House Democrats Pick Leadership, Spurn Pelosi’s Choice
Housevote
The Eagle-Tribune
Bryan McGonigle
Boston University Washington News Service
Nov. 16, 2006
WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 – House Democrats Thursday elected Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., to be the next majority leader – going against the wishes of Speaker-elect Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
Pelosi had publicly supported Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., who gained national fame last year when he called for a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq.
Pelosi, D-Calif., was unanimously elected Speaker of the House – putting her behind only Vice President Dick Cheney in the line of succession for the presidency.
“I am extremely pleased that Nancy Pelosi will be the next Speaker of the House and look forward to working with her as she leads the Congress in a bold new direction,” Rep. Marty Meehan, D-Mass., said.
But Pelosi’s choice for the next highest House position was spurned by the Democratic caucus. Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, D-Md., who has served 25 years in Congress, was elected House majority leader, defeating Rep. John P. Murtha, D-Pa., 149 to 86 in the secret ballot vote.
Hoyer, 67, is finishing his 13th term in Congress. He has been the House minority whip since 2003.
Murtha, 74, was Pelosi’s campaign manager in 2001 when she successfully ran for minority leader against Hoyer.
Pelosi was criticized by many in the party after she intervened in the heated contest between Murtha and Hoyer, issuing a letter Sunday to House Democrats expressing her support for Murtha. Critics accused Pelosi of choosing favoritism over the well-being of the party and failing to stand by her pledge to end corruption in the House.
Murtha has been accused by some Democrats of overstepping ethical boundaries and thwarting attempts to tighten rules on lobbying. He gained national attention last year when he called for an end to the war in Iraq.
In the new Congress, Murtha will chair the Defense Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee, which funds the war in Iraq and the Pentagon budget.
After the vote Pelosi said, “I was proud to support him [Murtha] for majority leader because I thought that he would be the best way to bring an end to the war in Iraq
Hoyer, in contrast, has cautioned against leaving Iraq too quickly.
“Steny was more where the mainstream of the party was,” Rep. Barney Frank told the Associated Press after the vote. Frank will chair the House Financial Services Committee.
Rep. John Tierney, D-Mass., didn’t say who got his vote for majority leader but said he was pleased with the new leadership.
“I think we have an extraordinarily strong team,” Tierney said. “We’re all looking forward in a unified fashion to take this country in a new direction.”
Meehan also did not say for whom he had voted and did not comment about that election’s outcome.
But it was reported before the leadership election that Meehan supported Murtha for the position. Meehan said on MSNBC on Tuesday that Murtha “shows his courage by standing up on the Iraq war and calling for America to go in a new direction. So that’s the type of leadership I’m looking for.”
Dr. Frank Talty, political science professor at UMass Lowell, said the issue of political fallout over majority leader election won’t likely affect party performance or public opinion.
“I can’t help but think that the story is being overblown,” Talty said.
Talty said he thinks Pelosi will exercise her power with the same effectiveness as if her top choice had won. Even with the huge margin of victory for Hoyer, Talty said, “It’s going to be the speaker’s job now to move the party in a single direction. I don’t think the two or three items that they put on their immediate agenda are going to suffer in any way.”
The fact that the party is still new to power also will diminish the impact of the leadership election, Talty said.
“They really haven’t had a chance to govern or act as the majority party yet,” he said.
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