Webloggin » A Politician By Any Other Name, Will Never Smell Sweet

My aplogies to Shakespeare for the title.

The Democrats took control of both houses of Congress as a result of historical trend more than any ideological superiority though the MSM trumpets this as a referendum on the war on terror in Iraq. It is no secret that George Bush is intensely loyal to those with whom he works. His loyalty has stood up for six years and was the object of much scorn from the left. His loyalty to Secretary Rumsfeld was constantly the subject of debate with regard to the handling of the war. Democrats like to think this kind of loyalty is bad, until of course, they are in power.

Nancy Pelosi is set to become the Speaker of the House and she has made no bones about the fact that any Democrat who worked with Republicans will not get a leadership position. She has endorsed Jack “ABSCAM” Murtha as House Majority Leader over Steny Hoyer with whom she has had a rocky relationship. Interestingly, this quote comes from an article in the Allen Report (Time):

The incoming Speaker credits Murtha for changing the debate on Iraq, which helped make Democrats a credible alternative to Republicans in the election, according to an official familiar with her position. “She also places a high premium on loyalty,” the official said. [my emphasis]

So on one hand the loyalty George Bush showed to his people was bad but Pelosi values loyalty. Given that she will not put Democrats who worked with republicans in leadership positions I think that it is fair to say she values loyalty so long as the loyalty is to her.

I have mixed feelings about this. I do not like either Hoyer or Murtha but a Hoyer win would be a defeat for Pelosi and that is a good thing. On the other hand, though I would never vote for ABSCAM, I think a win by him would show that the Democrats are truly the cut and run party, as if sane people did not already know that. ABSCAM is reportedly pro-gun and pro-life and is seen as right of center on most issues except the issue of the war. By backing him, Pelosi has shown that the only issue that matters to the Democrats, through their assumed leader, is the war. If Democrats think that this is the only issue on the table or that it was the deciding factor in the past election they are setting themselves up for failure in 2008.