By all reports, Steny Hoyer did a very good job of helping marshal the Democrats into a unified front in the House. Today, he found out what all that hard work did for him.
Because the person he helped, Nancy Pelosi, slid the shiv right into Hoyer's back and is supporting Jack Murtha for Majority Leader.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), in line to become Speaker in January, is throwing her support to Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) in the race for Majority Leader, a move that will be an early test of her influence and will weigh heavily on Murtha's contest with Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) for the post.
Pelosi, in a letter distributed Sunday to newly elected House Democrats, wrote that Murtha's outspoken opposition to the war in Iraq helped change the electoral campaign for the House this fall. Murtha began calling for a U.S. pullout from Iraq a year ago, and his open opposition to the war made him a focus of intense criticism from Republicans and the White House.
Pelosi, though, credited Murtha, one of her closest allies in the House, with changing the national debate on the issue and helping provide Democratic challengers and incumbents with a winning argument for the mid-term elections.
"With respect to Iraq in particular, I salute your courageous leadership that changed the national debate and helped make Iraq the central issue of this historic election," Pelosi wrote in a personal letter to Murtha. "Your leadership gave so many Americans, including respected military leaders, the encouragement to voice their own disapproval at a failed policy that weakens our military and makes stability in that region even more difficult to achieve. The enthusiastic response of Americans all across this nation gave an enormous lift to our Democratic efforts, and your unsurpassed personal solicitations produced millions of dollars which were new to the effort. Those resources made a huge difference and particularly for the candidates on whose behalf you campaigned."
So long, Steny. And thanks for all the fish. Really. Honest. And it will all be different on Capitol Hill, honest. Really.
That’s tough luck for Steny Hoyer, but what else would he expect from the pack of two-faced opportunists he hangs with? Besides, in a way, it’s good news for the GOP. Not that the US Congress is honored by Jack Murtha’s presence, but that the GOP benefits by the comparison.
Jack Murtha was an unindited co-conspirator in the ABSCAM scandal. With him as majority leader in the House, he’s the poster boy for institutionalized corruption. Speaker Pilosi will have hung that label around the donkey’s neck for the next two years.
Let the Games Begin:
In response to Nancy Pilosi’s letter to Jack Murtha, Steny Hoyer has released a statement which included the following:
“I am grateful for the support I have from my colleagues, and have the majority of the caucus supporting me. I look forward to working with Speaker Pelosi as Majority Leader.”
Its a secret ballot so Hoyer has no idea who will vote for him. Pelosi intends to run the House. She wants someone loyal to her for Majority Leader. Hoyer ran against her for Minority Leader while Murtha was on her team. Its kind of a no brainer that she’d want Murtha but very bold of her to make it public.
If they had a case against Murtha in Abscam, they’d have indicted him.
Personally, I believe putting Jack Murtha as majority leader pretty much dooms the Dems in 08. Murtha is not at all popular with moderates and the Dems are going to need all the moderates they are going to get. So I would say overall, this is good news for the Republicans. Democrats shooting themselves in the foot is always a good thing.