Why Nepotism Is A Bad Thing

Why Nepotism Is A Bad Thing

My recollection is that the word "nepotism" to refer to giving special advantages to relatives or friends derives from the Latin word for "nephew," since a great many Popes put their "nephews" (actually, illegitimate sons) into important positions in the Church. Of course, sometimes, your nephew is good at what he does, and being related to you has nothing to do with it, right?

Imagine if these no-bid Pentagon contracts were going to the nephew of a Republican Congressman with substantial sway over defense spending. From the May 5, 2009 Washington Post:

Yet last year, Murtech received $4 million in Pentagon work, all of it without competition, for a variety of warehousing and engineering services. With its long corridor of sparsely occupied offices and an unmanned reception area, Murtech's most striking feature is its owner -- Robert C. Murtha Jr., 49. He is the nephew of Rep. John P. Murtha, the Pennsylvania Democrat who has significant sway over the Defense Department's spending as chairman of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee.
Robert Murtha said he is not at liberty to discuss in detail what his company does, but for four years it has subsisted on defense contracts, according to records and interviews. He said Murtech's 17 employees "provide necessary logistical support" to Pentagon testing programs that focus on detecting chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats, "and that's about as far as I feel comfortable going." Giving more details could provide important clues to terrorist plotters, he said.

Murtha said he does not advertise being the nephew of John Murtha and considers it "unfortunate" that some will unfairly assume Murtech received its federal contracts because of his uncle's influence at the Pentagon.
"If we're not doing our job well, we wouldn't be doing our job," he said. "I'm successful at the work I do because of the skill sets I have. . . . You don't know how good someone is unless you work with them."

There is so much that is so dirty in Washington (and not just on the Democratic side, either). But as long as the dirt involves Democrats, most of the news media simply don't care.

It must be nice to have friends in high places.