Iraq war foe Murtha eyes Democratic leadership

By Susan Cornwell

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Rep. John Murtha, an outspoken
opponent of the war in Iraq, unexpectedly announced on Friday
he will run for the No. 2 leadership post in the U.S. House of
Representatives if Democrats regain control of that chamber in
elections this fall.

“If we prevail as I hope and know we will and return to the
majority this next Congress, I have decided to run for the open
seat of the majority leader,” Murtha, a Pennsylvanian, said in
a letter sent to House Democrats.

“I would appreciate your consideration and vote and look
forward to speaking to you personally about my decision,”
Murtha said in the letter.

The announcement from the decorated Marine veteran appeared
to take his party and Capitol Hill by surprise. The man who
holds the No. 2 position in the Democratic caucus, Minority
Whip Steny Hoyer, immediately made clear he had no intention of
stepping aside.

“Mr. Hoyer worked extraordinarily hard to unify the caucus
and take back the House for the Democrats, and that is his
first focus,” a spokeswoman for Hoyer said.

“As a result of that unity, he is confident that we will be
successful in November, and he intends to run for majority
leader,” she said. Hoyer, who is from Maryland, believes he has
the support of the overwhelming majority of House Democrats,
she added.

Murtha, a hawk on military matters who started out as a
supporter of the Iraq war, soured on the conflict and went
public with his criticism last November, calling for an
American troop withdrawal.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi opposed the Iraq
conflict from the start, but Hoyer has been a supporter of the
war. Eight-one Democrats voted for the Iraq war resolution in
2002, but 126 voted against it.

Democrats must pick up 15 House seats to regain control of
that chamber in elections this November, giving them the power
to set the legislative agenda.

National polls have shown voters preferring Democrats to
Republicans, but the outcome in the House as well as the Senate
– where Democrats need six seats to take control — will
depend on individual races in which incumbents often have a
strong advantage and local politics play a role.

After the election, the leader of the majority party in the
House would be expected to be nominated, and elected, as
Speaker of the House, and the party would then choose a
Majority Leader from among its members.

Democratic aides who criticized Murtha’s sudden
announcement on Friday said he was proving himself to be more
of a divider than a uniter.

“Members really think Jack Murtha has caused a huge
disruption. This is a major distraction from what our focus
should be. We should be focusing on taking back the House, not
leadership ambitions,” one Democratic aide said.

(Additional reporting by Vicki Allen)