Black Kettle Called Black

Nancy Pelosi, another reason to be ashamed to be from California, has ignored an apparent ... well, obvious ... conflict of interest in nominating Vic Fazio to the Base Closure Commission. From the WashPost:

The state of California's Office of Military Support has hired a lobbying firm, Clark & Weinstock. And who is on the Clark & Weinstock team, you ask? Vic Fazio, among others. The head of the team is David J. Berteau, who was assistant secretary of defense with responsibility for base closings under then-Pentagon chiefs Dick Cheney and Les Aspin.

Fazio said yesterday that Berteau does most of the work on the contract, and "I really don't do any work on it." [Imagine Dick Cheney saying, "I really wasn't involved in that much at Halliburton."] He said he had checked with Berteau about whether there would be any conflict if he was appointed to the commission and was told that each commission decides on its own rules at the outset.

"We'll have to see what the rules of the commission are," Fazio said, noting that, as a former lawmaker from California, "I'm going to be very attentive to California."

Pelosi spokeswoman Jennifer Crider said Pelosi recommended Fazio because of his "extensive experience." If his nomination goes forward, she said, the issue of whether there is a conflict of interest would have to be taken care of.

Fazio would probably look out for California's interests very capably ... but once again I have to wonder why Dems get to hold themselves to a much lower standard of ethics than they demand from the GOP.