Democrats close ranks around Murtha

House Democrats Tuesday united behind Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) and beat back a Republican attempt to rebuke the lawmaker for allegedly threatening to torpedo earmarks for Rep. Mike Rogers's (R-Mich.) district.

Rogers had objected to an earmark that Murtha wanted to include in an intelligence spending bill. In response, according to Rogers, Murtha confronted his colleague and said “You don’t have any earmarks in the appropriations bills now or forever.”

Rogers called the behavior “yet another example of the Democrats abusing the rules of the House and breaking the commitments they made to the American people.”

Democrats won back Congress in part by highlighting what they called a Republican “culture of corruption.” Observers see the GOP efforts against Murtha as a step in trying to now paint Democrats as being drunk with their regained power.

The vote Tuesday left Democrats in the awkward position in having to either admonish one of their most prominent colleagues or seeming to condone Murtha’s behavior.