Calibrating Power -- Pelosi’s mistake on Hoyer has tarnished her luster as a leader. But there are still signs that the Dems can work on a team.
From Newsweek by Eleanor Clift:
With Nancy Pelosi, it’s all about loyalty. What should have been her day--the unanimous election by Democrats of the first woman Speaker of the House--became instead the story of her first big political blunder. She invested her prestige in Rep. John Murtha, the gruff, antiwar Pennsylvania Democrat, in his bid to become her elected deputy, and he lost--149 to 86. It wasn’t even close.
The fact that Maryland Democrat Steny Hoyer, an inside-the-Beltway player, will be majority leader means little to the general public. But it means everything to those who calibrate power minute by minute in Washington. By injecting herself into the race and backing the wrong candidate, Pelosi lost some of her luster as a leader even before she is sworn in.
For those watching to see how the first woman Speaker will wield power, this was a missed opportunity. Pelosi initially encouraged Murtha to run against Hoyer, with whom she has a longstanding rivalry. After the election sweep and all the emphasis on solidarity, she had second thoughts, but Murtha, bull-headed and dogmatic, pressed ahead. Pelosi felt powerless to stop him. He was her campaign manager when she ran for leader four years ago, providing the credibility she needed to win among the old bulls in Congress. She credits Murtha with transforming the debate on Iraq and making the Democratic majority possible. She owed him the letter of endorsement that was released last weekend, and that’s where it should have ended.
That gesture of loyalty would have been understood. In 1994, when Newt Gingrich became Speaker and supported his longtime sidekick, Bob Walker, for majority leader, he didn’t lobby against Tom DeLay, who won the race. Pelosi and her California allies, by contrast, really worked the Democratic caucus, reminding colleagues that Hoyer had voted for the Iraq war and questioning his loyalty to Pelosi, who he had twice run against for leadership positions and lost. Pelosi invited freshmen Democrats into her office, and her opening line, delivered with a steely smile, was, “Before we talk about your committee assignments, let’s talk about the leader’s race.” A Pelosi aide said if the leadership race had been an open ballot instead of conducted in secret, Murtha would have won because nobody would want to cross Pelosi. But it’s hard to see how pushing the confrontation and losing does anything but raise doubts about Pelosi’s judgment and the skill of her political operation.
Pelosi allies put a brave face on the loss, saying it puts Hoyer on notice that she’s watching him for signs of disloyalty. The two have known each other for 50 years, since they were interns together on Capitol Hill. Their relationship resembles a sibling rivalry. “This is not a political issue; it’s a psychological one,” says a former Democratic House leader who knows both of them well. Hoyer, who at 67 is one year older than Pelosi and a great-grandfather, suffers from the just-another-middle-aged-white-man syndrome. A talented legislator, he is a savvy inside operator whom nobody has ever accused of having charisma. He lost to Pelosi in a bitter race four years ago for the leader’s position, and it seems that he never quite got over it. A key Democrat in the leadership at the time told Hoyer that he thought he was the more deserving candidate, but that the Democrats needed a woman in the leadership. No question the feisty lady from San Francisco was a better face for the party, but the reality stung. Pelosi won the election fair and square. Still, Hoyer and his allies nursed a grudge that he had been unfairly passed over. It wasn’t long before word got back to Pelosi that Hoyer was undermining her with the powerful K Street lobbyist crowd, telling them he was the real power and that they should deal with him because she was the token woman.
Those are fighting words for any woman, but especially a woman of Pelosi’s age, who has navigated the minefields of gender discrimination and earned the right to be taken seriously. There’s also some paranoia at work. Hoyer is the Democrats’ principal link to K Street. Pelosi would be wise to back off, forget the gender bias and leave that grubby work to her deputy.
We know Pelosi is tough. She wouldn’t have gotten this far if she didn’t know how to stand her ground. She’s also where she is because she’s a woman, and her visibility is a key to Democrats holding their advantage among women. Loyalty is a good thing, but an overdeveloped sense of loyalty is a bad thing. We don’t have to look any farther than the White House to see the limits of staying true. After the vote Thursday, Pelosi smoothed things over with Murtha, formalizing his role as the Democrats’ main voice on Iraq, a hopeful sign that team play is still possible.
