer
Dianne Feinstein
Barbara Boxer

Shall the list go on?

Originally Posted by 5.56X45mm

The Democrats are an embarrassment that the Democrats can't hide.

Al Gore
Hillary Clinton
John Edwards
John F Kerry
Howard Dean
Michael Moore
Al Sharpton
Jesse Jackson
Chuck Schumer
Dianne Feinstein
Barbara Boxer

Shall the list go on?

You forgot Jimmy Carter

Any Democrat here feeling 'embarrassed'? I thought not. Its hard to out-due Bush in terms of national embarassment.

-P80- and -5.56- I have a damned good response to your partisan view(s) of politicians/politics ... today the list of Republicans that are an embarrassment might very well be much longer than the Democrats list.

Heading the list would have to be GW Bush and Dick Cheney, followed by a veritable smorgasbord of leading Republicans.

You have had run ins (on this forum), with people who feel that GW and his administration are out-and-out liars, crooks and worse ... you seem to believe that there is only one political party that exercises questionable policies and tactics ........ WELL ... SORRY TO BURST YOUR BALLOON - since the very first Congress, members of the various political persuasions/parties have plotted, schemed and connived to get their sides agenda pushed through the halls of our government (sometimes, against the best interests of our nation).

Understand, I am NOT making excuses for any Democrat - they piss me off just as much as do the Republicans who exhibit symptoms of not acting in the best interest of our country or our citizens.

With all of the problems facing the citizens of the world (and the United States), it angers me to the point that I would almost be in favor of public hangings of some of our politicians who are guilty of such partisanship as to blatantly place our country in grave danger of being destroyed by our enemies (or mislead them into a confrontation with a foreign power which has NOT been justified, even after almost six years).

Before you point your finger at Democrats who DO NOT approve of some of the policies that have been forced on America (and the world), by this administration (GW Bush and his cronies) ... some of the policies are pointed at stripping some of our freedoms in the cause of the war on terrorism (something I can NOT support).

My 20+ years of military service was NOT spent supporting ANY administration which had attacked Constitutional freedoms ... something which this administration is guilty of.

SO - when you begin to point your finger at people who's actions are an embarrassment, you MUST look at both sides of the political spectrum.

There is plenty of embarrassment to go around.

What I want to know is why hasn't the Democrats done anything they said they where going to do....

Prime example they where going to get to the bottom of gas prices, they are at record highs now...Good job

More like they are still the same old party of Huey Long, promise the world and deliver nothing...

Originally Posted by Donkey

What I want to know is why hasn't the Democrats done anything they said they where going to do....

Prime example they where going to get to the bottom of gas prices, they are at record highs now...Good job

More like they are still the same old party of Huey Long, promise the world and deliver nothing...

Because they are just about cheap talk and populism, and realized they couldn't do any better than president Bush's gov't has done so far. Moreover Dems think being in bed with enemy is far better than dealing with domestic issues. One can only do one job very well at a time!

An Iranian (Axis of Evil) talking trash on a American War Hero..... I'm shocked.... shocked I say.

I am respectful of Congressman Murtha's military service to his country, but that was then and this is now. I think the Democratic leaders have started to muzzle some of his ranting. He is becoming an embarrassment to both parties.

Originally Posted by Missileer

I am respectful of Congressman Murtha's military service to his country, but that was then and this is now. I think the Democratic leaders have started to muzzle some of his ranting. He is becoming an embarrassment to both parties.

Duke Cunningham was a hero back then but ended up being a crook. No one had mercy for him either. Same can be applied to Murtha. he is abusing his power too!