On Fri Nov 10, Doug Henwood dhenwood wrote:
> > As the man with the gravitas to lead the withdrawal:
>
> Murtha is a total social reactionary, no?
Yep, he is. And by implication you're quite right: he's not someone we would want in the House leadership. And the more I examine his leadership PAC contributions at opensecrets.org, the more clear it is that he hasn't a snowball's chance in hell compared to someone like Hoyer. (The speaker is elected by a secret ballot of all members). So it's true, the suggestion in itself is rather daft. But it would be nice if it were somehow possible to give him a point position on Iraq, so that he would be the guy to answer the questions and hold the press conferences, without giving him leadership position.
And yes, he is a hawk. That's the whole point. It's easier for a hawk to oversee a retreat in the name of the troops. Esp. one who came out for retreat earlier than anyone else in his party and took lots of flak for it. He's got the perfect face to face down critics and rally support for withdrawal. And the smoother it goes, the faster.
Michael