It is with a deep sigh that I ease myself into what appears to be yet another mud-slinging campaign. This time, it's the National Republican Congressional Committee that's slinging the mud, throwing Democratic candidate for the 20th Congressional District, Scott Murphy, into the same boat as other Democrats the committee doesn't like.

Of course, as with most mud, there is some reason for concern, but I have to wonder if the fourteen press releases I received on the topic between today and Sunday were really warranted. We have yet to see Murphy fire back. Anyhow, here's the scoop:

Murphy Would Fit Right in with Washington Tax-Dodging Crowd
Like Rangel, Daschle, and Geithner, Scott Murphy is Looking for a Free Pass When it Comes to Paying His Taxes

Washington – Scott Murphy, the Democratic candidate in New York’s 20^th Congressional District, must be taking lessons in tax evasion from his party’s elite, like corrupt Harlem Democrat Charlie Rangel and embattled Cabinet nominees Timothy Geithner and Tom Daschle.

According to state documents, Scott Murphy’s company, Small World Software, had failed to pay its business taxes, forcing the state to place a lien on the business:

“…the state placed a $20,805 lien on Small World Software -- the company Murphy founded -- on July 22, 1999…

“The documents also show two other liens -- one for $446 for unpaid withholding taxes and another for $298 in unpaid corporate taxes -- dating back to 1997,” (Glens Fall Post-Star, 02/03/2009).

If the situation sounds familiar, it’s because it’s happened before with influential Democrats in recent weeks:

“Representative Charles B. Rangel has earned more than $75,000 in rental income from a villa he has owned in the Dominican Republic since 1988, but never reported it on his federal or state tax returns,” (New York Times, 09/05/2008).

“[Treasury Secretary nominee Tim] Geithner failed to pay a total of $34,023 in taxes from 2001 to 2004. He paid some of it in 2006 after he was audited by the Internal Revenue Service, which he would oversee as Treasury secretary. He paid the rest after Obama expressed his intent to nominate him,” (Associated Press, 01/14/2009).

“…Thomas A. Daschle will return to Capitol Hill today in an unfamiliar role, summoned by former colleagues on the Senate Finance Committee to defend his reputation and his nomination to be secretary of health and human services amid revelations that he did not pay more than $100,000 in back taxes,” (Washington Post, 02/02/2009).

“Scott Murphy may not ever make it to Congress, but he’d certainly fit right in with the Washington tax-dodging crowd that controls it,” said NRCC Communications Director Ken Spain. “He is dodging the truth as if he were dodging the IRS, but Murphy’s misrepresentations don’t change the fact that the company he has bragged about on his website has failed to pay taxes. Murphy failed to play by the rules, and now he is following the example of his Wall Street and Washington friends by refusing to take responsibility for his actions. Middle class families in New York are looking for someone who can offer solutions to their economic pain, not someone who is part of the problem.”