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Steny Hoyer IN -- John Murtha OUT!! Email Print

By Tom Ball
11/15/2006 04:05:49 PM EST

I think I'm going to be sick.

Today, both Devilstower and Larry O'Donnell let rip with a scathing criticism of a potential Jack Murtha House majority leadership position -- seemingly in reaction to a Washington Post Article endorsing Hoyer as House majority leader in lieu of the ethically 'questionable' Murtha.

I would like to reiterate the absolute importance of Pelosi's and the Democrats' exclusion of such questionable figures from leadership positions. Murtha has no business representing Democrats -- a party that has rightly adopted a "culture of integrity" -- one that intends to "Drain the swamp" of congressional corruption.

Pelosi should know better.

As Rep. Nancy Pelosi works tirelessly to force Murtha into the House majority position, she is also considering a committee chairmanship for Rep. Alcee Hastings:

As a refresher, Hastings was impeached by a Democratic Congress in 1988 and removed from his federal district judgeship in South Florida for lying in connection with a $150,000 bribe. (Pelosi voted to impeach Hastings in the 413-3 vote; Hastings was convicted during a Senate trial in 1989.)

He became only one of 13 federal judges to be removed from office through impeachment in U.S. history.

This makes me SICK!!!!!

Democrats haven't even seen the 110th congress come to fruition and already the would-be speaker is f**king it up -- creating a Democratic version of the "GOP Culture of corruption".

Is Pelosi already blinded by power? Is it possible that she doesn't see the danger in which she inserts our party? Or is she simply politically retarded -- unable to comprehend the implications of her actions?

Until now, I believed Pelosi was a steward of reasonability, vowing to "drain the swamp" of the corrupt. What she didn't say was that she was going to REFILL the swamp with a different brand of slime.

Join me in calling for Pelosi to get some sense and abort her efforts to support both Murtha and Hastings for leadership positions.

We worked way too f**king hard to allow Pelosi and her 'allies' to limit the Democrat's majority rule to only two years.

And let's not forget that if congressional Democrats set the new standard for corruption, dishonesty, and cronyism, then prepare yourself for another brainless neocon in the White House come 2008!!

Let's not allow Pelosi to piss on all our efforts to undo the strangle hold of the GOP "culture of corruption" only to let it rest in a new Democratic "culture of corruption".

Democrats MUST exist and remain in a "Culture of INTEGRITY" even if it means subordinating the most assertive anti-Iraq war voice -- even if it means foregoing loyalty to fellow politicians.

I would hate to think that someone's loyalty to Murtha or anyone else might destroy our chance for stem-cell advances, a higher standard of living for the working poor, universal healthcare, a meaningful fight against global warming, the preservation of Roe v. Wade, and an infinite array of issues that promise to improve the lives of all those who dwell on this beautiful planet.

No one is worth that.

Steny Hoyer for Democratic House Majority Leader!!

CONTACT YOUR CONGRESSPERSON AND LET THEM KNOW HOW YOU FEEL!!


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Steny Hoyer IN -- John Murtha OUT!! | 4 comments (4 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)
Steny Hoyer IN -- John Murtha OUT!!??? (none / 0)
At first glance, I thought this a typical neocon attack at any opposition, but it is not.  

I have a problem with giving the tiniest fraction of ground that will validate any Republican criticism of Democrats or liberalism.  They are virtually absolute in their willingness and determination to politicize anything.  

They'll make nothing into something, something into more, or anything into everything.  They will do whatever will allow them to clutch power and money, and stay insulated from accountability for their own corruption, mismanagement and incompetence, and their crimes.  

So, at first glance, I was skeptical.

They will use lies, exaggerations, conflation, deception, schemes, ... they will even make stuff up... anything to create a desired effect.  This includes preemption.  

I don't want to be like the Republicans, forgiving indiscretions and even crimes, and making excuses for their own, turning a blind eye from truth and defending their guilty with attacks, lies, exaggerations, and distortions.

All of these elected public officials must, in regard to professional ethics, maintain the highest standard. They must view their role as a public service, not a stepping-stone or a tool for personal ambition.

