Text 25100, 132 rader
Skriven 2006-11-14 21:42:00 av Jeff Binkley (1:226/600)
Ärende: Murtha
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Next he will deny that was his voice on the tape...  And then we have 
Hastings, a disbarred judge who will likely be in a leadership position.  
What a place Nancy will create...  Put the criminals in charge out of 
the chute...

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http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/11/14/congress.democrats/index.html?sec
tion=cnn_latest

Murtha decries 'swift boat-style' attacks on ethics
POSTED: 9:14 p.m. EST, November 14, 2006 

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Rep. John Murtha, the anti-war congressman who is 
the likely new House speaker's pick for majority leader, fended off what 
he called "swift boat-style attacks" on his ethics record Tuesday.

The Pennsylvania Democrat also blasted his rival for majority leader, 
House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, for siding with President Bush on Iraq.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, who as the House Democratic leader is in line to be 
the next speaker, has backed Murtha against Hoyer, who is currently the 
No. 2 Democrat in the House of Representatives. 

Democrats are slated to vote Thursday on who will take the chamber's 
leadership posts when the Congress reconvenes in January.

Hoyer insists he has commitments from a majority of the caucus. He 
picked up the public endorsement of a bloc of moderate Democrats on 
Tuesday.

The Maryland congressman also rebutted Murtha's accusation that he 
backed the war, saying he has sided with Democratic calls for a "phased 
redeployment" of U.S. troops. 

Watchdog group frowns on Murtha
In routing the GOP in the November 7 elections, Democrats attacked what 
they called a Republican "culture of corruption."

Now a Washington watchdog group is questioning the party's sincerity, 
alleging Murtha steered Pentagon contracts to businesses that hired his 
brother as a lobbyist.

"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?" Melanie Sloan, executive 
director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, asked 
in a written statement. "Rep. Murtha is the wrong choice for this job."

Murtha told ABC in October that his brother "was treated like everybody 
else."

Murtha also turned up in the FBI's Abscam investigation in 1980, when 
undercover agents offered bribes to several members of Congress. Murtha 
was videotaped turning down a bribe "at this point," and he was not 
charged.

In a statement issued Tuesday, Murtha -- who just won an 18th term -- 
blasted critics who raised concerns about "unfounded allegations that 
occurred 26 years ago."

"I thought we were above this type of swift-boating attack," he said, 
referring to the largely refuted but widely publicized attacks on 
Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry's military record in 2004. 
"This is not how we restore integrity and civility to the United States 
Congress."

Murtha: War position led to victory
Murtha is a retired Marine colonel with close ties to the military and 
supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq. But he stunned much of Washington 
when he called for a swift U.S. pullout in November 2005, a move Pelosi 
credited with making Iraq "the central issue" of Tuesday's midterm vote.

Murtha said Tuesday, "The Pelosi-Murtha position on the war is the 
reason the Democrats are in the majority today. Congressman Hoyer's 
position has been to stay the course with President Bush from the very 
beginning and, like Sen. John McCain, he advocates sending in more 
troops."

Asked about Murtha's remarks, Hoyer said, "That's not accurate."

When Murtha first called for a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq within six 
months, Hoyer warned that a swift pullout "could lead to disaster."

But Hoyer said he, Murtha and Pelosi are now on the same page and have 
signed letters to Bush calling for a change in U.S. strategy in Iraq in 
recent months.

"The message we have been sending is that we need to make it clear to 
the Iraqi government that the situation that currently exists is not 
sustainable -- that we have to have a change, that we're going to 
redeploy our troops, we're going to get them out of harm's way," Hoyer 
told CNN's "The Situation Room" on Monday.

A bloc of 33 Democrats from swing districts publicly backed Hoyer on 
Tuesday, saying he "deserves a lot of the credit" for the party's gains 
last week.

"Steny understands the challenges we face," they wrote. "He never 
questions our loyalty to the party, and he works hard to ensure that we 
are treated fairly."

When Hoyer unsuccessfully challenged Pelosi for the Democratic leader's 
job in 2002, Murtha led Pelosi's campaign for the post. But Hoyer said 
he has worked well with Pelosi over the past four years and expects to 
continue that relationship as majority leader.

A leading Hoyer supporter, Rep. John Dingell of Michigan, said Pelosi's 
endorsement appears to have had "very little" effect on the leadership 
race.

"From what I can see from talking to my colleagues, they greatly respect 
Ms. Pelosi's leadership and her judgment," said Dingell, the House's 
longest-serving member. "But most of them made commitments to Hoyer, and 
most of them are of the view he would be the best choice."

Dingell said the intramural battle "has a potential to be very hurtful" 
for the party as it prepares to take control of Congress.

But Rep. Gene Taylor of Mississippi, who is supporting Murtha, said, 
"That's the way democracy is."

"People are going to say bad things about you one week and ask you for a 
favor the next," Taylor said.

He dismissed the questions about Murtha's ethics. "If anyone felt like 
there was anything there, he would have been indicted a long time ago," 
he said.


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