Jack Murtha: The Next House Majority Leader

My favorite Californian, Nancy Pelosi, is standing up for my favorite Pennsylvanian, Jack Murtha. She has come out in support of her good friend for House Majority Leader in preference to Steny Hoyer.

I’ve liked Jack Murtha since he had the guts to stand up against the senseless war in Iraq and say, nearly a year ago,

“Our military has done everything that has been asked of them, the U.S. can not accomplish anything further in Iraq militarily. IT IS TIME TO BRING THEM HOME.”

I especially liked Jack Murtha after he garnered the invective of Congresswoman Jean Schmidt of Ohio, who effectively called Murtha a coward when she quoted an Ohio state representative:

“He also asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message: that cowards cut and run, Marines never do.”

(and yes, I just checked, the unofficial results has Schmidt re-elected in a squeaker). Jean quickly learned that you don’t say that to a Vietnam veteran.

Now Steny Hoyer would be just fine, too. I checked though, and he is a little more shaky in the National Security area. Hoyer voted in favor of the much hated USA PATRIOT and Terrorism Prevention Reauthorization Act, where Jack Murtha voted against it.

All this stuff about ethics is a concern of mine. Some say Murtha is innocent of those charges, going all the way back to ABSCAM. He was, in fact involved in ABSCAM to the extent that he met the "fake sheik" who was paying 8 congressmen $50,000 bribes to become a US citizen, but Murtha instead told him to invest in his hometown of Johnstown.

I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, especially if it means that his election to Majority Leader will be a final "in your face", for the Republicans.

So, yeah, Nancy, ditto.

Nick? Murtha.