I believe they call this the State Senator Clay Davis defense.
"You ask where the earmarks go?" said Bill Polacek.
He motioned to the floor of JWF Industries where his crews assemble armor plating for military vehicles in an abandoned steel plant. He recited the statistics: 500 employees at JWF, each of which means jobs for four people down the line.
"When you ask about the congressman and his earmarks, tell that to the 2,000 families in this valley that are being supported largely by the defense business that would have gone somewhere, but came here," he said.
On the side of the plant, a two-story banner, still there from last year's election, broadcasts defiance to an outside world convinced the 18-term Democrat is up to no good:
"We Support John Murtha. He Delivers for Us."
Deliver he has.
Johnstown made Mr. Murtha the king of earmarks. Prone to floods and wracked by unemployment when steel collapsed, the city turned to its congressman to save its economy and Mr. Murtha, for his part, turned to the federal budget....
Mr. Murtha, a 76-year-old Marine veteran schooled in the blunt-knuckle deal-making that defined politics here, is contrition-free when it comes to his success.
"If I'm corrupt, it's because I take care of my district," Mr. Murtha said. "My job as a member of Congress is to make sure that we take care of what we see is necessary. Not the bureaucrats who are unelected over there in whatever White House, whether it's Republican or Democrat. Those bureaucrats would like to control everything. Every president would like to have all the power and not have Congress change anything. But we're closest to the people."...
"You ask where the earmarks go?" said Bill Polacek.
He motioned to the floor of JWF Industries where his crews assemble armor plating for military vehicles in an abandoned steel plant. He recited the statistics: 500 employees at JWF, each of which means jobs for four people down the line.
"When you ask about the congressman and his earmarks, tell that to the 2,000 families in this valley that are being supported largely by the defense business that would have gone somewhere, but came here," he said.
On the side of the plant, a two-story banner, still there from last year's election, broadcasts defiance to an outside world convinced the 18-term Democrat is up to no good:
"We Support John Murtha. He Delivers for Us."
Deliver he has.
Johnstown made Mr. Murtha the king of earmarks. Prone to floods and wracked by unemployment when steel collapsed, the city turned to its congressman to save its economy and Mr. Murtha, for his part, turned to the federal budget....
No one has tallied the amount Mr. Murtha has steered into his district, which sprawls well beyond the Conemaugh Valley and reaches the West Virginia border. Conservative estimates are in the billions of dollars, most of it lobbied from federal agencies or won through open bidding or, more controversially, steered home directly during his 35-year career.
Mr. Murtha, a 76-year-old Marine veteran schooled in the blunt-knuckle deal-making that defined politics here, is contrition-free when it comes to his success.
"If I'm corrupt, it's because I take care of my district," Mr. Murtha said. "My job as a member of Congress is to make sure that we take care of what we see is necessary. Not the bureaucrats who are unelected over there in whatever White House, whether it's Republican or Democrat. Those bureaucrats would like to control everything. Every president would like to have all the power and not have Congress change anything. But we're closest to the people."
That proximity, and his role in shaping Johnstown's economy, has raised the ire of reform groups and the persistent curiosity of prosecutors....
Critics of Mr. Murtha and the earmarks process say the congressman's success in directing federal dollars to businesses in his district has created a sort of triangular trade in politics: He directs earmarks to particular firms that hire lobbyists who, in turn, direct campaign contributions back to Mr. Murtha.
"Mr. Murtha has been a successful manager at the favor factory for many years," said Naomi Seligman, deputy director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group that has branded Mr. Murtha "one of the most corrupt members of Congress" for his earmarking ways.
Mr. Murtha and his supporters say that if this kind of defense boom had taken place inside the Washington Beltway, nobody would have batted an eyelash. Because a small-town congressman figured out how the system works and uses it well, they say, he is vilified.
"Should we be at fault because we have an effective congressman? I say not," said Mark Pasquerilla, a conservative Republican and ardent Murtha ally. "I mean, we're American citizens, too. We should be entitled to the same rights as a company based in Arlington or Fairfax, Va."
jholbo-at-mac-dot-com
bbwaring-at-yahoo-dot-com
I don't have a categorical problem with earmarks for exactly the reason that Murtha stated: why should the spending of money be directed wholly by the executive? Unfortunately, for something like defense spending where we're just trying to buy some stuff (as opposed to, say, spending to preserve a particular wetland or park, or to assist in community policing for a particular city), earmarks have no place in that process because it should be done by nationwide bidding by contractors.
Ditto spending to supply condoms to Africa -- just buy the cheapest ones that work, wherever they're made in compliance with U.S. labor and environmental standards. I can see the rationale against taking international bids for military stuff because of concerns about national security, but for condoms, who cares?
Posted by: PG | April 01, 2009 at 11:09 PM