When a newspaper is associating pictures like this:

…to stories about said politician’s nephew: well, articles like this are almost redundant.

Nephew Mentioned Rep. Murtha in Dealings as Contractor

Robert C. Murtha Jr. has made a sizable living for years working with companies that rely on Pentagon contracts over which his uncle, Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.), holds considerable sway.

He has maintained that his uncle played no role in his defense-related work, much of it secured without competition. Newly obtained documents, however, show Robert Murtha mentioning his influential family connection as leverage in his business dealings and holding unusual power with the military. The documents add to mounting questions about Rep. Murtha, whose use of federal earmarks to help favored defense companies and his relationship with a former lobbying firm are under scrutiny by federal investigators.

The visual cue is fairly obvious, after all.

Not that the article is perfect, mind you. For example, while it mentions that David Cullin (the former Pentagon contracting official and current Murtha apologist quoted in the article) used PMA, it doesn’t really go into why that’s a problem; and while it also mentions Murtech, it doesn’t go back to an earlier Washington Post article that details that company’s interestingly competitive-bid-free luck in getting contracts. But those are mere details. The important point is that, some time in the last few months, a certain layer of protection was quietly stripped from Jack Murtha and at least a few other politicians. He’s now fair game, and that means that his value to his district is going to take one heck of a nosedive in the next year or so.

It’d be great if somebody started pointing this out to his constituents.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to Moe Lane.