Pelosi’s First Failure or Signs of True Bipartisanship

Hey folks,

Well this is interesting. Some see this as Speaker to be Pelosi’s first major defeat. But could this not be a sign of true bipartisanship? According to Reuters,

"Nancy Pelosi, set to become the first woman to head the U.S. House of Representatives, suffered an embarrassing defeat on Thursday when fellow Democrats rejected her choice of a key foe of the Iraq war as her deputy.

Steny Hoyer, a moderate Maryland Democrat, easily defeated Pennsylvania's John Murtha, a leading proponent of a quick U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, to become the next House majority leader.

A week after Democrats won control of Congress from President George W. Bush's Republicans, the leadership election raised new questions about the clout and hardball style of Pelosi, a California liberal.

Emerging from closed-door balloting that capped a bruising intraparty fight, Pelosi tried to put the matter behind her.

"We've had our differences in our party. We have come together," Pelosi told reporters. "And now that's over."

She said,

"I stand very, very proudly behind my endorsement of Mr. Murtha," Pelosi said. "As I said in my letter to members on Sunday -- I believe the biggest ethical challenge facing our country is the war in Iraq."

"It must be stopped, and I thought that Mr. Murtha's elevation to a leadership position would serve that purpose," Pelosi said.

STOP! Hold on a second. Did she not just say, "Yes he is corrupt, be he will help me to get us out of Iraq, declaring the defeat "Bush’s fault" so I do not care?"What happened to ethics reform?

So who is Steny Hoyer? The MODERATE Maryland Democrat who beat LWL extremely corrupt John Murtha by a margin of 149-86? One, he is a Moderate. He has been representing Maryland’s 5 congressional district since 1981.

"He is now the longest-serving House member from Southern Maryland in history, as well as the highest-ranking member of Congress in Maryland history.

Hoyer has served as Chair of the Democratic Caucus, the fourth-ranking position among House Democrats, from 1989 to 1994; the former Co-Chair (and a current member) of the Democratic Steering Committee; and as the chief candidate recruiter for House Democrats from 1995 to 2000. He also served as Deputy Majority Whip from 1987 to 1989. On November 14, 2002, Rep. Hoyer was unanimously elected by his colleagues in the Democratic Caucus to serve as the House Democratic Minority Whip, the second-highest-ranking position among House Democrats.

In Congress, Steny Hoyer has built a reputation as a defender of Federal employees and a leader on education and human and civil rights issues. He is perhaps best known for serving as the lead House sponsor of the Help America Vote Act, which President George W. Bush signed into law on October 29, 2002, and for sponsoring the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 when Tony Coelho was forced to resign."

Here is an interesting tidbit,

In 2005, Hoyer "voted against the Goodlatte Amendment to H.R. 4437, the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005. The Goodlatte Amendment would eliminate the visa lottery. This is a program that each year gives another 50,000 green cards to people without any regard to their humanitarian need or to what they might offer the country or to their having any family connections in the United States. It is a program that promotes massive illegal migration by people who think they may some day win the lottery and be allowed to stay in the United States. The bi-partisan U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform under the leadership of the late Barbara Jordan recommended eliminating the visa lottery. The Goodlatte Amendment passed by a vote of 273 to 148."

Also in 2005, "Rep. Hoyer voted in favor of the Stearns Amendment to H.R. 4437, the Border Protection, ntiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005. The Stearns Amendment prohibits any alien from being granted legal immigration status of any kind until criminal record databases and terrorist watch lists are checked, and it is confirmed that no fraud has occurred. This amendment would subject each and every individual who seeks any sort of legal immigration status to a criminal background check and a review of terrorist watch lists to ensure that the United States only grants immigration status those who do not wish our citizens harm. The Stearns Amendment passed by a vote of 420 to 0."

So we have an LWL diehard Liberal Nancy Pelosi in command of the House with her second in command a MODERATE Democrat who does not agree with her on many issues. Should be interesting to watch.

This also brings up another point of interest to think about. What if, these young blood Moderate Democrats that have been elected in, ACTUALLY start to get things done. Follow me on this. What if, big IF, they can work in a bipartisan way with the Moderate Republicans. This would show the American people what I have been saying. Together we can accomplish anything. It would also show the American people that the LWL is no way to go. Neither is the far Right fringe. This would set up a guarantee, landslide victory for a Moderate President in 08. Someone like Lieberman, or Giuliani would beat someone like Clinton hands down. May even open the cracked door that much further for a third party.

They, the Moderate Democrats, have one pertinacious fight ahead if they are going to do this. Not only will they have to fight with the Right, but they will have to avoid being eaten by their own leaders, and the dealings with the MMD. But if the do, this may very well be the beginning of restoration the real Democratic Party. That would not be such a bad thing.

Good luck Rep. Hoyer, You will be needing it.{Smile}
Peter


Sources:
Reuters -"Democrats elect Hoyer House leader"
Wikipedia
Help America Vote Act
ADA
Numbers USA