John Murtha's Pork Barrel Spending: "Quite frankly, if he didn't do that, we wouldn't elect him"

Former Reason Foundation intern Tyler Grimm has a great op-ed in today's Wall Street Journal revealing the colossal boondoggle known as the John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport:

If you hate the hubbub of crowded airports, you might want to consider flying out of Johnstown, Pa. The airport sees an average of fewer than 30 people per day, there is never a wait for security, you can park for free right outside the gate, and you are almost guaranteed a row to yourself on any flight.

You might wonder how the region ever had the air traffic demand to justify such a facility. It didn't. But it is located in the district of one of Congress's most unapologetic earmarkers: Democrat John Murtha.

In 20 years, Mr. Murtha has successfully doled out more than $150 million of federal payments to what is now being called the airport for no one. I took a trip to southwestern Pennsylvania to explore how this small town received so much money and whether the John Murtha Airport is a legitimate federal investment.

Read the rest here.

Comments

[_^-^_]

It isn't welfare. It's government work. Gives the people dignity, dontcha know.

[Xeones]

The Pillsbury Doughboy has really let himself go.

[sage]

He doesn't have wrinkles. He has pleats.

[_^-^_]

He's frowning because there's a Shar-Pei humping his leg.

[sage]

Looks like he stepped out of the grave to take a piss.

[BakedPenguin]

"Quite frankly, if he didn't do that, we wouldn't elect him"

One of the best arguments for term limits I've ever heard.

[Pro Libertate]

He's a bad Murtha--

[Mike M.]

I bet that if you asked that same guy what he thinks about everyone else in Congress, he'd tell you that they're pretty much all worthless scumbags who deserve to get voted out.

[creech]

Drove around Johnstown recently and the article is totally accurate. Without the tech center (in a nearby suburb) and the defense contractors clustered around it, Johnstown would be a ghost town as the Bethlehem Steel mill is shut down and downtown is pretty dead.
Everyone living there ought to be sending all us taxpayers a Christmas card at least.

[Xeones]

Shut yo mouth!

[Some Guy]

"Quite frankly, if he didn't do that, we wouldn't elect him"

That sentence pretty much sums up the root of all problems in this country.

[Umbriel]

I visited the Johnstown Flood Museum about 25 years ago. It was a single floor structure about the size of a double-wide trailer, lined with pictures, and a single topographic map in the middle of the floor over which a ranger told the whole horrible tale of the flood like a campfire ghost story.

I visited the Johnstown Flood Museum this past summer. It was a massive, two story complex covering maybe half an acre, with a several hundred seat theater playing a movie about the flood, and various exhibits, including a life-size diorama of the famous "tree stuck in a house" picture situated over the main staircase.
http://dnpc.blogspot.com/2009/06/johnstown-flood-city.html

History buff that I am, I was impressed, but as a display of outrageous pork, it was even more impressive.

Though at least they didn't sink all that money into a museum at James Buchanan's birthplace, or some other less deserving PA monument.

[Pro Libertate]

But I'm talkin' about Jack!

[db]

I can't wait to read this. I grew up just a couple of miles from that airport. Johnstown and the surrounding area might as well be renamed Murthaville. What a dirty pork-doling politician.

[Anne]

Come on, you don't REALLY believe that they're spending all that money for nothing, do you? The question is, what other sorts of "activities" is Rep. Murtha involved in, and how does having a high-tech, state of the art airport with almost no traffic further those "activities?" Mena, anyone?

[The Sudertool]

The Republicans are infinitely worse than Murtha. Really.

[Some Guy]

The Republicans are infinitely worse than Murtha. Really.

I would agree with that for a lot of people, but Murtha is up there with Ted Stevens.

[JB]

If there is a hell, people like Murtha will be in it.

[TrickyVic]

"""That sentence pretty much sums up the root of all problems in this country."""

Yeah. Put 400+ people in a room, throw a few trillion dollars at their feet and say spend. Climbing over everyone to get as much as you can is a normal reaction. Even Sara Palin said it was her job to help get federal funds for her state.

[LeeJoe Cruz]

How about giving an incentive plan for cutting government programs. Give a Congressman 10% of the total cost of any program they get cut. Then they can honestly loot the people(Can't believe I just said that) in a direct fashion and lower the overall cost of the looting.

[Griff]

Here's an incentive...cut the pork, balance a federal budget for once in your long-serving presence in the Congress. Your constituents may hate you anyway, but then it's just a more real campaign to get elected.

I could do well too, handing out other people's money while kissing babies and attending county fairs

[_^-^_]

JB | September 4, 2009, 4:06pm | #

If there is a hell, people like Murtha will be in it.

There isn't, but it's a pleasant fantasy nonetheless.

[Douglas Fletcher]

Murtha's corruption aside, I think it's a really bad idea to name something after a politician until long after they're in the grave. At that point they're probably not up to anything illegal or immoral, something I don't think you can confidently say about living politicians.

[Cardinal Fang]

"But I'm talkin' 'bout graft!"
"Well, we can dig it!"

[hmm]

How about we lock them all in a room with the total amount of pork projects in $1, $5, and $10 bills. Turn off the lights and dump a few thousand gallons of cooking oil on them. Then release the money from the roof. Shives, hammers, knives, wrenches and other similar objects will be encouraged, but no firearms. As the living exit with their spoils we can dump feathers on them.

How's that for a plan?

[Fletch]

How's that for a plan?

What temperature is the oil?

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