Murtha's PAID

When your ambition exceeds your ethics... else what's a lobbyist for.

Or that's the way it was in the House under the reign of dethroned Majority Leader deal-maker Tom Delay (R-TX) who set up his own charities "that became the focus of attention by businesses and lobbyists seeking to curry favor with him." (WaPo)

That is why it is more than little unsettling to read "Nonprofit Connects Murtha, Lobbyists."

This is the same Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) that incoming Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) doggedly supported for Majority Leader, a political dust-up she lost. And just as well it seems, since the Democrats stated priorities are "ethics and budget restructuring"

Among the provisions in the Democrats' ethics package are "demands for more transparency in the doling out of federal funds to home-district projects and a required pledge that no earmarks benefit a member of Congress personally."

Such provisions may put wheeler-dealer Murtha in a sweat-producing spotlight since his nonprofit creation, PAID, has "become a gathering point for defense contractors and lobbyists."

The voters are watching to see if the trust they placed in the new Democratically-controlled House and Senate is misplaced. For far too long, far too many senators and representatives have been flying too close to the sun of corruption.

They need their wings clipped.... and that applies to both parties, starting with Pelosi-favored Murtha.