Posted on 11/14/2006 3:07:01 AM PST by W04Man
Pelosi draws fire for backing Murtha
By Charles Hurt
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
November 14, 2006
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi is under fire from fellow Democrats and outside liberals for publicly backing Rep. John P. Murtha's bid to become majority leader, saying that the presumed speaker's acts have cast doubt on her party's promise to clean up the "culture of corruption" in Washington.
"How can Americans believe that the Democrats will return integrity to the House when future Speaker Pelosi has endorsed an ethically challenged member for a leadership position?" said Melanie Sloan, executive director of the liberal group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). "Representative Murtha is the wrong choice for this job."
Most notably, Mr. Murtha was an "unindicted co-conspirator" in the Abscam scandal of the 1980s when FBI agents posed as emissaries of an Arab sheik and lured several congressmen into a Capitol Hill town house to hand out $50,000 bribes. Mr. Murtha was among those offered money, but he declined.
"I'm not interested. I'm sorry," he said, adding: "You know, we do business for a while, maybe I'll be interested, maybe I won't." The following year, the ethics panel in the then-Democrat-controlled House declined -- on a "near party-line vote," according to press accounts at the time -- to file ethics charges against the Pennsylvania Democrat.
(Excerpt) Read more at insider.washingtontimes.com ...
Power struggles unravel Democrats' unity
Think CREW is surprised that their press release about Murtha was ignored?
Pelosi Backs Murtha for No. 2: Iraq over Ethics?
Also, I fouled up the LA Times link above. Here it is again: Power struggles unravel Democrats' unity
The WashingtonPost is also running an article about this. Here's the link to the FR thread:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1738265/posts
Media's Love Affair with Murtha Ignores His Pork-Filled Past / Newsbusters / Nov. 05
"I also don't understand why somebody else in the party is not challenging her for the position of Speaker of the House"
I don't get that either - especially since there are quite a few that are supposed to be 'Blue Dog' or 'moderate' Dims.
I read yesterday (article in link below) that some of the WA state delegation are supporting Hoyer and not Murtha. Bet she'll whip those guys and others who don't want to support Murtha in line soon!
http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/davidpostman/archives/2006/11/state_delegation_divided_in_race_for_majority_leader.html
Looks like buyer's remorse is setting in all over the place on lots of counts.
"Looks like buyer's remorse is setting in all over the place on lots of counts."
It does, doesn't it. Not the least of which is from the moderate independents and Pubbies that decided to stay home or vote for the Dims or Libertarian to 'show the GOP congresscritters a lesson'.
She may in fact be the best thing that could happen for Pubbies. As I've said before, after listening to her left-wing wacko screeching for 2 years, folks may decide they no longer want left-wing wackos in congress and/or a screeching Hitlery for Pres.
Good Morning you! 17 days until he comes to meet everybody! Oh OT, Sorry everyone.
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