http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...09-29-19-13-38
Murtha Again Seeks House Leadership Post
AP Photo/DENNIS COOK
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Rep. John Murtha said Friday he has started campaigning again for the position of House majority leader if the Democrats oust the Republicans in power in November.
In June, the Pennsylvania Democrat who has been the leading voice for pulling troops out of Iraq agreed to suspend his campaign for the position out of concern that it could divert from the party's ability to gain the 15 House seats it would need to take control of the House.
"I think we need a presence. We need somebody that knows something about defense and we need a leadership team that will work together," Murtha said in an interview taped Friday on C-SPAN's "The Newsmakers" show to be aired Sunday.
Murtha's decision to seek the position put him on a possible collision course with Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., second-in-command to Democratic Party Leader Nancy Pelosi. Hoyer's press secretary said Friday he had no comment on Murtha's statement and referred to previous statements he has made about his first focus being on winning a majority in the House.
Murtha, a pro-military Democrat gained prominence by leading the party in demanding an early troop withdrawal from Iraq. He's spent the last several weeks traveling the country raising money for Democrats.
Yeah, this from the guy that wanted to re-deploy our troops to Okinawa. Nevermind, cutting and running, why Okinawa? That's not an indication of a very astute military mind.
But, thanks for reinforcing the party plank of, "If Democrats take the Congress we will abandon Iraq."
God help the COUNTRY if this happens.
Not only did he want to redeploy to Okinana the 2006 defense budget got 20 million which went to 10 firms which are represented by his brother's Robert Murtha Lobbying firm KSA Consulting. One of the top officials of this firm is Carmen Scialabba, who worked for Jack Murtha for 27 years as a congressional aid.
The Center for Responsive Politics lists Jack as the top recipient of defense industry dollars in the 2006 election.
He has also arranged sweetheart deals for companies owned by PA Dem Paul Kanjorskis, children.
In early 2004 Mr. Murtha reportedly leaned on U.S. Navy officials to sign a contract to transfer the Hunters Point Shipyard to the city of San Francisco. Laurence Pelosi, nephew of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, at the time was an executive of the company which owned the rights to the land.
It's odd that the media, which has been fairly unbiased in going after corrupt politicians recently, has gone silent on Mr. Murtha's questionable actions.
Please recall that after the massive 1980 Abscam scandal, Mr. Murtha was named by the FBI as an "unindicted co-conspirator.
As long as uses his supbeona power to get and rummy under oath i'm ok with Murtha. Of course when Republicans discuss lowering troop levels they are drawing down but when Murtha suggests the same thing it's cutting and running. See it's easy to defend a policy when you can have it both ways.
Yeah, because it's all about making the rabid left happy.
I truly hope you guys stick to this platform up to election day. Reasonable people are fleeing the Democrats in droves.
I'll put up with Nbadan's cries of Diebold election fraud just to see the shocked looks on Murtha and Pelosi's faces when the Republicans actually make gains in the House and Senate. Y'all just don't get it. And, that's okay.
If the Dems get control, and put forward a resolution to increase number of troops on the ground (not total military) to 500K for Iraq and Afghanistan and WITH the $$$ to equip them, and that gets voted down, then GAMEOVER.
The undermanned US military can't win, as we see now. They can clear, but the can't hold after clearing since they have to go clear somwhere else.
The military will have been ed by the WH/Rummy who never wanted sufficient troops.
If the US military can't win, then bring them home ASAP rather than let them bleed to death.
So you're okay with all his sweetheart deals to people he knows (indicated in the original article).As long as uses his supbeona power to get and rummy under oath i'm ok with Murtha. Of course when Republicans discuss lowering troop levels they are drawing down but when Murtha suggests the same thing it's cutting and running.
By the way, anyone, Republican or Democrat, who favors downsizing our troop levels is a moron.
It's probably my biggest beef with Rumsfeld.
See what he said about taking a bribe
mfile.akamai.com ...
If yiou got time here is the complete video
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...55700584&hl=en
Murtha has repeatedly maintained his innocence in the Abscam sting operation, even as recently as this year. However, his November 20, 1980 testimony in the trial of Congressmen Frank Thompson (D-N.J.) and John Murphy (D-N.Y.) and the FBI's complete undercover video of his January 7, 1980 meeting with its agent and informant reveal a man showcasing his political influence and apparently tempted to take a $50,000 bribe. On the tape, Murtha appears eager to arrange his own, long-term deal with the supposed representatives of Arab sheiks, and to cut out Thompson and Murphy. His testimony reveals that after his January 7 meeting, he looked into helping the sheiks enter the country, rather than contacting the FBI or the Ethics Committee, of which he was a member. Through the years, Murtha has maintained that he only met with the FBI agents to discuss investments in his district. His testimony, the video, and the cases of other congressmen snared in Abscam suggest that "investments in the district" was a common Abscam defense for those accused of bribery.
ALSO
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington recently included Murtha on a list of the most corrupt Members of Congress.
Taxpayers for Common Sense, another government watchdog group, analyzed the 2006 Defense spending bill and found at least 60 earmarks for PMA clients worth more than $95 million. Murtha is the ranking member of the House Appropriations subcommittee on Defense.
"Over the last six years, officials and clients of the PMA Group have contributed roughly $800,000 to Congressman Murtha's campaign fund," "In return, they have received at least $95 million in federal contracts, loans, and grants. That's a better than 100-to-1 return on investment."
AND FUTHERMORE
Jack Murtha's voted against H.R. 4844, the "Federal Election Integrity Act of 2006," which would require proof of citizenship to vote.
"Why does Jack Murtha want to allow non-citizens to vote? The House considered the 'Federal Election Integrity Act of 2006,' which would have required a government-issued photo identification do ent to vote.
Given that current law already requires that an individual be a citizen of the United States in order to cast a legal vote in a federal election, Mr. Murtha's vote to oppose this measure is curious - the only logical conclusion is that Mr. Murtha wishes to make it easier for vote fraud by non-U.S. citizens to take place.
GG Afro and others:
I've got more, but if the above is not enough than your goose-stepping with
Jack.
ADDED I'm about as Pro-Military as they come.
Last edited by AFE7FATMAN; 09-30-2006 at 05:11 PM.
You seem to be OK with Bush and Co. doing the same thing...
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