Pelosi suffers first political defeat since this month’s elections
I reported a few days ago, that Nancy Pelosi wanted Murtha to become House majority leader. Sadly for her, she lost that particular battle:
House Democrats picked Rep. Steny Hoyer to be House majority leader on Thursday, spurning Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s handpicked choice moments after unanimously backing her election as speaker when Congress convenes in January.
A Marylander and 25-year veteran of Congress, Hoyer defeated Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania in a vote of 149-86.
His election to the No. 2 job came just a short time after the Democratic caucus put Pelosi in line to become the first woman to be speaker, a position which is second in line of succession to the presidency. It marked a personal triumph for Hoyer.
Earlier, an ebullient Pelosi declared: “We made history and now we will make progress for the American people.”
That she becomes the first woman to be speaker can hardly be a surprise to anybody. That battle was won at the moment the Democrats won the elections. However, I find it to be highly interesting that ‘her’ candidate, John Murtha, was quite easily so it seems beaten. The question is whether this will hurt Pelosi politically.
I agree with Robert D. Novak on this: to support Murtha was Pelosi’s first mistake:
This is a no-win situation for Pelosi. If Murtha wins today, she will be accused of personal vindictiveness in derailing Hoyer, who is more popular in the caucus and better qualified for leadership. If Murtha loses, as is much more probable, she will be seen as bumbling her first attempt to lead the new Democratic majority. Pelosi could have avoided this dilemma by standing aside as Newt Gingrich, then the presumptive speaker, did when he voted for his ally Robert Walker as majority whip but did not ask members to oppose Tom DeLay.
Pelosi’s mistake confirms long-standing, privately held Democratic apprehension about her abilities. Such concerns do not reflect the Republican indictment of her as a reflexive San Francisco liberal. Some of her most trenchant congressional critics are on the left wing of the party. These colleagues worry that her decision making may be distorted by personal considerations.
UPDATE
TMV co-blogger Michael Stickings published a must read article on this over at the Carpetbagger report called Seriously, what the [bleep] are the Dems doing?
Which is not to say that I like Hoyer any more than Murtha. (See Barbara’s post for more on Hoyer’s problems.) I really don’t like either candidate for the job. Despite Pelosi’s outspoken support for Murtha, would it not make sense for a third candidate, a popular compromise, to be elevated to majority leader? It’s too late for that now that Pelosi has put her weight, and “authority and credibility,� behind Murtha and now that the caucus has been divided into two warring camps, but what good will come of this? No matter who wins, and the vote should come soon, there will be bitterness and divisiveness both at the top and throughout the caucus.
So I ask: Why, why, why?
Everything looked so good just a week ago. And now this.
