Message Sent, Message Received

It appears as if Nancy Pelosi may have gotten the message some of her colleagues sent her yesterday. Five Democrats sent Pelosi a message yesterday that they were not supporting the Armenian genocide bill - a pretty clear signal that they did not have the votes lined up to pass it. Today, Pelosi tapdanced away.

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday the prospects of a vote on Armenian genocide were uncertain, after several members pulled their support amid fears it would cripple U.S. relations with Turkey.

"Whether it will come up or not, or what the action will be, remains to be seen," Pelosi told reporters.

The House proposal, which would label as genocide the killing of Armenians a century ago by Ottoman Turks, has inflamed U.S. tensions with Turkey, which says the death toll has been inflated and was the result of civil unrest, not genocide. Support for the nonbinding resolution deteriorated this week after Turkey recalled its U.S. ambassador to Ankara and several lawmakers spoke out against it.

A member of NATO, Turkey also is considered a rare Muslim ally to the United States in its war on terrorism. A U.S.-run air base there has facilitated the flow of most cargo to American troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Rep. John Murtha, a Pennsylvania Democrat considered influential on military affairs, said his party's leadership miscalculated support for the resolution. He predicted that such a vote would easily fail.

"If it came to the floor today, it would not pass," with some 55 to 60 Democrats opposing the measure, Murtha told reporters. As of Thursday, House Democrats will hold a 233-200 majority.

Murtha is a crooked politician of the first degree, but he is also a well known vote counter. He is one of the politicians who signaled Pelosi that she was in trouble if she called the vote. She's going to drop it. Message received.