Hoyer v. Murtha

On the impending fight for the position of House Majority Leader between Jack Murtha and my congressman, Steny Hoyer, the consensus among liberal bloggers seems to be, it's a tough call. Neither are progressive Democrats; if you put aside the Iraq War, Murtha is actually even more conservative than liberal bete noire Hoyer, to say nothing of his ethical troubles. But Murtha's best selling point, as Ezra Klein points out, is that he and Nancy Pelosi have been allies for some time, whereas Hoyer has openly criticized Pelosi on several occasions. If Murtha were Majority Leader, Pelosi would have a strong hand to take on, not just Iraq, but many other issues the two might not see eye to eye on. On the other hand, Hoyer is apparently well-liked by many in the Democratic caucus, and one can argue that his history of political "realism" could move him to strongly support Pelosi if he thinks it will help him as well.

What worries me now is that Pelosi has staked much of her credibility as Speaker on winning this leadership fight; if she loses, it could haunt her and the House Democrats for months, if not years; Republicans and the established media would quickly revive the old "Democrats in disarray" meme (though Republicans are in for some backbiting and internecine warfare themselves). But at this point, I don't think anyone can say what will happen.

Tags: democrats nancy pelosi steny hoyer john murtha