Pelosi's first defeat - Dems Pick Hoyer for majority leader (149-86) (2 Viewers)

DadsDream

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Boy, that was quick. She gets appointed and they snub her pick of Murtha for her #2.

There's a red BREAKING NEWS bar at the top of the page saying the Dems picked Hoyer.

Pelosi faces no-win outcome in House battle
Speaker’s pick Murtha battles Hoyer for No. 2 spot among Democrats
Updated: 1 hour, 32 minutes ago


WASHINGTON - Even as Democrats unanimously chose Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the House on Thursday, the party remained divided over the selection of a top lieutenant.

Pelosi passed over Steny Hoyer of Maryland, now the assistant minority leader, and endorsed longtime ally John Murtha of Pennsylvania to become majority leader, the powerful No. 2 party post in the House.

READ MORE

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15026624/
 
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Not even close:

"The aide said the vote behind closed doors was 149-86."

Democrats defy Pelosi, elect Hoyer House leader
Thu Nov 16, 2006 11:59am ET


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A week after winning back control of the U.S. Congress, divided Democrats in the House defied incoming speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday and elected Steny Hoyer to be majority leader, a Democratic Party aide said.

Pelosi, a California liberal, had endorsed Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, who helped lead the charge against the Iraq war that was a key factor in races for the House of Representatives and the Senate.

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http://today.reuters.com/news/artic...RS-HOYER.xml&WTmodLoc=InvArt-C2-NextArticle-1
 
The Dems realize that Murtha is:

1. A lightning rod for criticism based on some of his statements about the war.
2. The poster boy for pork spending.

They are trying their best to not give the Republicans any ammo so far. They even played the election smart by having Nancy go into the Politician Protection Program and disappear when Republicans tried to make the election a referendum on the "San Francisco liberal". Granted Kerry nearly blew it all anyone.

I get the feeling Murtha is one of those guys Dems smile in his face then laugh behind his back. He energizes a segment of their supporters and allows them to not have to say some of the things he says so he's a useful tool to them but hardly seems to have a lot of their respect beyond lip service.
 
The Dems realize that Murtha is:

1. A lightning rod for criticism based on some of his statements about the war.
2. The poster boy for pork spending.

They are trying their best to not give the Republicans any ammo so far. They even played the election smart by having Nancy go into the Politician Protection Program and disappear when Republicans tried to make the election a referendum on the "San Francisco liberal". Granted Kerry nearly blew it all anyone.

I get the feeling Murtha is one of those guys Dems smile in his face then laugh behind his back. He energizes a segment of their supporters and allows them to not have to say some of the things he says so he's a useful tool to them but hardly seems to have a lot of their respect beyond lip service.

Please don't call anyone from the Democratic party a pork spender when you got Republicans spending billions on a war that we shouldn't even be in. A friend of mine had a week left to go in Iraq, and kept asking himself why we were in Iraq in the first place as many of the troops do and will continue to do until they are given a straight answer. He got killed by a sniper, a week before he was supposed to come home. But back to the original topic, the reason why they didn't pick Murtha is that he is too Liberal and the Democrats are trying to be moderate. Pelosi is more Liberal than most and that would have been to much power for one platform, thus they needed to have a centrist view.
 
Please don't call anyone from the Democratic party a pork spender when you got Republicans spending billions on a war that we shouldn't even be in. A friend of mine had a week left to go in Iraq, and kept asking himself why we were in Iraq in the first place as many of the troops do and will continue to do until they are given a straight answer. He got killed by a sniper, a week before he was supposed to come home. But back to the original topic, the reason why they didn't pick Murtha is that he is too Liberal and the Democrats are trying to be moderate. Pelosi is more Liberal than most and that would have been to much power for one platform, thus they needed to have a centrist view.

So we can't call Democrats pork spenders because Republicans do it too? The reality is they all do it but there are a few guys like Murtha and Lott that have made it an artform.

My condolences about your friend. I respect and appreciate his sacrafice.
 
not to mention they have him on video talking about bribes - he didnt take them - yet, but later testified - not sure what the real story was -
 
the reason why they didn't pick Murtha is that he is too Liberal and the Democrats are trying to be moderate. Pelosi is more Liberal than most and that would have been to much power for one platform, thus they needed to have a centrist view.

He's not really that liberal. In fact he's conservative on many social issues. He only stands out because of his outspokeness on Iraq.

"In 2000, the Christian Coalition published a scorecard of every member of Congress. The group went out of its way to make Republicans score higher, but Murtha managed to get a 48% score — one of the higher ratings for a Dem in the House — after backing the conservative line on anti-abortion measures, in opposition to campaign-finance reform, and against gay adoption."
 
I think in 2006 America liberal and conservative is largely being viewed through the prism of the war. I've heard people call Lieberman a conservative Democrat and his views outside the war are as far to the left as you can get without chopping of your right arm. :D
 
Ah yes. Its great to not have the top-down leadership attitude in Congress once again.
Wasn't it Will Rogers who said, "I am not a member of an organized political party, I am a Democrat"?
 
The Democrats made a good move by going with Hoyer instead of the ethically challenged and pork barrel spender Murtha. The question now is who will Pelosi appoint to chair the intelligence commitee? Pelosi doesn't have to hold a vote for this selection. Will Pelosi appoint an ethically challenged person like Alcee Hastings who was impeached as a federal judge for conspiring to take bribes for a lighter sentence for some mobsters?

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 width=490 border=0 valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=2>Blue Dogs back Harman for Intel panel chair
</TD></TR><TR><TD>Eighteen members of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of conservative House Democrats, wrote Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) Thursday imploring her to choose Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) to chair the House Intelligence Committee next year.

"Congresswoman Harman has served as Ranking Member of the Intelligence Committee with skill and distinction. She has helped lead the bipartisan reorganization and reform of our intelligence community and has served as a strong voice for Congressional oversight of the Administration and its national security policies," wrote Reps. Melissa Bean (D-Ill.), Mike Ross (D-Ark.), Stephanie Herseth (D-S.D.), Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) and others. "Both our Caucus and Party have counted on Congresswoman Harman to answer forcefully and credibly to partisan critics who have questioned Democrats’ commitment to protecting our nation."

Harman currently serves as the top Democrat on the panel. Yet, Pelosi has all but said she will select another member as chair.
http://www.thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/111606/bluedogs.html
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
 

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