It used to be that the appearance of impropriety was enough to sink a political career, now it seems that it takes a willingness to commit a crime -- on video.  But in this case, it will only sink him from a leadership role.  

So why doesn't he completely resign?  And, who wants him out?  

I do wonder why this information has just come out.  Is it because the public should be aware of Murtha's past -- because he is unethical?  We should have known this ages ago.  Or do the Republicans just not like the idea of Murtha doggin' them?

It was quite some time ago.  He did nothing illegal.  And maybe he has changed.  So there is some grey area.  

When I began, it was to assert that Democrats need to be the party of ethics, and that whomever leads will have nothing hanging over them, nothing looming.  

Who is Steny Hoyer and what decisions will he make that make him better than Mr. Murtha?  Is he just more aligned with, or susceptible to, the influences of corporate money, or is it his support of the war in Iraq?  Is this the guy the Republicans want - or would rather have?

Who is he?  Will he be blinded by personal and/or political ambition? Will he be weak and soft where Mr. Murtha will, and maybe should, be strong? What concessions will he make?

Why should the Democrats start sacrificing their own until the Republicans are satisfied with who is placed?  They may have dirt on everybody who stands against them.  

Maybe Murtha is just the guy to run roughshod against these truly sinister Republican politicians.

I don't know.   Ethics should be the backbone of the Democratic Party.  

What I do know is, if the Republicans don't want him... I do.

I just don't know.  Again, I am skeptical.

by nice2blucky on 11/15/2006 06:13:08 PM EST

Sigh! (none / 1)
The Democratic choices described above, and the return to power of Republican Trent Lott, indicate that neither party has learned from the 2006 election.  Both apparently believe that integrity can be ignored and faked as necessary through clever PR.

I applaud those who, like Devilstower, Tom Ball and others, demand squeaky-clean integrity from the beginning of the new Congress. A house (or senate) is only as strong as its foundation.

by truthista on 11/15/2006 06:26:14 PM EST

Thank you Truthista. (none / 0)
It's true that this position is not very popular amongst most members of the progressive blogosphere, but it is particularly sad how the Democratic base has fallen into the apologist trap for he who was the voice of Iraq opposition -- very sad.

I am totally against everything the Administration has done in Iraw and was blogging about their lies long before the invasion.

But Murtha's baggage simply eliminates him from consideration for a leadership post in my mind.

Luckily, we live in America and everybody is entitled to their opinion.

Political Cortex -- Brain Food for the Body Politic

by Tom Ball on 11/15/2006 09:06:08 PM EST

[ Parent ]
JFK's 1961 Address (none / 1)
The nation needs more people with the courage to take an ethical but unpopular stand, as John F. Kennedy indicated in his 1961 "City On a Hill" speech, exerpted below.

I suggest sending prominent progressives and every member of Congress a copy of Kennedy's  speech, available in full on the JFK Library website.

For of those to whom much is given, much is required. And when at some future date the high court of history sits in judgment on each one of us--recording whether in our brief span of service we fulfilled our responsibilities to the state--our success or failure, in whatever office we may hold, will be measured by the answers to four questions:

First, were we truly men of courage--with the courage to stand up to one's enemies--and the courage to stand up, when necessary, to one's associates--the courage to resist public pressure, as well as private greed?

Secondly, were we truly men of judgment--with perceptive judgment of the future as well as the past--of our own mistakes as well as the mistakes of others--with enough wisdom to know that we did not know, and enough candor to admit it?

Third, were we truly men of integrity--men who never ran out on either the principles in which they believed or the people who believed in them--men who believed in us--men whom neither financial gain nor political ambition could ever divert from the fulfillment of our sacred trust?

Finally, were we truly men of dedication--with an honor mortgaged to no single individual or group, and compromised by no private obligation or aim, but devoted solely to serving the public good and the national interest.

by truthista on 11/15/2006 11:28:20 PM EST

[ Parent ]
Steny Hoyer IN -- John Murtha OUT!! | 4 comments (4 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)
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