Text 22954, 106 rader
Skriven 2006-09-29 05:52:00 av Jeff Binkley (1:226/600)
Ärende: Murtha
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http://www.hillnews.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/092806/new
s1.html

‘Concern’ in Murtha camp 
By Josephine Hearn
 
Liberal House Democrats are not lining up behind Rep. Jack Murtha’s (D-
Pa.) leadership candidacy in the numbers he had hoped despite his 
outspoken stance against the Iraq war.

Murtha’s failure to line up staunch opponents of the war could prove a 
blow to his hope of denying the majority leadership to Minority Whip 
Steny Hoyer (Md.) in the event of a Democratic takeover of the House in 
the 110th Congress.

Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.), a friend of Murtha who has been helping him with 
the race, said tepid support among some progressives was a worry to him. 
“It does concern you when people you think are going to be with you turn 
out not to be. Some of that’s cultural issues, guns and abortion,ö he 
said. “But we still have the votes.ö

Liberal Reps. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), Barney Frank (D-Mass.), Bill 
Delahunt (D-Mass.), Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), John Lewis (D-Ga.), Jerry 
Nadler (D-N.Y.), Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.), Diane Watson (D-
Calif.) and Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) are all backing Hoyer even though 
many admire Murtha’s stance on the war. All but Lewis opposed Hoyer in a 
2001 leadership race against House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-
Calif.).

Some liberals believe Murtha’s record on social issues is too 
conservative, especially on such topics as gun rights, gay marriage and 
abortion. Others avow that they are happy with Hoyer’s performance as 
minority whip and want to maintain the status quo in their leadership.

Until now, many liberals had been wary of giving Hoyer a promotion. Many 
took a dim view of him in previous leadership races, opposing his failed 
campaign against Pelosi in 2001 and voting against his chosen candidate 
in the caucus vice-chair race earlier this year.

Some saw him as harboring a continuing desire to undermine Pelosi even 
years after their race, while others were upset when he sided with party 
centrists on such legislative issues as the 2005 overhaul of bankruptcy 
laws. Murtha, meanwhile, has been a key Pelosi backer in spite of their 
ideological differences.

But for Nadler, none of those factors mattered.

“I was annoyed. I am annoyed,ö he said of Hoyer’s support of the 
bankruptcy bill.

öBut so what?...He’s done a great job as whip. Between Nancy and Steny, 
we’ve had an extraordinarily united caucus. If we win, we’re going to 
need that same unity next year.ö

Nadler called Hoyer an “attractive spokesmanö for the caucus who could 
speak on a wide range of issues.

Waters, a nationally known liberal who founded the Out of Iraq Caucus in 
2005, said she was supporting Hoyer but declined to comment further. She 
serves as a chief deputy whip in Hoyer’s whip operation but was 
appointed to the post by Pelosi. She was so opposed to Hoyer in 2001 
that she served as a nominator for Pelosi.

Waxman pointed to ideological differences as his reason for backing 
Hoyer.

“When you look at the two on contrast, there are distinct differences 
between them on abortion, on the environment, on guns. I expect Hoyer 
will win. I think he’s way ahead,ö he said.

Lewis called Hoyer a “bridge-builderö who was working “for the whole 
Democratic caucus.ö Roybal-Allard said he was “a Democrat in every 
positive sense of the word.ö

But not all progressives will do the same about-face. Liberal Rep. Mike 
Capuano (D-Mass.), a Murtha backer, said he thought the “majority of the 
Progressive Caucusö would end up supporting Murtha, as would, he said, 
“a majority of the Blue Dogsö and “a majority of the New Democrats,ö two 
groups of moderates.

He had “no concern at allö about defections to Hoyer. “Everyone’s going 
to be split 100 ways to Sunday.ö

Moran said Murtha would lead from the center.

“If Jack were majority leader, he is obviously going to provide every 
opportunity for people, where they feel there’s a difference, to have 
their voices heard on abortion or other issues,ö he said.

He added that Murtha had “a slight advantageö among current House 
Democrats, not including members who refused to weigh in yet on the race 
and those that could be elected in November.

Both sides acknowledged that the race was shaping up far differently 
than Hoyer’s 2001 contest against Pelosi.

Rep. Artur Davis (D-Ala.), an ardent Hoyer ally, said Hoyer had support 
among the progressives and among his usual base of Blue Dog centrists.

“Steny’s support is broader than ideology, broader than region. That’s 
the problem from a tactical perspective for John Murtha. Where does he 
find his base? This is not a Pelosi-Hoyer race.ö


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