Robert Novak: House of Corruption?

Novak details the sham of the newly established transparency in the House of Represenatives during the late evening of August 4th (HT: Instapundit):

...Claims of newly established transparency were undermined by the late-night follies. [Cong. Jeff] Flake, who ran a Phoenix think tank, the Goldwater Institute, before coming to Congress in 2001, is immensely unpopular on both sides of the aisle for forcing votes on his colleagues' pork. He burnished that reputation by prolonging the marathon Saturday session and challenging selected earmarks.

What ensued showed the sham of earmark "reform." With debate on each earmark limited to five minutes per pro and con, and roll calls also pressed into five minutes, the House was mainly interested in finishing up and defeating Flake with huge bipartisan majorities. The mood of annoyance with Flake was personified by the 17-term Murtha, who as subcommittee chairman defended and retained every earmark (including notorious infusions of cash to his Johnstown, Pa., district)...

...Flake lacked the time he needed on the House floor to explain complicated interlocking relationships with contributors who benefit from Murtha's earmarks. Claims of transparency are meaningless when all earmarks survive amid inattention from the media. But a few Republican House members are frustrated by GOP complicity as the House of Representatives fast becomes the House of Corruption. Joined by a few like-minded senators, they contemplate publicly repudiating their party leaders.

Read the whole thing.

Related: Congressman John Campbell challenges Congressman Murtha on earmarks