Steny Hoyer: Even Liberals Think He's a Beltway Bandit

I just ran across some interesting comments about Steny's pork proclivities, posted by former Democratic spokesman for the House Appropriations Committee David Sirota last fall on the uber-partisan website TheNation.com.

Following an election where stopping rampant corruption was among voters' top concerns, Sirota wrote that Hoyer has liabilities that puts him at odds with the "new" clean up Washington mandate.

"Hoyer spent the last many years bragging to reporters about his efforts to establish a Democratic version of indicted-Rep. Tom DeLay's K Street Project--the operation that trades legislative favors for money from corporate lobbyists. He famously trumpeted an article about his K Street Project on his official congressional Web site at the very same time Democrats were campaigning against Republicans' 'culture of corruption.'"

Hoyer "has parroted much of the rhetoric of the Democratic Leadership Council--the corporate front group that has relentlessly pushed Democrats to provide the crucial congressional votes necessary to pass "free" trade pacts," Sirota explained. "Hoyer has repositioned himself--one can only assume for political purposes -- as the DLC business candidate."

Sirota concluded, "If Democrats are looking for a a person who regurgitates the Beltway's conventional wisdom of the day, no matter how bad for the party and the country--then they have their candidate in Steny Hoyer."