The Timing Drips of Irony ....

Congressional Allies Pass Away a Day Apart .....

We apologize for the lack of posts this week. I've been shoveling another 14 inches of snow from the driveway, so free time has been at a minimum. I did want to make a small point about the irony of both Charlie Wilson and John Murtha passing away one day apart. Not since John Adams and Thomas Jeffrerson both dying on July 4th, 1826 - on the 50th Anniversary of the Declararation of Independence - have two people so inextricably tied to one another passed away so close to each other.

No, they weren't exactly alike. Although both Wilson and Murtha had military backgrounds, once they got to DC, their views differed, as well as their methods. Wilson was 'Good Time Charlie', whose main weapon was to collect favors, where Murtha was more of a hammer. Murtha also unabashedly admitted he loved The Other White Meat if it benefited his district, where Wilson kept the frills to a minimum. Obviously, in our book, Wilson was as good a Democrat as you could get in DC. If we had more like him, we all might be better off......

Now, onto the tie-in... If you've seen 'Charlie Wilson's War' - one of our favorite movies this decade - you already know it. Wilson served on the Appropriations Committee, which oversaw the military budget, so he was able to procure money for the Mujahadeen's battle against Russia in Afghanistan, with the assistance of Chairman Doc Long. In the late 1970's, there was this little thing called ABSCAM - I think some of you in South Carolina had heard of it. Well, Murtha's desire to do almost anything to help his district got his ass in hot water up to his eyes, and he barely escaped trouble, in part to Charlie Wilson's vote on the subcommitte handling the scandal. Again, someone owed Charlie Wilson a favor.....

Soon afterwards, when Wilson was seriously getting his plan in gear, Doc Long lost his re-election bid, where he was replaced as Chairman by - you guessed it - John Murtha. Seeing

the opportunity to increase the pressure on Russia, Wilson cashed the favor in, and Murtha obliged. Quid Pro Quo is a common practice in Washington, but it does show that some good can come of compromise. Twenty-one years later, Murtha and Wilson are buddying up again. My guess is that Murtha wasn't 100% sure he would get through the Pearly Gates, and Charlie went up to talk God into letting them both in. Quid Pro Quo .....

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