Hoyer Elected

[peaches2003]

Wasn't even close. 149-86 I believe CNN said.

[sabra]

1. more...

http://www.cnn.com/POLITICS/blogs/politicalticker/

Hoyer beats out Murtha for majority leader

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland, has been elected to the House majority leader position.

Hoyer beat out Rep. Jack Murtha for the No. 2 leadership post in a race that became increasingly divisive in its final days.

The vote was 149-86.

[Tellurian]

12. Hoyer operatives right here on this forum..

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15750590/

[bemildred]

2. Well damn. Let's see the rest of it. nt

[mnhtnbb]

3. Not a good sign for Pelosi being able to whip the Dems into shape

[bemildred]

6. She won Speaker unanimously. We'll have to see. nt

[mnhtnbb]

23. The first thing she asks for--Murtha--she doesn't get!

[wisteria]

4. Hoyer did a fine job really smearing Murtha. with the help of the

media and the Republicans.
It is a sad day for us who want to see a strong voice on Iraq. I can now see that this will not be the case.

[skipos]

9. Murtha smeared himself. Unless you think this is the best way he could have handled this:

Amoroso: Let me ask you now that we're together. I was under the impression, OK, and I told Howard what we were willing to pay, and I went out, I got the $50,000. OK? So what you're telling me, OK, you're telling me that that's not what you know....

Murtha: I'm not interested.

Amoroso: OK.

Murtha: At this point, you know, we do business together for a while. Maybe I'll be interested and maybe I won't.... Right now, I'm not interested in those other things. Now, I won't say that some day, you know, I, if you made an offer, it may be I would change my mind some day.

[Election]

17. Look ABSCAM was entrapment, and I believe the American people know that

I'm not going to hold a 25 year old entrapment scheme by the FBI against John Murtha.

[newyawker99]

19. Hi Election!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Election]

16. You don't even believe that

Steny Hoyer ran a positive campaign (or as much of a campaign as you can run for a leadership post :)) that focused on the fact that Pelosi, Murtha, and Hoyer were mostly on the same page (no pun intended).

Pelosi merely endorsed Murtha. She did not campaign for him or in any way bash Steny Hoyer. Thus, I don't believe it's fair to say Pelosi lost political capital in this leadership election. Gene Taylor's comment about how this election was representative of democracy is accurate.

When push came to shove, Democratic members had to pick between a pro-choice, gun control candidate, and a pro-life, gun rights candidate. Both of these men want a pullout out of Iraq, as does a majority of the Democratic Caucus.

[yellowcanine]

21. How did Hoyer smear Murtha? Do you have a link to anything on that?

[bluestateguy]

5. The decision has been made, and now it's time to move on

Everybody get the bitching out of your system today, because tomorrow it's time to get back to work.

[Zenlitened]

8. Agreed.

Though I might have said "kvetching" rather than "bitching." :D

Seriously, though. What's done is done. Let's keep our momentum, keep moving forward on Democratic priorities.

Because once we formally take control in a few short weeks, that's exactly what we'll have the power to do: Put Democrat-authored bills on the floor, and call a vote. Just like that. Democratic priorities, front and center.

:dem:

[MarkTwain]

7. Bravo ! ...Not Even Close...

... More politically and strategically sensitive heads prevailed and realized what an ethical and legal train-wreck Murtha was going to be.

Kudos to the new Congress. Thanks!

[Cookie wookie]

26. Yeah. Ney's partner on HAVA wins. Woopee (sarcasm) n/t

[queenbdem87]

10. This isn't devisive....difference in preference and thought it what makes us better than the Rethugs

Rethugs: Unity through strength, Strength through Unity.

[0rganism]

11. I know what you're saying, but I hope we can find some unity too

It sure would be nice to be able to come together as a majority every now and then to support some really important stuff.

[Kali]

13. I have to agree. Nothing scares me more than too much

unanimity. Dissent and argument is GOOD. Lock step blind agreement is frightening.

[NastyRiffraff]

14. Okay, that's settled...let's get down to the people's business.

Honestly, I never had a dog in this fight, because I had mixed feelings about both Hoyer and Murtha.

