As Jay notes below, Murtha was a close friend and mentor to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and her effort to install him as her second-in-command counts as a rare misstep in her leadership of her caucus. So why such a close and unlikely bond between the gruff Marine and the San Francisco liberal?
Nancy Pelosi
Jack Murtha, 77, Dies
Pennsylvania Rep. John C. Murtha, died today of complications relating to a gallbladder surgery. He was 77.
A decorated Vietnam War hero, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi credited Murtha — who was her first choice for majority leader — with helping to turn public opinion against the war in Iraq after he announced his opposition to the war …
Palin’s Speech
The Grand Ole Opry may have been next door but Sarah Palin preached to the choir on Saturday at the National Tea Party Convention and brought down the house. The two-day event, held at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Hotel, had been a relatively placid affair – Tea Partiers learned how to social network and reach out to young …
Hank Paulson Takes Your Questions
Every want to ask the former Treasury secretary what he actually said to Nancy Pelosi when he got down on his knees in front of her at the White House days before TARP passed? Or find out why he let Lehman fail while bailing out Bear Sterns and AIG? And how much did he really protect his alma mater, Goldman Sachs? Find out here by …
Pelosi on Health Care: “We have to get this done.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is sounding very determined–and surprisingly upbeat–about the prospects for a comprehensive health care bill in the wake of last week’s Senate election in Massachusetts, which cost the Democrats their 60-vote, fillibuster-proof majority.
“You can always find a way. You can always find a way,” Pelosi …
Health Reform: The Issue to Watch
With the House returning to session tomorrow, the final stretch of negotiations over health reform begins in earnest. While there are plenty of differences to be worked out between the House and Senate bill, the so-called “Cadillac tax” is emerging as the main flashpoint. Here’s a brief story I wrote on this for TIME.com.
The Health Care Bill: Looking Forward
Over at TIME.com, fellow Swampers Kate Pickert, Amy Sullivan and I look forward to some of the issues that will be important as the House and Senate attempt to reconcile their two versions of the bill.
Alabama’s Griffith Switches Parties
It was probably bound to happen sooner rather than later. Alabama’s fifth district is one of the few in the South held solidly by Democrats since Reconstruction thanks to economic development on the backs of the Tennessee Valley Authority, the military’s Redstone Arsenal and NASA’s Marshall Flight Space Center. But in recent years …
Nancy Pelosi: Another Runner-Up
In the Person of the Year issue that was unveiled this morning, I have this profile of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
Pelosi came in at #4 in the estimation of our editors. She is not only the highest ranking woman in the history of this country, standing second in line of succession to the presidency, but congressional scholars …
Desirous to Speak with Desiree
Congressman Peter King had an awkward moment at the White House Monday night. Climbing the stairs in the East Wing to attend the President’s Holiday reception for Congress, the New York Republican bumped into White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers. The two exchanged pleasantries, never mentioning that King, the top Republican on …
It’s election time, again!
Tomorrow, Massachusetts voters will go to the polls for primaries to fill Teddy Kennedy’s Senate seat. Bet on whomever can survive on the lowest turnout. No, seriously, having lived in Massachusetts for six bitter winters, I can attest: ain’t nobody gonna be lining up outside in the cold for any of these virtually unheard of …
Dems Go It Alone
I asked a lot of members over the weekend: why pass the bill now? After the August protests there had been much speculation that the House would wait for the Senate to act. Some members said that Speaker Pelosi didn’t want them going home for another recess to face more Tea Party madness (the House, having adjourned very early Sunday …
House Passes Health Care Reform
The House of Representatives tonight passed 220-215 sweeping $1.2 trillion health care reform legislation. The bill garnered the support of just one Republican, Joe Cao of Louisiana; 39 Democrats voted against it.
The vote, which looked uncertain even going into the House Rules Committee last night, came after the adoption 240-194 of …