The Murtha aftermath and grandma Pelosi:

[bushmeister0]

Well, it looks like the Dems have finally resolved the whole Murtha/Hoyer controversy, thank God. Can we move on now? Please, no more stupid crap like that again. I mean, just a week after winning a huge election to retake the Congress for the first time in 12 years -- 12 years!-- here comes Grandma Pelosi runnin' down the freeway with a 4-10 loaded with lead, trying to strong arm her caucus into voting for her man to be majority leader. Not exactly a good start for the first woman in history to become Speaker of the House. Of course, it's unfair, but when women play hardball politics like this they come off looking like out of control bitches. (I can't wait until Hillary gets on the war-path. Just imagine the field day the media will have with her!) The Dems came off looking real bad during this recent episode; let's hope this sort of thing isn't going to be a regular feature of Nana Pelosi's iron rule.



What was this media frenzy all about anyway? Do most Americans really care about who the majority leader is in the House; obviously not because, no one had even heard of Tom DeLay until he was indicted. The whole thing about Murtha's supposed ethics problems was way over blown by the media, to put it mildly. We kept being treated to a replay of the infamous Abscam tapes over and over again, as if there was some story there. The thrust of the reporting seemed to be that he was some how ethically challenged because he refused to take a bribe -- 25 years ago. There clearly was no there, there, but the media just kept running with it. And as far as his comments about earmarks are concerned; I think that he's probably in the majority of those in Congress who want no fiddling going on with their cherished pork.

And the notion that majority leader John Murtha would have wound up undermining the new Democratic push to clean up politics as usual Washington is ridiculous. I don't get the impression that Murtha in even in his wildest dreams could even come close to the kind of corruption that characterized the past twelve years of the GOP's congressional klepocracy. He's just doing what they all do by steering big defense contracts to his district, he's certainly no Richard Pombo.

I understand the urge to reward Murtha for coming out early for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq, but I don't think that's enough to entitle him to be majority leader. Tom DeLay may have operated pretty much under the radar his whole tenure, while he sold the government to the highest bidder, but the media wouldn't have left Murtha alone. No matter what the Dems tried to get accomplished Murtha would be the in the center of some storm or other.

It's better for the majority that Hoyer is the leader, because he's media Sominex. If I see him on a Sunday talk show I'll be leaping up to change the channel before he puts me back to sleep (it's hard enough for me to get up that early on Sundays.) He's a good guy though; I think he'll do a good job. And I think he should get some credit for the speech he gave back in 2005 on the House floor during the Terry Schiavo debacle. He was only one of a few sane voices in that sorry affair. (Too bad some 47 of his fellow Democrats didn't listen to him and voted for that shameful legislation.)

And besides, I think it's a good thing that there'll be some healthy oversight within the majority looking over Nana Pelosi's shoulder. 149 Democrats in the House apparently think so, too, and you can see why. Within minutes of seizing so much power she's just tossed a bit of it away by losing this fight that she should have never picked in the first place. Imagine what Karl Rove is gong to do to her.

[Dhampir Kampf]

1. I think you, like the media, is blowing this..

...WAY out of proportion.

The people who view this as a 'falling out' in the Democratic party, are the same people who would never vote for a Democrat in the first place. This happens every election. Of course there is going to be competition for major positions of the House. It happens every time there's a new majority. It's nothing new.

Pelosi was doing what's respectable. Showing loyalty. I'm not saying that I necessarily wanted Murtha, but I don't blame her for doing what she did.

However, I do think she didn't say the right thing after Hoyer won. She said that line about church, and how it's time to heal. No healing is necessary. As I said, it happens every time there's a new majority. It's been blown way out of proportion, and every time someone acknowledges otherwise, it continues to inflate.

[Dunedain]

2. Imagine what she'll do

to Karl Rove!

[KharmaTrain]

3. Now They're Onto Harmon Vs. Hastings...

As has been said here many, many times...never expect the corporate media to be our friend. They love to show Democrats as confused, divided, petty and weak. It's the image they're comfortable with and reflects how inept, corrupt and lazy the beltway journalism and chattering class has become.

This morning C-SPAN had a "reporter" from the Washington Post on trashing Murtha over the nearly 30 year old ABSCAM tapes...saying how she was "appauled" by what she saw and how this somehow became an important issue because the American Expectorate did a story about it last month (in an attempt to Swiftboat Murtha). When someone called and asked if she had investigated Boenner and his ethic problems, she shrugged it off as it wasn't something she was interested in. She claimed to be a "Democrat", yet when pressed said she did more investigating of Democrats than Repugnicans. Proof positive of how corrupt these people have become.

Expect this meme to continue as the corporate media didn't get the message last week...and don't see their falling ratings & circulation as a symptom of the poisoned well they've created. Instead they feel the need to pour in more poison to cover up the stench.