House Democrats Duke It Out for No. 2
It may come down to hierarchy vs. high profile, as Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer, the current minority whip, vies with Pennsylvania Rep. Jack Murtha for the position of majority leader in the new Congress.
Future House Speaker Nancy Pelosi threw her support behind Murtha, a longtime ally whose calls for a withdrawal from Iraq made him a hero in the Democratic Party, in a letter Sunday that noted his opposition to the war.
"Your leadership gave so many Americans, including respected military leaders, the encouragement to voice their own disapproval at a failed policy," she wrote.
In 2001, Murtha served as Pelosi's campaign manager in her successful bid for minority whip against Hoyer. When Dick Gephardt resigned as minority leader, Pelosi took his place, and Hoyer moved up to whip. Despite his clashes with Pelosi, Hoyer said during the campaign that he would support her candidacy for speaker if Democrats retook the House.
In response to the challenge from Murtha, Hoyer released letters backing his minority leader bid from Democratic leaders and more than half of the newly elected Democratic House members and issued a statement Sunday expressing confidence he would be chosen.
"Nancy told me some time ago that she would personally support Jack. I respect her decision as the two are very close," the statement said.
Murtha, a Vietnam veteran and expert in military affairs, was lionized by the left after voicing his opposition to the war and calling for troop withdrawal. But the left's lovefest with him belies his long-standing reputation as a political moderate who prefers to operate behind the scenes. Hoyer is generally more liberal, and his position as whip required strict adherence to the party line. Both voted to authorize the use of force in Iraq.
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