Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) was elected House majority leader this morning, defeating Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi's candidate, Rep. John P. Murtha(D-Pa.).
I paused to cheer the democrats. (A rare occurence)
Hoyer won the No. 2 leadership job easily -- 149 to 86. But the showdown divided the Democratic House caucus only a week after the party won a majority of seats in the Congress that convenes in January. Before the caucus vote, a number of Democrats had complained that Pelosi and her allies used strong-arm tactics and threats to try to elect Murtha to the job.
Democrats this morning unanimously chose Pelosi (D-Calif.) to be the (strongarm) speaker of the House.
Washington Post
