Why should anyone bother knifing John Murtha when he's flexible enough to
stick a knife in his own back?
Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) told a group of Democratic moderates on Tuesday that an ethics and lobbying reform bill being pushed by party leaders was "total crap," but said that he would work to enact the legislation because Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) supports it.
...
"Even though I think it's total crap, I'll vote for it and pass it because that's what Nancy wants," Murtha told the Blue Dogs, according to three sources who were at the meeting...
You can cry foul about Hoyer's allies leaking damaging info to the press. But think about the temperment and judgment of a guy who'll crap all over ethics reform while ethics is the issue dragging down his leadership bid. And think of what kind of leader he'd be.
UPDATE: To be clear, he's talking about the ethics reform BILL. Still, this is an example of the angry bluntless that makes Murtha a lousy candidate for the job. I bet $10 he blows up again in response to this, and bet another $20 that if he does so people'll say that's perfectly okay because he "stood up" on Iraq a year ago.
Oh, as to where I stand in this... I'm a libertarian, and proudly voted for Jim Webb in Virginia. I think both of these leadership candidates are lame, but Murtha strikes me as a borderline crook who'll implode under GOP pressure, once they go looking for an "ethics" punching bag to get revenge for DeLay.