About Hoyer (short read: he's not the devil)

[troublemaker]

Steny Hoyer was the Democratic whip in the 109th Congress. The unprcedented untiy of Dems in the 109th Congress (particulalrly on social security) was one key to our victory in the 2006 elections for the 110th congress.

Party discipline is the whip's main job and Hoyer did a very good job in that role.

He is a Democrat, an able shepard of legislation and received overwhelming support within the ranks of House Democrats. Even very strong liberals like Waters and Frank supported Hoyer because they admired his ability to bring all sides together on vital party-unity votes.

Even if one preferred Murtha, Hoyer is not a bad guy. He helped a lot of Dems in the election and he's good at his job.

In the long run, his election is probably a net plus for party unity in the house. All sides feel represented: A liberal speaker, a slightly more moderate minority leader, a black caucus member as whip.

And his election is unlikely to prolong the war. (Pelosi is running the show. As a moderate on the war Hoyer may be better positioned to unify moderate Dems on a Pelosi=led anti-war position as things unfold, and to prevent any blue dog rebellion down the road.)

It's all good. Someone was bound to be disappointed either way, but it's not a terrible thing. Congratulations to both candidates.

[bigtree]

1. a Democratic leader

:toast:

[dogday]

2. He was elected by Democratic vote

and that is all I need to know... Whether I wanted this candidate for Majority Leader or not, he has been voted in by the process, and that is good enough for me... I do hope Murtha will keep fighting the good fight to bring our troops home....

[Bake]

3. How can this dogfight possibly be good for the Dems?

We just won the elections, and now we look like a bunch of squabbling idiots. How can this be a good thing? What's the big deal over who the No. 2 person is, anyway? Pelosi will still be Speaker. Really, who gives a damn about No. 2?

Bake

[bigtree]

4. it's over

#2 is in place. Time to move on.

[tridim]

6. As the MSNBC talking heads said, nobody is paying attention to this stuff

Except political junkies. It's not a big deal at all.

[troublemaker]

7. All will be forgotten in 48 hours

[Justyce]

8. Agree, hope it goes away quick...

I have no real solid preference between the two, but since the overwhelming majority picked Hoyer, hopefully it's a good choice. An article in the NY Times says basically Pelosi isn't wild about Hoyer because he challenged her for whip in '01, and Murtha ran her campaign... They sure make it sound petty.

Hopefully it won't last long -- Time to get back to work!

[Virginia Dare]

5. When I was a kid, he represented my District...

he was always considered a liberal by any definition then. I haven't really followed him lately. I think he'll do a fine job.