Post-Gazette Editorial – 11/14/06

This page was last updated on November 14, 2006.

Murtha’s moment: The warrior Democrat is the best choice for No. 2; Editorial; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; November 14, 2006.

In the editorial “Murtha’s time: Make him leader,” the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review also endorsed Mr. Murtha for House Majority Leader.

Rather than do a point-by-point critique of these editorials, I’ll just make a few comments.

If you recall, Mr. Murtha was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1978-1980 Abscam sting. When you hear the recording of Mr. Murtha speaking with the undercover FBI agent, it’s pretty damning. When offered a bribe, Mr. Murtha only said he wasn’t interested “at this point,” but following up with “You know, we do business for a while, maybe I’ll be interested, maybe I won’t, you know.” Mr. Murtha also expressed concern the number of people involved made it more likely the deal would be uncovered. The final damning point is Mr. Murtha never reported this activity. The full transcript of the January 7, 1980, meeting is here.

Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t understand how this guy is still in Congress, let alone being considered for House Majority Leader.