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Maryland politics is... well.
It isn't quite Chicago politics. It's closer to Boston politics, especially in Baltimore.
Some adjectives that come to mind: Intramural. Bruising. Carnivorous.
Possibly because the Democratic Party was for so long effectively the ONLY Party in Maryland, the intraparty manuevering, infighting, and manipulating is as savage, maybe moreso, as any inTERparty conflict. You have to be the equivalent of a street fighter to survive.
You have to be the equivalent of a GRACIOUS street fighter, with a fine sense of when to make nice, to thrive. (See: Pelosi, Nancy)
Here's the thing: If I were to do a portrait of the Ideal Elected Leader, it sure as hell wouldn't be Steny Hoyer. He's a lot of things that I dislike in a politician. He's "flexible." He's "accommodating." He's "well-connected." Like many MD pols, he's got a LONG memory for a grudge, and he'll put it on the back burner for years, working side by side and cordially and horsetrading and quid-pro-quoing, and then, someday when the object of the grudge is no longer useful and it's entirely safe to do so, WHAM. Often a very subtle, indirect WHAM, but almost always an effective WHAM.
He has no sense of smell and no gag reflex. He'll do business with the devil himself if Old Nick is sitting on something Steny's constituency needs.
If you're his constituent, and especially if you're one of his voters, his people, the red carpet is always out. If you're not, well... You might get the time of day if your pockets are deep or your mailing list is gigantic, but only if you've got something Steny wants.
All that said, let me give you the other side.
Steny knows that the stock in trade for his kind of pol is "Can you trust his word when he gives it?" So he rarely gives it, but when he does, you can take it to the bank.
He'll rent his soul out occasionally, but he'll never sell it permanently.
You can't threaten him. There's nothing to threaten him with. He couldn't lose an election in his home district if he was photographed with a crack pipe at a nude Cub Scout Jamboree.
And he's a Dem to the core. He'll do whatever infighting is needed, but he won't do it in a way that harms the Party.
He's a moderate, yep. He's NOT a conservative Dem. He's not a Scoop Jackson Dem, ideologically. I'd compare him to Lyndon Johnson. He's the same kind of centrist-pragmatist, basically liberal in outlook but not progressive. Yet he can do the right thing, even at a cost, when he's convinced that it is the right thing.
Is he better than Murtha? Honestly, I don't know. Murtha's got a fair amount of swing, especially among the neanderthal wing of the Party, and if he's willing to put that at Pelosi's disposal, that could be a powerful tool. But he really IS a Scoop Jackson Dem. He's clearly conservative, no ifs, ands, or buts.
Let's not forget that the Majority Leader's job is NOT to impress voters or the press or pundits, or to articulate the caucus' policy goals or legislative initiatives for public consumption. The Majority Leader is the Party's number one Cat Herder.
Who's got more chits out, who's better at cajoling, arm-twisting, horse-trading, strategizing Committee memberships, etc., THOSE are the qualifications a Majority Leader needs.
Finally, from a realistic standpoint, both Murtha and Hoyer have done enough horsetrading, quid-pro-quoing, etc., that someone, somewhere, is going be able to make a case that they are pork barrel kings, in bed with K Street, yaddayaddayadda. If you're in the House long enough, and you get to a certain level of power within your party, at some point you will have done things that will leave you open to such charges by SOMEONE. It's always a question of whose ox is being gored.
Me, I don't have a dog in this fight. I think either guy could do the job; I don't particulaly like either guy, I respect both of them for their accomplishments and wish they were both a little more what I'd like to see in a progressive, visionary Democratic leader.
But there's a lot of eyewash being flung around about Hoyer, so I thought I'd add my tuppence from having observed him in his native habitat. For what it's worth, yer mileage may vary, all appropriate disclaimers should be taken as read, etc.
informatively,
Bright
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