Pelosi mystifies. Twice.

I haven't commented on the Murtha-Hoyer contest in the House yet in part because it was just such a baffling choice between two pretty unappealing contenders-- who immediately started fighting tooth and nail. If Pelosi's Democratic leadership is going to be about fighting corruption and pork-hungry politicians, Murtha is a terrible choice. Hoyer? Well, he's younger but still quite the fan of corporate dollars. Thankfully, Joe Conason has stepped up to the plate and written all about it:

[The Abscam] incident, which occurred more than two decades ago, never troubled [Murtha's] conservative critics until he spoke out against the war. But more recently, he has participated enthusiastically in the rotten system that funnels hundreds of millions of dollars in defense “earmarks” sought by lobbyists, whose clients then make enormous campaign contributions to the appropriators. . . .

He has also regularly opposed lobbying and ethical reforms, and even helped to kill Democratic efforts to investigate contracting abuses in Iraq.

Then there's Hoyer:

Mr. Hoyer is younger and slicker than Mr. Murtha, but he is equally receptive to the lobbying industry. Indeed, he has boasted of his role in creating a Democratic version of the K Street Project set up by Republican leaders to institutionalize their relationship with corporate lobbyists. The usual description of Mr. Hoyer as “friendly to business” is a polite understatement. But nobody has accused him of unethical conduct, and he has won the support of such rigorous reformers as Representatives Henry Waxman of California and Jerrold Nadler of New York.

But Pelosi has created a second unappealing choice with the Alcee Hastings - Jane Harman contest for the chair of the House Intelligence Committee. If you're hungry for more, have a look at Yglesisas' link-heavy post.