Since the Republican loss, many have been praising the benefits of divided government- gridlock can be a good things. After watching the Democrats this week-end, it looks like you may not need two parties sharing power to get divided government- you can get that just by voting Democrat:
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.
I thought Hoyer had it in the bag, but this public support of Murtha will surely make things interesting. Perhaps my memory is faulty, but I do not recall similar divisions when the Republicans took over- their leadership struggles seem to happen more behind the scenes.
Pb
I think you’re right, John, but it’s not entirely behind the scenes–note that the previous post on here was about the coming *Republican* struggle to pick a minority leader. :)
ThymeZone
I hope that Murtha has the leadership skills to handle the job, and isn’t getting support solely because of his Iraq politics.
demimondian
Hey, John, now that you’re a Democratic-Evildoer-According-To-Hugh (DEATH, for those of you playing the home game), remember that the phrase “circular firing squad” was originally coined to describe the Democrats. We live to fight, and the only worthy adversaries are usually other Democrats.
ThymeZone
Oh, and . . . clever thread name.
Zifnab
Frankly, I’m rather pleased to see all this out in the open air. God knows how much pork was packaged, how many whisper campaigns were waged, and how many kittens had to be sacrificed to dark gods to get Tom DeLay his seat as Majority Leader.
And I remember after he stepped down, there was a bit of rancor in the party over who would succeed him.
As for Murtha, I think there was originally some talk about him going for Pelosi’s spot come ’07, but after the Republican Hissy-Fit Against San Francisco Values, not electing Pelosi Speaker would have been anti-climactic. Murtha took center stage to put his neck on the line for Iraq, and the Dems have been trying to find a spot for him in the leadership ever since. This isn’t really a surprise. And if Hoyer hadn’t been camping this spot for the past twelve years, I doubt he’d even be putting up a fight.
Pb
Also, after the Republicans went to all the effort to include Murtha in all their scary Democrat graphics, it’s really the least the Democrats could do to promote him. However, they still have to get some new jobs for Ned Lamont, Kos, and Michael Moore (and Mirror-Dean-Hitler)!
Congressional Pages
Yeah, it’s funny that you think this is a bad thing. I’d rather have them do this out in the open, then skulk around killing kittens and then present a fait accompli.
Sorry, that’s French for “cut and run”
Zifnab
Haha. You know, with the dumbstruck impression on Lamont’s face, he has a frightening resemblance to the old commander-in-chief. Also, Kos looks like he’s totally going to pop some 9s and put a cap in your ass. That photo is pimptastic. And Furher Dean is just classic.
All this time I thought ‘Pubs didn’t have a funny bone in them. This is hillarious.
Mike P
Hoyer will win and this will end up being nothing more than Pelosi encouraging a close personal friend (note that she said nothing in her letter, published over at TPM, about her rallying others to Murtha’s cause). Hoyer, it seems, even expected Pelosi to endorse Murtha:
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/011073.php
Steve
It doesn’t sound like this is very contentious. The reason you don’t seem to remember this with Republicans is simply that the media loves the “divided Democrats” narrative more; but as you’ll recall, there were at least three candidates when Boehner was named Majority Leader, and actually Boehner’s win was something of an upset.
All that really matters is having a moderate in the party leadership to keep the coalition happy. Either Hoyer or Murtha would fit that bill. What’s funny about Murtha is that he’s conservative on virtually everything (I think he got a zero from NARAL) but the wingnuts have made him out to be a “loony liberal” because of his stance on the current war. Another example of how the term “far left” has lost all of its meaning, thanks mostly to people like Darrell.
Richard Bottoms
John has come a long way, but there is still residual “infection” to work out of his system. The first fever to beak was the one narrative of Democrats don’t know how to win. Once the Dems can’t govern meme passes we’ll have a healthy patient.
No matter who wins the post we are still going to kick Republican ass for the next two years.
KCinDC
I think your memory is faulty. When the Republicans came in in 1994, Newt Gingrich wanted his ally Bob Walker as leader, but Tom DeLay ended up getting the position.
Pb
Heh, indeed. In fact, I’ve seen them discuss that very point, it seems to cause them a fair bit of cognitive dissonance from time to time. The last explanation / pathetic rationalization I saw was that he used to be more conservative, but since Iraq, he’s transformed into a loony liberal!
