And So Does The Trib

Pittsburgh's other, more conservative paper, the Tribune-Review, joins the Post-Gazette in backing Murtha in his quest to be Pelosi's go-to guy. After all, Nancy owes the big guy, big time. Major league, big time, you might say. And he is the Trib's favorite Congressman, don't forget.

Rep. Jack Murtha does not have a lock on becoming House majority leader in the 110th Congress by any means. But he sure does have an important key to securing that position in advance of Thursday's closed-door leadership elections.

Mr. Murtha, the veteran 12th District congressman of Johnstown, called in a critical chit last week: The man who engineered Nancy Pelosi's rise to minority whip for the Democrats asked the speaker in waiting to back him over current party No. 2 Steny Hoyer of Maryland.

On Sunday, Mrs. Pelosi delivered -- a glowing endorsement of Murtha and, between the lines, a silent but powerful rebuke of Hoyer, whom she defeated for minority whip in 2001.

Get out your barf bags, and read on to see why the Trib wants Murtha to have such power:

No other member of Congress in the modern age has seen to the needs of our troops more. At the same time, Murtha never has been shy of speaking his mind. And despite heavy early criticism, Murtha showed great courage in calling for this country to rethink Iraq; his view now is the view of a majority of Americans.

Here's what this paragraph should really say, interpreted MMG-style. First sentence: "Murtha has done more to tarnish the reputation of our troops and put them in harm's way than even the average Moonbat." Second sentence: "Murtha is an idiot and won't shut up." Third sentence: "The left-wing propaganda machine is working by using Murtha as its mouthpiece." Buffoon.

But the role of majority leader involves far more than the military and the war. Murtha would be responsible for the overall legislative agenda; he'd be the gatekeeper for scheduling legislation on the House floor. And as Pelosi notes, Murtha has the "mastery of the facts and the policy" needed to run the operation.

Think about that: Jack Murtha is basically going to be running the Congress of the United States. This goes against everything we've been fighting for these past few months. He should be retired, sent home, dishonorably discharged from Congress...instead, he's more powerful than ever. The next couple of years are going to be a bitch.

If Democrats are smart, and truly want to show the American people that they can put internal party politics aside for the benefit of the nation, they'll line up behind Jack Murtha.

"Smart", of course, means "smart enough to follow the dictates of this editorial writer". The best way to benefit the nation by lining up behind Murtha is to boot the bastard.