In January, 2008 Congressmen Paul Kanjorski, Chris Carney, and Tim Holden appeared on WVIA TV on its segment "Bringing the House Home". During that presentation Chris Carney took a shot at Kanjorski because he brought home almost 3 times as much in earmarks than Kanjorski as a first termer.
Their differences didn't stop there. Kanjorski and Carney were at odds with the $700 billion dollar bailout bill in November 2008.
It's no secret that Paul Kanjorski and John Murtha were close friends. Politico wrote a story about their love of earmark money in 2007. Reiterating the saga of Cornerstone Technologies Ken Vogel wrote "In 1998, with the help of Rep. John P. Murtha, a fellow Pennsylvanian and the top Democrat on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, Rep. Kanjorski earmarked $3.5 million for the research through the Navy." John Murtha used his seat on the Appropriations committee to become known as the "legendary appropriations earmarker from Johnstown".
As the wind blows it was no secret John Murtha supported fellow Democrat Carney as evidenced by his appearance at this Carney fundraiser. It appears Murtha wanted to take Carney under his wings.
Nobody can say that Kanjorski's memory is failing him. After John Murtha's passing it came time to replace his seat on the House Appropriations Committee. The media reported Kanjorski didn't support Carney for the position. Kanjorski's rescue team tried to couch its position on the vote by claiming it was secret but the cat was out of the bag.
Gort42 reported on his blog that Murtha backed Carney for a seat on the panel. Carney's appointment would have benefited Kanjorski but more importantly Northeastern Pennsylvania. Instead it appears Kanjorski threw his support to Philadelphia and Patrick Murphy. I wonder if Kanjorski went overboard into the ocean with women and children whether he would give them the life preserver first.
The vote was deja vu for Carney all over again. In December 2006 then freshman Chris Carney was denied a seat on the same committee despite a pledge by John Murtha to see he was appointed to it. One can't blame Murtha for trying but he just didn't have the votes. Carney should have said he was an earmark. Murtha would have been all over it.
Corey O'Brien, Kanjorski's primary opponent this election season, seized on the opportunity to discredit Kanjorski even though Kanjorski's office tried to deflect the criticism of a supposed secret vote. Evidently despite the claims by Ed Mitchell and Paul Kanjorski about his senority when it comes down to brass tacks Kanjorski doesn't have enough strength to hang a piece of paper on corkboard.
You may remember that Charlie Rangel held fundraisers for Murphy, Kanjorski, and Carney. Kanjorski and Murphy refused to give the money back. At least Chris Carney was willing to donate it to charity demonstrating his military training and instilled values.
As far as Patrick Murphy goes his political tactics mirror Paul Kanjorski. This letter to the editor that appears from The Intelligencer on Philly.com exposes a press release from Murphy that appears to intentionally mislead the public.
To the Editor:
Shortly after proudly voting "yes" on the health care bill, 8th District Congressman Patrick Murphy issued a press release entitled, "Bucks County Small Businesses Thank Rep. Murphy For Supporting Healthcare Insurance Reform." As a local small-business owner, my husband has heard underwhelming business support for Murphy around Bucks County. Thus, being baffled by the press release, we did a little research.
It seems that the organization that issued this "thank you" to Murphy, The Small Business Majority, is a nonprofit formed in 2009 to supposedly "speak for the nearly 28 million Americans who are self-employed or own businesses of up to 100 employees." But looking further into it, this organization has only 28 members nationwide. So it is really only .000001 percent of the nation's small businesses that are taking the liberty to speak for the rest of small-business owners. Furthermore, of the two lone Pennsylvania small businesses declaring membership in this "majority" organization, neither is from Murphy's congressional district.
This is just one more instance of Patrick Murphy's blatant mismanagement of truth and his repeated refusal to accurately represent his constituency. He needs to be voted out in November.
If Carney wins in November, and this is no means an endorsement, maybe he will have another shot at the seat. In the meantime he should watch his back. His bedfellows appear to have bedbugs.
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