John Gizzi’s take over at Human Events:

For many conservatives, choosing between five-termer Blunt and nine-termer Boehner—who is assistant majority whip, past chairman of the House Republican Conference and chairman of the Education and the Workforce Committee—is like rewiring an old jalopy rather than purchasing a new vehicle. Although both lawmakers have strongly conservative voting records (both have a lifetime American Conservative Union rating of 94%), Blunt and Boehner are perceived as part of the same Republican team that has increasingly fumbled in advancing a conservative agenda in the House and, in the process, has disappointed grassroots activists….
Additionally, Blunt and Boehner both have close ties to lobbyists on Washington’s K Street—not a point of recommendation considering Congress may be headed, in the wake of Jack Abramoff’s guilty plea, toward the biggest lobbying-related scandal in decades. As the headline on the January 11 edition of the Washington Post put it: “Lobbying Colors GOP Leadership Contest; Rivals for DeLay Post No Stranger to K Street.”
“Long before the Jack Abramoff business took off, a lot of us were saying the party needs a new look and a new face in the House,” Rep. Walter Jones (R.-N.C.), a veteran of the House Class of 1994, told me. “Look, I have great respect for the two people running for leader, but neither can clearly say he is not part of the leadership. If we are going to survive as a majority in the House, we have to go with someone new.” Jones said he had “called John Shadegg and encouraged him to make the race.”