John Murtha is a Congressman from Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. First elected to this office in 1974, Congressman Murtha has had a colorful career of successes with and without controversy. He is very well known for his continual success in obtaining earmarks for his district.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/23/murtha.airport/
Dubbed “One of the Kings of Pork” by many Taxpayer Watchdog Groups, Congressman Murtha makes no apologies for the amount of revenue he gets for his district and he is very popular among his constituents because of this. He is, however, one of the biggest targets the GOP have, in trying to regain seats in the House of Representatives.
Some of the ammunition the republicans try to use against this savvy politician is his association with the Abscam controversy in the 1980’s. The following is a summation of this incident;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Murtha#cite_note-14
In 1980, during his fourth term as a Congressman, Murtha became embroiled in the Abscam investigation, which targeted dozens of congressmen. The investigation entailed FBI operatives posing as intermediaries for Saudi nationals hoping to bribe their way through the immigration process into the United States. Murtha met with these operatives and was videotaped. He did agree to testify against Frank Thompson (D-NJ) and John Murphy (D-NY), the two Congressmen mentioned as participants in the deal at the same meeting and who were later video taped placing the cash bribes in their trousers. The FBI videotaped Murtha responding to an offer of $50,000, with Murtha saying, "I'm not interested... at this point. [If] we do business for a while, maybe I'll be interested, maybe I won't", right after Murtha had offered to provide names of businesses and banks in his district where money could be invested legally.[5] The U.S. Attorneys Office reasoned that Murtha's intent was to obtain investment in his district. Full length viewing of the tape shows Murtha citing prospective investment opportunities that could return "500 or 1000" miners to work.
For the FBI to exonerate Congressman Murtha from any wrong doing in this affair may have been a big relief to him but, it began a deep frustration with his detractors that continues to this day. Many of the opposition groups, that salivate at the thought of being able to defeat Congressman Murtha, keep a constant tally of what many have estimated is 100 million dollars annually, in earmarks for his district.
In the upcoming midterm election in 2010, the GOP challenger for the 12th District Seat will be Local Businessman and Community Volunteer Tim Burns. Born and raised from this area, Mr. Burns announced his candidacy this past April. His website can be found at;http://www.timburnsforcongress.com/index.php
Over his career, Congressman Murtha has faced tough challenges in 1982, 1990 and 2002. Even when scandal was knocking at his door, he was able to pull off a victory and continue his career while frustrating his detractors.
If I were a voter from his district, I am not sure I would care how he brought jobs and services to my community, as long as it helped me to provide a good quality of life to my family. Maybe, I would resent his relatives, benefiting from his Congressional position. But, my vote would come down to economics. If Congressman Murtha’s opponent could not offer a more prosperous future and ran on a platform of ethics, I would vote for the money every time. Ethics do not pay the bills. In the end, if Congressman Murtha ended up in prison, then I would say he made his own bed. Maybe this is the wrong reason but, when you are raising a family, if it does not come in the color green with a President on it, then chances are, I will vote for the other guy. Besides, I feel, that is one of the reasons we elect our Government Officials. I want my Congressman or Senator to be looking out for my areas best interest. Sadly enough, short of murder, I really do not care how that individual does it. Hey, I live near Boston. The Big Dig is what kept Boston and the area communities prosperous during the 90’s. Maybe that is wrong of me. But, in the final analysis, would you really think any different?
That’s How I See It
Websites of reference;
http://www.tribune-democrat.com/local/local_story_149002733.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Murtha
http://www.murtha.house.gov/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/04/AR2009050403743.html
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=John_Murtha
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/23/murtha.airport/
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