Yet another black eye for the Democrats in congress. John Murtha the anti-war King of pork barrel spending recently had a blow up ON THE SENATE floor regarding one of his earmark provisions.
Murtha, known for his bluff manner and fondness of pork barrel projects, did not dispute claims that he charged across the House floor May 17 to confront Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich. Rogers had tried unsuccessfully to strike a $23 million Murtha earmark - a targeted spending item - for a drug intelligence center in Murtha's district.
In a House speech Monday, Rogers said Murtha threatened him by saying, "you will not get any earmarks now and forever." Rogers, backed by House GOP leaders, said Murtha's threat violated congressional ethics rules.
Remember this is the party that claimed to have been harassed by evil republicans in the senate. They claimed that they were now the party of fiscal responsibility. Yet when one of their earmarks gets challenged they turn to threats and shouting matches. Also don't forget that this is the person that madame Pelosi wanted as majority leader.
The vote to reprimand Murtha for his behavior was defeated along party lines. However:
In conversations with colleagues and reporters, Democrats played down the incident. Murtha is known for blowing off steam, they said, and his comments to Rogers were too vague to constitute a genuine violation of ethics rules. "It's time to put on your long pants and grow up," Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., said in an interview when asked how Democrats would respond.
Still, several Democrats said some party members found it distasteful to vote to protect Murtha.
When Democrats took control of the House and Senate in January, they vowed to reform the practice of placing earmarks in spending bills. Members seeking earmarks would have to identify themselves and their intentions in time for staffers to review the items, leaders said.
Make no mistake, if a Republican had done this it would be all over the news 24/7. There would be loud calls for his resignation and Bush would be blamed for destroying the decorum of the senate.
But as low as the Presidents approval rating is, and as much as the drive-bys hype this "unpopular war", the Democratic congress has a lower approval rating and they have delivered on very few of their campaign promises. The Democrats are going to be in real trouble when elections roll around and there's no Bush to bash.
Source: My Way News - House Defeats Bid to Reprimand Murtha
