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November 15, 2006
A Sorry Start
Joe Conason is right: The race between Murtha and Hoyer present two astonishingly unappealing options. Murtha is a hawkish, corrupt, conservative, and a dear friend to the defense industry -- year after year, he's the top congressional recipient of their donations, and he repays them in full. His brave comments on Iraq were aberrational rather than characteristic, and his emergence as the progressive choice is evidence of some very short Democratic memories. Hoyer, however, is fetishistically centrist, corporatist, and at odds with Pelosi. His elevation is likely to make for a profoundly dysfunctional Democratic majority.
My personal view is that this is basically an early referendum Pelosi. Murtha is a loyalist, and a vote for him is a vote for her. That said, for those expecting the Democratic Majority to last for a little bit, new wars will emerge, new issues will arise, and new progressives will be required. There's always the hope that Murtha has bought into his new anti-war hype and will seek to retain liberal adulation by applying the lessons of Iraq to the next proposed conflict. But given that he supported the war and flipped mainly because we hadn't fought it with sufficient commitment, it's by no means a sure thing that the anti-war authority liberals have invested in him won't be used against them as he decides Syria is ripe for revolution.
Meanwhile, Pelosi's attempts to replace the qualified-but-conservative Jane Harman with the corrupt and unimpressive Alcee Hastings is quite a disappointment. While Pelosi's loathing of Harman appears to spring from California-related rivalries, denying her the top spot on the Intelligence Committee may nevertheless be a smart move. Not, however, if the alternative is Hastings. The Intelligence Committee is an important institution, particularly for Democrats who need to build up some credibility on these issues. A corrupt, disliked, party hack just ain't the way to go there. I'm with Charlie the Pierce on the idiocy of Pelosi's promise to run "the squeakiest-clean Congress there absolutely ever was," but she's proving the impossibility of that pledge a bit quicker than would seem necessary.
Crossed at Tapped
November 15, 2006 | Permalink
Comments
Yeah...not a great start. I'm giving Pelosi every benefit of every doubt possible, but this isn't reassuring.
Posted by: Tom Hilton | Nov 15, 2006 4:40:13 PM
It's just too early to tell on this stuff. What matters is results. If Murtha as Majority Leader means that the Federal Hate Amendment, abortion bans and privatizing SS get new life breathed into them, then this is a bad move.
If the House passes legislation that raises the minimum wage, insures all American kids and refuses to pay for and/or authorize Bush's military misadventures, then it really doesn't matter who the Majority Leader is, except to show how big-tent the Dems are.
Posted by: Stephen | Nov 15, 2006 5:47:37 PM
Aside from the bizarre question of exactly why Murtha is the internet's darling, it doesn't matter so much what their positions are as how ethical and responsible everyone is. The last election was a kick in the jimmy to corrupt politicians. If we go in and do the exact same thing, the GOP will just pull the rug out from under us as we did to them, except worse, in a presidential year.
If we want a lasting majority, we have to put forward an incredibly clean face. I'm a bit disappointed that Pelosi doesn't seem to think this way, because it could really bite us in the ass.
Posted by: Fnor | Nov 15, 2006 11:16:08 PM
I think Pelosi is getting this mess--selecting a majority leader--out of the way now, so it won't dominate the news cycles after the Jan Congressional inauguration.
It's a page from the Rove/Bush playbook. Take some lumps while things are going reasonably well as insurance against giving the opposition additional traction when all eyes are focused.
Majority Leader is a nothing position. Only under DeLay has it really mattered. Let the dust settle, the holidays will wipe bad press from the front pages, and the Democratic majority can move forward. Not a bad bit of political calculus from Granny Armani.
Posted by: jimmmm | Nov 16, 2006 8:20:51 AM
Pelosi has been tone deaf for years. She is being tone deaf now. She will continue to be tone deaf. Get used to it.
Posted by: ostap | Nov 16, 2006 8:36:06 AM
