Neither Hoyer nor Murtha should be Majority Leader!

[Ignacio Upton]

Who ever we choose to be Majority Leader, that person needs to have a clean ethics record. We can't have someone who is a crook or gives off the appearance of doing so.

Hoyer is a friend of AIPAC and K-Street.

Murtha was listed by CREW as being too friendly to pork and earmarks. This puts him on the same list with people like Conrad Burns and John Sweeney.

By endorsing Murtha, Pelosi is making what could be a dumb decision, because the MSM will have plenty of fodder for their "Democrats do it too" talking-point.


On edit, here is the CREW list:

* Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT)
* Sen. Bill Frist (R-TN)
* Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA)
* Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO)
* Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA)
* Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA)
* Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL)
* Rep. Katherine Harris (R-FL)
* Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA)
* Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA)
* Rep. Gary Miller (R-CA)
* Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV)
* Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO)
* Rep. Richard Pombo (R-CA)
* Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ)
* Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX)
* Rep. John Sweeney (R-NY)
* Rep. Charles Taylor (R-NC)
* Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA)
* Rep. Curt Weldon (R-PA)
* Rep. Chris Cannon (R-UT)
* Rep. Dennis Hastert (R-IL)
* Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ)
* Rep. John Murtha (D-PA)
* Rep. Don Sherwood (R-PA)

[Counciltucky]

1. So who should it be? n/t

[American Jesus]

2. Dennis Kucinich it is then!

Who's with Jesus here? :)

[Ignacio Upton]

3. Kucinich would be a good choice

n/t.

[Fovea]

23. we could do far worse

we need Dennis' insight and scruples.

[originalpckelly]

4. Ouch, Rep. Maxine Waters is on the list too.

We need to think about replacing anyone on that list in the next primary. Corruption cannot be tolerated.

[Ignacio Upton]

5. Well, Jefferson is being "primaried" in a runoff

Since LA has runoffs tied into the general election instead of primaries. Mollohan is being investigated too, so he could become a problem in 2008. Another person to look out for is Alcee Hastings, who could become chairman of a committee. He was a federal judge in the '80s and got impeached for taking bribes. He didn't serve prison time, but having chair a committee would be even worse than giving Murtha the ML position.

[BlooInBloo]

6. Um, before leaping to the most extreme possible solution...

... why don't we try less "invasive" treatments? Like, say, pressuring those cloudy congresscritters to either come up with a clear and complete explanation as to why there is no problem, or else take adequate steps to fix the problem?

If such minimally invasive treatments fail, we can of course then look to replace them.

[originalpckelly]

11. No tolerance for corruption...

This is a crime against 300 million people, it cannot be treated lightly, even for Democrats.

Would you want those Republicans to be on the list back (other than for the obvious reason)?

I know I wouldn't, and we should treat Democrats that way. Corruption helps no one, including the corrupt person. It shows they are obviously incapable of using power without abusing it.

[BlooInBloo]

14. Yah - I see your point. There's no reason to even CHECK and SEE if...

... there was any corruption.

More DUer genius.

[marmar]

12. Replace Maxine Waters?

No thank you.

[JI7]

7. i support Murtha

[Ignacio Upton]

8. Someone who is on the same list as Cruella and Pombo

Might be a bit of a problem down the line.

[hippiechick]

9. Even though he's anti=choice ?

:shrug: He doesn't speak for me.

I don't want him as my majority leader, thank you.

[Jackpine Radical]

10. David Obey.

Liberal, rational, very bright, wins his district every time without bothering to actually campaign much, and CLEAN! Old-time WI Progressive politician CLEAN (like Feingold that way).

[troublemaker]

17. That's not bad. Better than the current alternatives. n/t

[Ignacio Upton]

20. I wonder if we can draft him to run

n/t.

[leesa]

13. Thanks for bringing this up. I agree. We need to have people who are

as 'unaffiliated' as possible. Courageous, but unaffiliated.

[madfloridian]

15. CREW has updated their list. I found the link for you.

http://www.citizensforethics.org/press/newsrelease.php?view=156

CREW’s Most Corrupt Members of Congress:
Members of the Senate:
Conrad Burns (R-MT)
Bill Frist (R-TN)
Rick Santorum (R-PA)

Members of the House:
Alan Mollohan (D-WV)
Roy Blunt (R-MO)
Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO)
Ken Calvert (R-CA)
Richard Pombo (R-CA)
John Doolittle (R-CA)
Rick Renzi (R-AZ)
Tom Feeney (R-FL)
Pete Sessions (R-TX)
Katherine Harris (R-FL)
John Sweeney (R-NY)
William Jefferson (D-LA)
Charles Taylor (R-NC)
Jerry Lewis (R-CA)
Maxine Waters (D-CA)
Gary Miller (R-CA)
Curt Weldon (R-PA)

Five Members to Watch:
Chris Cannon (R-UT)
J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ)
Dennis Hastert (R-IL)
John Murtha (D-PA)
Don Sherwood (R-PA)

“CREW created this exhaustive go-to guide on corruption in Congress to expose and hold accountable those members of Congress who believe they are above the law,” Melanie Sloan, executive director of CREW said today. “The officials named in this report have chosen to enrich themselves and their families and friends by abusing the power of their office, rather than work for the public good. Their collective corruption affects all Americans.”

I would like to know more....I would hate to think we had to have a token Democrat or so.

[Ignacio Upton]

18. We have three on the main list

Murtha is still not out of the woods yet as far as I'm concerned. Being "on watch" isn't as bad as being on the main list, but if Pelosi is smart, she will confront him about this list and keep him on a short leash. Being on the same list as Sherwood (who chocked his fucking mistress) and shithead Hayworth is only slightly better than being listed with Burns or Harris or Pombo.

[madfloridian]

21. Why did they move Murtha off the main list?

Either he is corrupt or he isn't. If they make a list with names, it can hurt those people. Why did they change it? Was it a mistake?

[Ignacio Upton]

22. I think I read it wrong

I cut and pasted the list from a Daily Kos thread about the Majority Leader race. I guess the person who posted the list didn't differentiate. If you look at the press release from CREW's site, it says September 20th, around the time a New York Times article on Murtha's background was published.

[troublemaker]

16. I want squeaky clean! The Murth ABSCAM video looks awful (and how a video looks

is what's important.) When someone offers you a bag of cash you are supposed to say, "Are you nuts? I'm calling the FBI."

you're not supposed to say, "I can't be as agressive (about accepting cash) as some of these other guys because I want to be in the leadership someday." I don't want to be seeing selective clips from that video on TV for the next two years.

The fact that Murtha was cleared legally is irrelevant. This isn't about whether he belongs in jail... it's about public perceptions. It is a profound APPEARANCE of impropriety. Our new leadership should be "purer than Ceasar's wife."

If Steny Hoyer has any appearance of corruption then he's out too.

Leadership is symbolic. There has to be somebody in 230 representatives who is effective, anti-war and utterly clean in appearance as well as reality.

[Ignacio Upton]

19. I forgot about ABSCAM

Another reason why Murtha shouldn't be Majority Leader (Hoyer shouldn't get it either, because of his K-Street connections.)

[mitchtv]

24. Geo. Miller, Lynne Woolsey

for two