Pelosi and Company Give Us a Preview of Dem 'Leadership'

From the Washington Post:

A showdown over the House majority leader's post today has Democrats bitterly divided only a week after their party took control of Congress and has prompted numerous complaints that Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and her allies are using strong-arm tactics and threats to try to elect Rep. John P. Murtha (Pa.) to the job.

Murtha is best known for his brilliant proposed strategy of redeploying our troops to Okinawa, and being an unindicted co-conspirator in the Abscam scandal. That's probably why he's blocking new ethics rules:

Murtha, 74, a former Marine who was among the first on Capitol Hill to call for a U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq, may have hurt his own chances Tuesday night when he derided the Democrats' ethics and lobbying package before saying he will push for its passage anyway out of deference to Pelosi. His statement, at a gathering of conservative "Blue Dog" Democrats, was cited by backers of his rival, Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (Md.), as further proof that Murtha's controversial ethics record disqualifies him to lead the party in a new political era.

Meanwhile, loose cannon Russ Feingold is working to make the US phone system safe for terrorists, and Dennis Kucinich wants to make Iraq safe for terrorists by cutting off military funding.