An Unlikely Dove Picks a New Fight

By KAREN TUMULTY

As the House Democrats struggle to present a united front ahead of the November elections, what promises to be a nasty fight has broken out within the caucus. Pennsylvania Congressman John Murtha, the onetime hawk whose call last November for a troop pullout in Iraq turned him into the antiwar movement's most celebrated voice, sent a two-sentence letter last week to his Democratic colleagues notifying them that he plans to run for majority leader if his party wins back the House. That's a direct challenge to the man who would be in line for the job, Democratic whip Steny Hoyer, a moderate who supported the war. And it solidifies the reinvention of Murtha, who turns 74 this week, as a public force in Democratic politics.

Murtha's candidacy puts House minority leader Nancy Pelosi in a particularly delicate position. Pelosi, a bulwark of her party's left wing who has her eye on becoming the first woman Speaker of the House, won the bitter 2001 race for Democratic whip by 23 votes over Hoyer--with Murtha as her campaign manager. They have stayed tight. But sources close to Pelosi say she had nothing to do with Murtha's surprising announcement; sources close to Hoyer suggest they don't believe that.

Murtha's move would have until recently seemed most unlikely for the ex-Marine, who has spent decades shunning the limelight while building a reputation as one of the House's most formidable behind-the-scenes players. But with his recent prominence and his vocal opposition to Bush's Iraq policy, his ascension would put a more decidedly antiwar stamp on the House Democratic leadership. "The more he gets out there, the more he realizes that he truly has taken on a leadership role," says a Murtha ally on Capitol Hill. "If it weren't for him opening the door and showing the leadership, nobody would do it."

Though Murtha had been quietly sounding out colleagues about a possible leadership race for some time, nearly everyone on Capitol Hill was perplexed as to why he would publicly announce a bid for a post that may not even exist for the Democrats after November. Said a Democratic aide, with a sigh: "Let's just focus on winning some seats."