Rep. John P. Murtha has surprised Democrats by announcing he’s thinking of throwing his hat in the ring for a powerful House position if the Demmies win control in November:
In a letter that he circulated on the floor during a series of votes, Murtha said he is eyeing the No. 2 position. “If we prevail as I hope and know we will and return to the majority this next Congress, I have decided to run for the open seat of the Majority Leader,” Murtha wrote.
The presumed favorite for that job had been the current No. 2 House Democrat, Steny H. Hoyer (Md.), with whom Murtha has long had testy relations. Hoyer, like many of his political colleagues, greeted Murtha’s announcement with annoyance and exasperation, given that the election remains five months off and a Democratic victory is by no means assured.
“Mr. Hoyer has worked extraordinarily hard to unify the caucus and take back the House for Democrats, and that is his first focus,” said Stacey Bernards, his press secretary. “As a result of that unity, he’s confident that we will be successful in November, and intends to run for majority leader.”
Indeed, from the Democrats’ standpoint, Murtha’s announcement — which will be well-received by some Democrats, particularly those who are not career politicians — is unwelcome due to its timing.
Right now the Democrats need a powerful, cohesive message and above all unity as they prepare to do battle with a wounded GOP that some relief to its wounds this week with news that disgraced and jailed Congressman Randy Cunningham’s seat will stay in GOP hands after all. And then there was the news that Iraqi terrorist chief Zarqawi went out with a bang (literally) in Iraq.
The first bit of news boosts the GOP morale and sent a message to Democrats that they need to do more than run as the anti-Bush or anti-GOP. The second bit of news is likely to boost George Bush’s poll ratings, perhaps even lift them from basement to ground floor level, although the question is how long and whether that would last.
Murtha is more respected among Democrats than Republicans (he is absolute anathema to many conservative Republicans) and a prestigious House post would give him an ever greater forum for his views on the war and how the Democrats should proceed. He’s already not just media-savvy but highly popular with the news media due to his direct way of speaking coupled with his military experience.
But his announcement won’t ease the Democrats’ intra-party tensions going into the election. On the other hand, much depends on what happens with the war between now and November: if the war continues to stalemate or worsen and the Democrats win the House even partly because of it, Murtha could then be an appealing figure for House members. He’d be a living symbol of public unease that had helped the Democrats win back the House. And if they lose the House? Fahgeddabouddit.
UPDATE: Some thoughts on this from Jonathan Singer.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.