Pelosi Backs Murtha For Majority Leader

(CBS/AP)  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a retired Marine who easily won re-election last week, made headlines last year when he said U.S. troops should be withdrawn from Iraq.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."

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[pakaal]

"The dems pretended to be conservatives so they could win an election "

ANGRYliberal, of the members of House elected, all 27 candidates support raising the minimum wage, all 27 candidates advocate changing course in Iraq, all 27 candidates oppose efforts to privatize Social Security, only two of the 27 candidates do not support embryonic stem cell research and only five of the 27 candidates describe themselves as "pro-life." Whoah, pretty conservative bunch there!

You're right Ozilot, it's fascinating how everything becomes a Republican win, even their dramatic election loss. The bad news for folks like angryliberal is that the facts are not on their side.

[pakaal]

Rep. Murtha did a lot to bring the failures of the Bush administration in Iraq to light, and focused America on the problems there, but CREW is right. He didn't take the ABSCAM bag 'o loot, but he also said he might consider it when he knew the "Sheik" better. He got off on a technicality. I say Hoyer's better for the position - and it looks pretty favorable for him to win. I doubt Murtha will be able to get the majority vote, for a variety of reasons.

[one_american]

Dear Katie Couric,
Do you still think John Murtha is, in your words, "vindicated"?

You must be blinded by ignorance!

From the New York Times:

"While Mr. Hoyer has been a fixture in leadership, Mr. Murtha eschewed the spotlight and seemed content to wield his considerable influence well behind the scenes until he took a high-profile stand against the war.

But Mr. Murtha is also coming under the spotlight on another subject that dominated the campaign: Congressional ethics. Mr. Murtha helped block ethics changes that Democrats had proposed last year. He has been an astute backroom dealmaker known for trading votes for the pet projects known as earmarks. He has had family members who lobbied on issues under his control, and he was caught up in the Abscam scandal more than 25 years ago, though he was never charged.

The leader of one watchdog group said today that Mr. Murtha%u2019s record should disqualify him from the job, particularly since Democrats campaigned so hard against Republican corruption and have promised to make new ethics and lobbying rules a priority.

"How can Americans believe that the Democrats will return integrity to the House when future Speaker Pelosi has endorsed an ethically challenged member for a leadership position?%u201D asked Melanie Sloan, the head of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, a "mainstream" group that focuses of government integrity in Washington. %u201CRepresentative Murtha is the wrong choice for this job.""

[b4815]

Talk about your double standard.

[tomadeimy]

Good choice Nancy. Jack Murtha will give the Democrats credibility when it comes to the Nation's security. He spoke up when everyone was afraid to say anything; and he was way ahead of the curve when it came to a exit strategy in Iraq. He will be a part of the solution, proposed by the previously impotent Democrats, who were afraid to say anything, for fear of castration by the neo-cons.

[houser123]

I will go back to my earlier statment that Jack Murtha is the right person at the right time for this position. Although Mr.Hoyer has experience, Murtha talks the talk when it comes to the military. For years and still today he is a stalwart when it somes to supporting the needs of our combat personnel. He was a favorite of the republicans in that regard. we msut first fins a solution to get out of this war and leave the country stabilzed with the Iraqis determining their own fate. Afterwards we can look into why and how we entered into this mess that has taken the lives of 150,000 plus innocent Iraqi civilian, 2,848 American service people and 300 plus allied troops. Lets stop the killing first, then set out to determine what went wrong.

[mikewilsonw]

Bushrocks1 and ShutUpMurtha -- You are right in what You said -100 % .. Its a sad thing that so-called wise-educated - people in American and on this forum are finding it difficult to grasp the scenario .. Most of them live i a closed cube where nothing but their 6 walls exist !! Shame on them ... Hopefully We americans get it right before it is too late !!

[one_american]

Just as expected, CBS will ignore the corruption of Democrats.

Jack Murtha is the Democrat's "rock star".

[angryliberal-2009]

The dems pretended to be conservatives so they could win an election and then they want Pelosi and Murtha as their leaders, Dont you people who voted for these dogs feel like you just got had?

[angryliberal-2009]

You give the dems an inch they take a mile. We vote them in office and now they want to put the most corrupt person in washington as their leader. The only way they could get away with this *** is if the American people have no say in the matter.