sourceWorking the phones and unleashing her top aides, Pelosi is trying to turn the Murtha-Hoyer battle into a powerful statement of her authority รข€” and what the Democrats stand for.
For a moment there it looked as if incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was making the mistake every pragmatic Democrat feared: putting soft-hearted personal allegiance ahead of cold-eyed political calculation. The first key decision she made since the Democrats' triumph in last week's elections was to back John Murtha, the anti-war hero of the left, in what seemed an impossible battle against Maryland moderate, Steny Hoyer, for the number two position in the House Democratic leadership, minority whip. And it wasn't looking good.
"I think she made a mistake," Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank, the incoming head of the powerful Financial Services Committee and a Hoyer supporter, said Tuesday. "I wish it would not have happened." Pelosi loyalists worried that backing a loser early on would hurt her authority down the road, and project an image of a divided party.
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