Stunned may be the best word to describe my initial reaction to incoming Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, throwing her new found political weight behind Representative John (Jack ) Murtha (D-Pa.) to be House Majority Leader.
Fortunately for the Democratic Party, her lawmakers ignored her advice, repudiated Murtha, and selected Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), who served as Minority Whip since 2002.
Why did Ms. Pelosi do what she did? What conclusions can we draw from her action? Could any of them be good or positive ones?
Speaker Pelosi’s stated reason for promoting Jack Murtha’s candidacy was his early and gutsy strong opposition to America’s continued presence in Iraq and his radical call for immediate troop withdrawals. For that, and her past association with Congressman Murtha, who helped her become Minority Leader over Steny Hoyer, the Speaker chose to use the prestige and power of her new office so that a loyal supporter became her number two leader. Another reason, observers report, is that she and Steny Hoyer haven’t always played well together due to past competition for the same Party leadership posts.
Our now second-in-line for the Presidency’s putative proposition for elevating a tarnished comrade is patently preposterous. Loyalty. Where have we heard that before?
Besides appearing as the proverbial bull-in-the-china-closet, which serves no one well in political wrangling, Mr. Murtha was an unindicted co-conspirator during the Abscam investigations in the late 1970s. One day before the Democrats were to choose their leaders, Jack Murtha didactically and unabashedly labeled the heightened concern on the Hill over ethics as “total crap.” This came only days after his party captured political control of Congress largely due to the populace’s concern over corruption and ethics involving Republican lawmakers and lobbyists.
So, why nominate Murtha with his ethical and interpersonal baggage? Again, we were told it was out of loyalty to a friend and long-time ally. Many felt that was commendable and reasonable; however, if I’m not mistaken, many of these same people criticized that very attribute in President Bush when he did not accept Donald Rumsfeld’s resignation a couple years ago or capitulate to calls from these same loyalty-minded Democrats to remove “Rummy” as Secretary of Defense.
This is all very ironic, isn’t it? Maybe even a tad, shall we say, hypocritical? Of course, this is Washington and hypocrisy is the coin of the realm in this town.
Yet, the Party faithful in Congress came to the rescue, saving itself from public scorn and embarrassment as well as being ill-served by Madame Speaker’s inexplicable political miscalculation.
Ms. Pelosi has been chastened. As a veteran and seasoned politician, who may have been victimized merely by a “senior moment,” she should learn and rebound from this initial burp in leadership. Let’s hope so. She should now recognize that Iraq, which she used as one explanation for supporting Jack Murtha, is better addressed through reasoned and moderate discourse and not by a man who still seems to think and act like a Marine ordered to “take that hill.” That’s an admirable quality in battle, and it served Mr. Murtha well when he was in the military, but it doesn’t work wonders with legislators, all of whom are quite fond of their own wisdom and capability.
Well, if not loyalty or Iraq, what else could be behind Nancy’s nettlesome notions about Congressman Jack?
Given Mr. Murtha’s public persona, it’s not outlandish to hypothesize that he barged into the not-quite-yet Speaker’s office and demanded that she mandate to Democratic Party caucus members that they select him as Majority Leader either because he deserved it for being on the bleeding edge of the get-out-of-Iraq-now movement or he now craved a leadership position that he has heretofore never coveted.
There you have it. Several factors could have been behind Ms. Pelosi’s actions:
I’m hoping there’s a fifth option that I’ve overlooked. If not, the woman who may become President, under what would be unprecedented and most dire circumstances for this country, needs to get a better grip on the levers of leadership.
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Fred W. Apelquist, III, M.Ed.
Approximately 700 words.
© November, 2006