In a scenario with shades of ’06, Democrats and Republicans alike are trying to show their mettle on ethics reform after a House Ethics Committee revealed connections between contributions made by defense firms to a group of seven Congressmen (5 Dems, 2 GOP) on a Pentagon subcommittee and the earmarks those contractors got.
The ethics panel found no “direct or indirect link” between the contributions from businesses represented by the PMA lobbying firm and the Congressmen (perhaps because it seems it didn’t actually interview anyone beyond the draft reports from the Office of Congressional Ethics). But the numbers and the lobbyists themselves reveal what the Washington Post generously called a “thin wall” between lobbyist donations and contributions:
Jim Moran, (D-Va.), Norm Dicks (D-Wash.), and in the least surprising development of ’10, the late John Murtha (D-Pa.) are most mentioned in the accounts of the ethics report. Here’s how one of the campaign contributors put it:
The treasurer for the company’s political action committee said more bluntly that he had never seen a proposal to donate to any lawmaker who could not influence the company’s earmarks, and that he would question “why it made sense to give the money” to such a lawmaker, the report said.
The ethics investigation also found that though Congressmen claim to have no knowledge of who contributes which amounts, the staff members who vet earmark requests are often the same ones who run fundraising events. Coincidence!
At least one activist who follows money in politics told the Post she is, “troubled that under the standard posited in the new ethics committee report, investigators must find credible evidence of a quid pro quo between donations and earmarks.”
Democrats have since reportedly pondered a moratorium on all earmarks, but will more likely settle on a moratorium on earmarks for for-profit companies.
You know, because there are certainly no non-profit special interests that have undue influence over Democrats.
The GOP went them one step better, calling for a moratorium on all earmarks, which will likely do more to appeal to voters than the half-measures and distinctions Pelosi is offering:
Earmarks are easy for voters to understand. They are a clear symbol of something that’s wrong with Washington, and a symbol of precisely what the Pelosi/Reid Congress and the Obama presidency was supposed to fix after the Abramoff years. It’s also a problem that’s fairly easy for the GOP to show progress on if they have the will to stick to a moratorium. And, most importantly, it moves toward solving the spending problem, which is what voters are most concerned about.
The GOP conference will meet today to discuss the yearlong moratorium. Any time the GOP conference is taking tips from pork-warrior Rep. Jeff Flake, I’m happy. But today, more than in the past, listening to Flake also happens to appeal to voters in a big way. So, heed Flake:
Update: Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah, who made a bit of a name for himself facing off with Obama at the GOP Question Time event in Baltimore last month, has renounced earmarks:
The Examiner continues:
