Nothing starts a fight quicker in Congress than the scramble for power. It’s an old story and it’s just happened to Democrats. The election was barely over when they started fighting among themselves to see who will be the ‘powers’ in the new Congress. The big tussle – between Congressman Jack Murtha and Congressman Steny Hoyer – was over who would be the Majority Leader. It was no gentleman’s disagreement. Congressman Murtha’s opponents said he’d used his position on the House Appropriations Committee to trade “federal spending for campaign contributions,” that he’d stood “in the way of ethics investigations”, and even dredged up his involvement in the Abscam scandal. According to Murtha’s critics he is one of the ‘twenty most corrupt’ members of Congress. (News and Observer; 11-14-06)

So, the brawl for power in the Democratic Congress has started and the kid gloves have come off. The post-election honeymoon lasted less than a month.

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