PORKBUSTERS UPDATE: Editorial: Jeff Flake pounds Congress on earmark evasion:

Congress on Tuesday shamed itself by going on record, yet again, for what amounts to operating as its own protection racket. The House voted down a resolution by Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., asking the Ethics Committee to investigate whether there were any quid pro quos between federal spending earmarks and campaign donations linked to the now-disbanded lobbying firm known as the PMA Group. This was the third time in a few weeks the House defeated the Flake amendment. The PMA Group, which mostly handled defense issues, is under federal investigation specifically related to political contributions. The company was founded by a former key aide to Rep. John Murtha, D-Penn. . . .

Do these people think they are invisible? Cover my back and I’ll cover yours is the way too many in Congress view ethics issues. But Flake should not give up. He ought to offer a new resolution, again tied to 2009 PMA-related earmarks, and this time specify just which clauses of Chapter Four of the House Ethics Manual might be implicated. Members who vote again to sweep such a resolution under the rug might as well wear a sign that says Corruption-R-Us. We’ll publish their names.

Sounds good to me.