However we may feel individually, it's done, and bashing one "side" or the other isn't helpful. I actually think it was healthy for the Dems to have this conversation (and election) about who should be Majority Leader. But we, here on DU, don't know either of the two contenders as the Dems in Congress do, or have the information that they have. Yes, I realize there probably was some arm-twisting, too, on both sides. But the size of the vote for both the Speaker (unanimous), and the ML (big margin), says that both will be able to function with the power they need. That's a good thing.

Now, it's time for both Hoyer and Pelosi to put their differences aside and get down to business. I think they will have disagreements, but that's not always a bad thing, and again, can be healthy.

[Tight_rope]

15. House Democrats name Hoyer to No. 2 post

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061116/ap_on_go_co/congress_leaders_47

By ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press Writer
26 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Democrats picked Rep. Steny Hoyer (news, bio, voting record) to be House majority leader on Thursday, spurning Rep. Nancy Pelosi (news, bio, voting record)'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 (news, bio, voting record) 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.

[Javaman]

18. Well I think any hope of the bankruptcy bill being over turned is not gone...

He's from Maryland the home of all credit card companies.

Remember is was john, visa mastercard, biden who helped it get passed. Also from maryland.

[yellowcanine]

22. That's JOE Biden from DELAWARE. Where the credit companies are.

Not Maryland. In fact, Maryland has been trying to collect taxes from banks that have branches in Maryland but their headquarters in Delaware to avoid Maryland taxes.

[Javaman]

28. Whoooops! LOL my mistake.

:blush:

[Ignacio Upton]

27. Murtha voted for the Bankruptcy Bill too

n/t.

[k_jerome]

20. bravo. nt.

[JerseygirlCT]

24. So the question now is will Hoyer support Pelosi

or undercut her?

Is he going to work on the team, or continue to run his own show?

The things I'd been hearing these past few days about Murtha (ABSCAM and just how radically anti-choice he is) certainly give pause.

But I also didn't like the way Hoyer publicly undercut Pelosi last year.

We won't get a thing done if we're too busy having power struggles internally.

[w4rma]

25. Hoyer ambushed Murtha with a divisive smear campaign to get that position.

Considering his inability to look ahead, I fear that he is going to lead Democrats down the same path of failure that DLCers like him have been doing.

A little bit of background that should give some insight as to how Hoyer will lead House Democrats:
Wanted: A Real Leader
November 14, 2006
by David Sirota
…
Hoyer's reaction to Murtha's Iraq announcement was telling. He ran to the Washington Post, not to praise Murtha for his courageous leadership in shifting the debate on the most important national security issue in a generation, but instead to say Murtha's announcement "could lead to disaster." Days later, he tried to publicly humiliate Pelosi for supporting Murtha's withdrawal idea, with the Post reporting that Hoyer "told colleagues that Pelosi's recent endorsement of a speedy withdrawal combined with her claim that more than half of House Democrats support her position, could backfire on the party."

On trade, it's the same thing. Murtha represents Johnstown, Pennsylvania--the type of hardscrabble, working-class district Democrats have too often lost since President Bill Clinton joined with Wall Street to push free-trade pacts in the mid-1990s. In representing this kind of district, Murtha has opposed many of the most destructive trade agreements that sell out American workers. In the most high-profile example, he went up against Clinton by voting against the China free trade deal in 2000.

Hoyer, by contrast, voted for the China pact, and a number of other "free" trade agreements opposed by Murtha and progressive Democrats. He has parroted much of the rhetoric of the Democratic Leadership Council--the corporate front group that has relentlessly pushed Democrats to provide the crucial congressional votes necessary to pass "free" trade pacts. As Lori Wallach of Global Trade Watch said when Hoyer ran against Pelosi in a previous leadership race: "Hoyer has repositioned himself--one can only assume for political purposes -- as the DLC, business candidate."

Neither candidate, of course, is perfect. But this is far more than merely a lesser-of-two-evils choice.
…
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20061127/sirota/
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=103&topic_id=246654&mesg_id=246654

[teryang]

29. Pelosi used Murtha to attack Iraq policies but now...

...anyone who has listened to her on Iraq and Israel, has to know that their positions aren't even close.

[PassingFair]

30. Well, we know how much power Pelosi has.

None.