Steny Hoyer will most likely be the next Democratic Party Leader in the House of Representatives despite Nancy Pelosi’s support of John Murtha today.
But Pelosi’s move is gutsy — and diplomatic. She needs to build bridges between different factions in the House — including traditional liberals like Hoyer and realist hawks against the Iraq War like Murtha. She’s also got quite a few neo-con lite types among Dems that need to be handled.
By not favoring favorites and promoting competition, Pelosi is kick-starting the Democratic Party to start serioiusly debating how it defines itself and what message and objectives it wants to transmit to the public.
I’m impressed with the move — even if the Murtha campaign fails. It’s extremely smart to do. Even Hoyer seems to think so and accept what she has done.
— Steve Clemons
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