[UPDATES BELOW]-11/17/06 The Hillary Pelosi Catfight.In a vote of 149 to 86, Hoyer wins position of house majority leader. Pelosi has now lost her FIRST battle with her own caucus.
This is a follow up from "Lets get ready to rummmmbble", "Pelosi lies about Murtha" and "The Murtha Meltdown."
Preceeding this vote, Pelosi was selected as speaker of the house. Then she immediately puts her prestige as speaker on the line by officially nominating John Murtha as house majority leader, up against Steny Hoyer. And LOSES.
Hoyer was elected on a vote of 149-86.
The balloting marked a personal triumph for him, but also a snub to Pelosi, moments after the rank and file selected her unanimously to become speaker when the House convenes in January.Once again, Pelosi and the Democratic Party shows that they cannot even agree with each other... so who actually holds out any hope they are even capable of working in a bipartisan fashion with another party???? I certainly do not.
"We made history and now we will make progress for the American people," Pelosi told the party caucus moments after her selection.
She vowed that after 12 years in the minority, "we will not be dazzled by money and special interests."
Pelosi also called for unity in the party, but within moments she put her prestige on the line by nominating Murtha for majority leader.
Murtha is powerful lawmaker on defense matters, and he gained national prominence last year when he called an end to U.S. military involvement in Iraq.
He and Pelosi have long been close, and when Pelosi issued a statement supporting Murtha on Sunday night, it raised the stakes in a leadership election within a party that is taking control of the House in January for the first time in a dozen years.
Pelosi and Hoyer have long had a difficult relationship. The two ran against each other in a leadership race several years ago. Pelosi won, but Hoyer rebounded more than a year later when he was elected the party's whip.
Hoyer, 67, is a veteran of 25 years in Congress.
His margin of victory reflected a pre-election strategy in which he showcased support from moderates, veteran lawmakers in line to become committee chairmen and more than half of the incoming freshman class — the majority-makers whose victories on Election Day gave the party control of the House.
The intraparty battle had preoccupied Democrats, overshadowing Pelosi's promotion to speaker — a position that is second in line of succession to the presidency.
Many Democrats were dismayed that the family feud had broken out in the first place and objected to heavy pressure placed on longstanding Hoyer supporters.
[UPDATE]- First of many I think. Via Wapo, a Murtha-Pelosi ally resorted to threatening conservative Democrats if they did not vote for Murtha.
One conservative Democrat said that a Murtha-Pelosi ally approached him on the House floor and said pointedly: "I hope you like your committee assignment, because it's the only one you're going to get."
In a phone call initiated by Murtha that same day, the lawmaker told the longtime politician that he had already signed a letter of support for Hoyer. The congressman said he was stunned when Murtha told him, "Letters don't mean anything."
Hoyer's supporters complained about such tactics.
"Commitment is something of value in this institution," said Rep. Artur Davis (D-Ala.). "If you have somebody in this race saying, 'Oh, your promises don't really mean anything in a secret ballot,' that bothers me, and it should bother a lot of people."
Resorting to threatening their own party members so that Madame Speaker could win her first of many battles ahead and still having it blow up in her face, has GOT to sting.
I guess the speaker doesn't have the "pull" nor the "prestige" that she assumed she had.
Funnier still is the left blogs reactions about Pelosi "winning" speaker position. They forget that if no one is running against her, she won by default. If there is NO option but one to vote for, it is pretty easy to get the votes. LOL.
Then after the press conferences, click here to see the cat fight.
This post will be updated with reactions as they start coming. So, check back often.
Don Surber points to the third promise broken by the Democrats.
Told you there would be reactions:
Woman Thyself has a wonderfully amusing post on Nanc and Murth, nice imagE eh?
Stop the ACLU.
Hot Air.
Sister Toldjah.
Mary Katharine Ham.
thinkinboutstuff has a great pice on Pelosi ad the corruption NOW in congress.
Hyscience with Voter's Folley.
One of Wapo's articles are here. A much harsher Wapo article here.