Pelosi's first mistake

Before the Democrats have even officially taken over Congress, Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi has already shown a tremendous lack of political acumen. In 2001, Pelosi beat out Steny Hoyer to be minority leader. Hoyer had been around longer, but apparently Pelosi had accumulated more chits. Since then, Hoyer has been minority whip and, following the elections of 2006, planned to run for Majority Leader, second-in-command to Speaker.

However, Pelosi decided to write a letter of support for John Murtha and, more than that, apparently tried to strong-arm various Democrats to support Murtha. Today, thankfully, Murtha lost in a landslide to Hoyer and Hoyer will be the new Majority Leader.

So, what's the problem with all this? Well, let's see. Hoyer has put in the time and service and served a faithful fellow Democrat in the leadership. He's polished and a relative moderate in the Democratic caucus. In other words, he would be an excellent Majority Leader. Murtha, in contrast, has not been in the leadership, has been to the left on Iraq, and has a rather unsavory past stemming from the Abscam scandals of the early 80s. Moreover, he has opposed important bills that have tried to stem the tide of corruption in Congress. If the Democrats are trying to look like the clean uncorrupt party, nothing would look worse than electing someone like Murtha to be Majority Leader -- he would smell an awful lot like Tom Delay.

However, Pelosi believes that loyalty to her matters far more than anything else and, therefore, was willing to go to great lengths to have Murtha elected because Murtha served as her campaign chief when she ran against Hoyer in 2001 for minority leader. While loyalty deserves a certain amount of respect, it is truly awful that Pelosi couldn't see the damage that Murtha's election would cause to the perception of the Democratic Party and, therefore, to their chances in 2008. Instead, she operated quite a bit like President Bush, who has also shown that he values loyalty above all else, often to his own detriment.

Thankfully, the Democratic Caucus saved Pelosi from her own stupidity and elected Hoyer, leaving Murtha without a major post. I have no misgivings about Pelosi's ethical status (currently), but I'm baffled as to why she can't see the ethics issues with those around her. For some reason, she thinks that personal loyalty to her will somehow overcome the clouds hanging over others. Nancy, what were you thinking? PLEASE consult with those outside your little circle and try not to embarrass the Democrats in Congress before 2008. Otherwise, I'm going to have to suggest that we get a new Speaker ASAP.