BALT. SUN - Majority Leader Jack Murtha, Not Follower Steny Hoyer

I have an op-ed in today's Baltimore Sun about the Majority Leader race between Jack Murtha and Steny Hoyer. Having worked around both men while serving as Democratic spokesman for the Appropriations Committee, I can tell you that these two men are very, very different - and the choice between the two should be obvious.

One thing that has struck me about this race is the level of Lieberman-ish/Nixonian dishonesty coming from Hoyer's side. On Iraq, Hoyer's allies have tried to claim he's been just as courageous as Murtha, when in fact he has gone out of his way to undermine those like Murtha and Pelosi when they stood up and demanded change.

Similarly, as I told the Los Angeles Times today, it is positively ridiculous that some people are trying to label Hoyer the "ethics" candidate in the race. Hoyer is the father of the Democratic K Street Project and, as I detail in Hostile Takeover, one of his top legislative staffers serves as one of his top corporate fundraisers.

House Democrats are holding the election today, and, as I say in the Sun op-ed, I am hopeful the incoming class of lawmakers remembers who between Hoyer and Murtha best represents the very clear mandate that was delivered on election day.