Text 20670, 77 rader
Skriven 2006-06-10 09:49:00 av Jeff Binkley (1:226/600)
Ärende: Murtha
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Let's hope that Murtha and John Kerry become the faces of the democratic 
party in November...

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http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=politicsNews&storyid
=2006-06-09T222226Z_01_N09219978_RTRUKOC_0_US-CONGRESS-
DEMOCRATS.xml&src=rss&rpc=22


Iraq war foe Murtha eyes Democratic leadership
Fri Jun 9, 2006 6:22pm ET

By Susan Cornwell

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Rep. John Murtha, an outspoken opponent of the 
war in Iraq, unexpectedly announced on Friday he will run for the No. 2 
leadership post in the U.S. House of Representatives if Democrats regain 
control of that chamber in elections this fall.

"If we prevail as I hope and know we will and return to the majority 
this next Congress, I have decided to run for the open seat of the 
majority leader," Murtha, a Pennsylvanian, said in a letter sent to 
House Democrats.

"I would appreciate your consideration and vote and look forward to 
speaking to you personally about my decision," Murtha said in the 
letter. 


The announcement from the decorated Marine veteran appeared to take his 
party and Capitol Hill by surprise. The man who holds the No. 2 position 
in the Democratic caucus, Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, immediately made 
clear he had no intention of stepping aside.

"Mr. Hoyer worked extraordinarily hard to unify the caucus and take back 
the House for the Democrats, and that is his first focus," a spokeswoman 
for Hoyer said.

"As a result of that unity, he is confident that we will be successful 
in November, and he intends to run for majority leader," she said. 
Hoyer, who is from Maryland, believes he has the support of the 
overwhelming majority of House Democrats, she added.

Murtha, a hawk on military matters who started out as a supporter of the 
Iraq war, soured on the conflict and went public with his criticism last 
November, calling for an American troop withdrawal.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi opposed the Iraq conflict from the 
start, but Hoyer has been a supporter of the war. Eight-one Democrats 
voted for the Iraq war resolution in 2002, but 126 voted against it.   

Democrats must pick up 15 House seats to regain control of that chamber 
in elections this November, giving them the power to set the legislative 
agenda.

National polls have shown voters preferring Democrats to Republicans, 
but the outcome in the House as well as the Senate -- where Democrats 
need six seats to take control -- will depend on individual races in 
which incumbents often have a strong advantage and local politics play a 
role.

After the election, the leader of the majority party in the House would 
be expected to be nominated, and elected, as Speaker of the House, and 
the party would then choose a Majority Leader from among its members.

Democratic aides who criticized Murtha's sudden announcement on Friday 
said he was proving himself to be more of a divider than a uniter. 


"Members really think Jack Murtha has caused a huge disruption. This is 
a major distraction from what our focus should be. We should be focusing 
on taking back the House, not leadership ambitions," one Democratic aide 
said.

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