Pelosi 'will ensure' Murtha win, Murtha ally says (The Hill)

[kpete]

Pelosi 'will ensure' Murtha win, Murtha ally says
By Josephine Hearn

House Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will ensure that Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) wins his race for majority leader, a key Murtha ally said Monday night.

"She will ensure that they win. This is hard-ball politics," said Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.), a longtime Murtha supporter. "We are entering an era where when the Speaker instructs you what to do, you do it."

Pelosi recently endorsed Murtha’s bid for majority leader against House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), but it was unclear whether she would use her clout as the first Democratic Speaker in 12 years to help Murtha win or whether her letter simply expressed a personal preference as a favor to Murtha.

Pelosi’s move was deliberate, Moran said, and she was already leaning on her colleagues to affect the outcome.

http://www.thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/111406/murthawin.html

[slaveplanet]

1. Pelosi-Murtha

It should come as no surprise.

Mr. Murtha has used his influence in the caucus to place friends in strategic positions on appropriations committees and other House panels. Representative Nancy Pelosi, a California liberal who is the current Democratic leader, is a close Murtha ally. He put her on the appropriations committee early in her career and managed her campaign to be leader.

His friends say Mr. Murtha often guides their votes, especially on defense matters. “He is sort of like the general and we are the lieutenants,” Mr. Doyle said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/02/washington/02murtha.html?ex=1160452800&en=2d0c32bbd5611471&ei=5070&emc=eta1