Richard Bottoms
Fortunately we don’t have to give shit what the wingnuts think. We won bitches so STFU.
Tsulagi
I think the incoming Dems should vote Murtha into the majority leadership position. More than anyone in the House and Senate he took the heat pointing out the admin had fubar’d Iraq and that we needed a coherent plan beyond current closing eyes and sticking fingers in ears hoping it all gets better.
Some of those returning to the House and some new ones may not have gotten there without Murtha taking those shots. Plus, electing him majority leader would send a nice signal to the admin and the remainder of the Pub Congress that Iraq is still on the agenda. That they can’t just take up time outsourcing it to study groups or waiting for an inexperienced SecDef like Gates to get up to speed.
Bruce
A good example of Murtha’s leadership skills:
http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/10/02/washington/02murtha.html
*Grumble*
Perry Como
Murtha has some ethics issues…
Steve
Both Murtha and Hoyer, frankly, are “business as usual” Dems. While I expect this Congress to curb some of the worst abuses of the K Street Project, I hope we all understand that some good-government reforms are going to take a lot of additional work.
The Other Steve
This is one of the main differences between Republicans and Democrats.
Everything Democrats do is out in the public. Our policy discussions are out in the public, our political strategizing is out in the public. So they very often get into very public fights. It doesn’t necessarily mean much.
The Republicans on the other hand hide in smoke filled rooms, make a decision and then commander their loyal legions of shills to go forth and declare victory.
When Republicans start fighting in public, that’s usually a sign that things really bad.
But it generally does make it harder for Democrats to campaign in the noise machine that is todays media.
jg
Cults have smooth leadership changes. Political parties don’t. The dems are a political party which represent a diverse base of citizens. They don’t have a ‘single’ message and dissent is allowed. Argument and disagreement are good things in politics. Deference to party idealogy is not.
Any more questions?
The Other Steve
I agree with Steve that I don’t like either of them really. But you have to understand the Majority Leader is simply the guy who kicks butts in line. So I don’t know if it matters. In this sense, I think Hoyer might be better as he seems more of a hardass.
It’s the Speaker who decides the direction of what the House takes up in session.
Punchy
Oh, maybe, Cloudy Cole, it’s because they don’t bother changing leadership when they should have. It took until Delay was formally indicted to dump his sorry ass. Hastert is as guilty as shit, and they STILL won’t let him go. Thus, you don’t have “leadership issues” when your corrupt, crooked, and crony-istic leaders NEVER STEP THE FUCK DOWN.
Tsulagi
LOL. Looked at the TPM list of potential Majority Leaders. Maybe as with the Pubs when DeLay cut and ran, Dem candidates will get on TV arguing who has the less taint and should therefore be the next leader. Still, I’d take Murtha over the rest in the bunch.
Pooh
Personally, I’d rather Hoyer, just because I think having our politics be “all Iraq, all the time” is pretty devastating to pretty much anything else – and Murtha, as good as he is on that issue, will stand for only that issue precisely because he is so conservative (relatively) to the rest of the caucus on everything else.
radish
Uh… count me among the folks who think that while your memory of reality is faulty, your memory of “the narrative” (meaning the preconceptions of a few hundred senior editors and producers) is perfect. It’s a reasonable error and one I make regularly, but it’s still an error.
Also what Zifnab said. I’m glad somebody’s finally thinking of the kittens.
just sayin
Some talking head on CNN was theorizing this morning that the contest was in the bag for Hoyer and that this was Pelosi letting those who would be well served back home in the district by “opposing” her and her SF values to do so by voting for Hoyer. Sounds a bit too much like a triple bank shot to me, but offered FWIW.
Richard 23
It figures Nancy “San Francisco Values” Pelosi (who employes illegal aliens to toil in her vinyards and salt mines) would select Moonbat Murtha. He’s an unindicted co-conspirator who was up to his neck in Abscam.
I guess she has no real problem with the culture of corruption as long as it’s in her own party. I’m only surprised she didn’t tap William “cold cash” Jefferson or Alcee “impeached” Hastings. Of course it’s early yet.
Just business as usual for the unhinged far left defeatist DemocRATs.
TenguPhule
Shorter Richard 23: I try to outsnark Darrell and Fail.
Richard 23
That’s dishonest as hell. Keep speaking truth to power. But you can’t help it. It’s who you are. Keep screaming about “failure” so the voters know how far out you really are.
;-)