With Nancy Pelosi, it’s all about loyalty. What should have been her day--the unanimous election by Democrats of the first woman Speaker of the House--became instead the story of her first big political blunder. She invested her prestige in Rep. John Murtha, the gruff, antiwar Pennsylvania Democrat, in his bid to become her elected deputy, and he lost--149 to 86. It wasn’t even close.
The fact that Maryland Democrat Steny Hoyer, an inside-the-Beltway player, will be majority leader means little to the general public. But it means everything to those who calibrate power minute by minute in Washington. By injecting herself into the race and backing the wrong candidate, Pelosi lost some of her luster as a leader even before she is sworn in.
For those watching to see how the first woman Speaker will wield power, this was a missed opportunity. Pelosi initially encouraged Murtha to run against Hoyer, with whom she has a longstanding rivalry. After the election sweep and all the emphasis on solidarity, she had second thoughts, but Murtha, bull-headed and dogmatic, pressed ahead. Pelosi felt powerless to stop him. He was her campaign manager when she ran for leader four years ago, providing the credibility she needed to win among the old bulls in Congress. She credits Murtha with transforming the debate on Iraq and making the Democratic majority possible. She owed him the letter of endorsement that was released last weekend, and that’s where it should have ended.
That gesture of loyalty would have been understood. In 1994, when Newt Gingrich became Speaker and supported his longtime sidekick, Bob Walker, for majority leader, he didn’t lobby against Tom DeLay, who won the race. Pelosi and her California allies, by contrast, really worked the Democratic caucus, reminding colleagues that Hoyer had voted for the Iraq war and questioning his loyalty to Pelosi, who he had twice run against for leadership positions and lost. Pelosi invited freshmen Democrats into her office, and her opening line, delivered with a steely smile, was, “Before we talk about your committee assignments, let’s talk about the leader’s race.” A Pelosi aide said if the leadership race had been an open ballot instead of conducted in secret, Murtha would have won because nobody would want to cross Pelosi. But it’s hard to see how pushing the confrontation and losing does anything but raise doubts about Pelosi’s judgment and the skill of her political operation.
Pelosi allies put a brave face on the loss, saying it puts Hoyer on notice that she’s watching him for signs of disloyalty. The two have known each other for 50 years, since they were interns together on Capitol Hill. Their relationship resembles a sibling rivalry. “This is not a political issue; it’s a psychological one,” says a former Democratic House leader who knows both of them well. Hoyer, who at 67 is one year older than Pelosi and a great-grandfather, suffers from the just-another-middle-aged-white-man syndrome. A talented legislator, he is a savvy inside operator whom nobody has ever accused of having charisma. He lost to Pelosi in a bitter race four years ago for the leader’s position, and it seems that he never quite got over it. A key Democrat in the leadership at the time told Hoyer that he thought he was the more deserving candidate, but that the Democrats needed a woman in the leadership. No question the feisty lady from San Francisco was a better face for the party, but the reality stung. Pelosi won the election fair and square. Still, Hoyer and his allies nursed a grudge that he had been unfairly passed over. It wasn’t long before word got back to Pelosi that Hoyer was undermining her with the powerful K Street lobbyist crowd, telling them he was the real power and that they should deal with him because she was the token woman.
Those are fighting words for any woman, but especially a woman of Pelosi’s age, who has navigated the minefields of gender discrimination and earned the right to be taken seriously. There’s also some paranoia at work. Hoyer is the Democrats’ principal link to K Street. Pelosi would be wise to back off, forget the gender bias and leave that grubby work to her deputy.
We know Pelosi is tough. She wouldn’t have gotten this far if she didn’t know how to stand her ground. She’s also where she is because she’s a woman, and her visibility is a key to Democrats holding their advantage among women. Loyalty is a good thing, but an overdeveloped sense of loyalty is a bad thing. We don’t have to look any farther than the White House to see the limits of staying true. After the vote Thursday, Pelosi smoothed things over with Murtha, formalizing his role as the Democrats’ main voice on Iraq, a hopeful sign that team play is still possible.
posted by Sid Cottingham | 2:27 PM
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