Pelosi Backs Murtha For Majority Leader

Rep. Jack Murtha, the 74-year-old Vietnam War veteran who stepped into the spotlight last year with his criticism of the war in Iraq, has picked up a major endorsement in his quest for a powerful leadership position on Capitol Hill.

In a letter made public late Sunday, soon-to-be Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi backed Murtha – a longtime ally – for House Majority Leader, a post also sought by Rep. Steny Hoyer, who has been a rival of Pelosi's.

"Your presence in the leadership of our party would add a knowledgeable and respected voice to our Democratic team," Pelosi wrote Murtha, who has been viewed as an underdog in the contest against Hoyer. "Your strong voice for national security, the war on terror and Iraq provides genuine leadership for our Party, and I count on you to continue to lead on these vital issues."

The Democrats are expected to make their choice on Thursday.

"I am deeply gratified to receive the support of Speaker Pelosi, a tireless advocate for change and a true leader for our party and our country," said Murtha, commenting on the endorsement. "Last Tuesday, the American people spoke and the message could not be clearer: we need a new direction."

"It's time for Democrats to deliver and that's what I hope to do working side by side with Speaker Pelosi," Murtha continued. "If elected Majority Leader, we will implement the Democrats 6 for '06 agenda and execute our Party's 100 Hour Plan to bring about the change our country needs."

The Democrat's 100 Hour Plan includes a crackdown on lobbyists, an increase in the minimum wage, reducing interest rates on student loans, government negotiations with drug companies to reduce prices for Medicare patients, an expansion of stem cell research, and enactment of all the recommendations made by the commission that investigated the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

Hoyer has been number two in the Democratic leadership behind Pelosi for the past four years. He says he's still confident he will win the race.

"Nancy told me some time ago that she would personally support Jack," says Hoyer, in a statement released by his office on Sunday. "I respect her decision as the two are very close."

Murtha, a retired Marine who easily won re-election last week, made headlines last year when he said U.S. troops should be withdrawn from Iraq.

That statement led some critics to call him unpatriotic, while others praised him for his courage.

Murtha says he's still pushing for most U.S. troops to be brought home from Iraq as soon as possible. He also supports leaving some troops on the periphery of Iraq to go in as needed.

"The first thing we have to do is establish some truth about this whole thing. Second, we have to hold people accountable," Murtha said. "It's not a disaster for us to leave Iraq, it's a disaster for us to not have a policy."

Murtha, who is from Pennsylvania, and Hoyer, who is from neighboring Maryland, engaged in some pre-election jockeying for the Majority Leader position each hoped would soon be a Democratic position.

Murtha said last fall he intended to run for Majority Leader if the Democrats won control, a pre-election jab at Hoyer at a time when the Marylander was pledging support for Pelosi.

Both Hoyer and Murtha traveled on behalf of Democratic candidates during the campaign. Hoyer's office said he visited 82 congressional districts and raised or contributed $8.2 million to the party's candidates in the months leading to the elections. No comparable figures were immediately available for Murtha's efforts.

Since the election, Hoyer has released letters of support in the leadership race from senior Democrats as well as from more than half of the incoming lawmakers who won their seats last week.

One of Hoyer's supporters, Rep.-elect Baron Hill of Indiana, argues that Pelosi's letter is good news for the Maryland lawmaker.

Hill interprets Pelosi's words as a statement of personal intent.

"She's not," he observes, "asking other members to vote for Murtha."

Pelosi began her letter by saying that Murtha has asked for her support. Noting his opposition to the war, she added: "Your leadership gave so many Americans, including respected military leaders, the encouragement to voice their own disapproval at a failed policy that weakens our military and makes stability in that region even more difficult to achieve."

Uproar over the handling of the war is believed to be one of the main reasons voters gave Democrats control of the House for the first time since 1994.

"It goes back to mischaracterizing the war, saying how well it was going. Of course, it's not going well, obviously," Murtha said last week, as election returns showed that the Democrats had been victorious. "The country has spoken and this country, when they speak, things happen. I don't only feel vindicated. I'm inspired and anxious to go to work and get this thing over with."