The Problems of Being in Charge

Yesterday, the Democrats in Congress chose their leaders. Nancy Pelosi graciously accepted the Speaker of the House position. Then she saw Jack Murtha, her hand-picked person for the House Majority Leader position go down in flames to Steny Hoyer, 149-86. That was a much better result in my opinion because Hoyer is apparently a very good Israel ally. Murtha is not.
I think there are a couple of things to note about this defeat for Pelosi. Apparently, it is traditional that the Speaker of the House stands clear of the politics of choosing the Majority Leader. However, Pelosi not only did not stand clear, but she campaigned for and endorsed Murtha. The lop-sided vote count for Hoyer gives us a hint that Pelosi does not rule the roost like she thought she did.
Pelosi has been given credit for finding and running conservative Democratic candidates that could win against Republicans. Well done, however now she has to live with the problem that she created. Part of the problem that the Republicans had for the last 6 years was that even though they had a majority in both houses, they could not get their legislative agenda passed because some of their Congressmen had a habit of drifting across the line to vote.
Could the Democrats have the same problems now? The Murtha / Hoyer vote sure makes it look that way. This really means that those who hang out in the middle, the RINO Republicans and the Blue Dog Democrats, should they reach consensus on issues, could really become a force on Capitol Hill. It is ironic that Pelosi, who demanded and got loyalty when her party was in the minority, now may not have enough power to do the same now that they are in the majority. Her strategy of electing conservative Democrats may have gotten her the Speaker position she coveted. But it also may have lost her the unanimous voice that the Democrats seemed to have had in the past.