Thanks to your emails (over 58,000!) and calls, House Democrats once again stood up to Bush! 

House Democrats stood up to endless televised rants by Bush, lying TV ads against key freshmen, and bullshit news articles and editorials throughout the Corporate Media.

Instead, Democrats carefully wrote a bill that will let telecom giants try to defend themselves against lawsuits by giving judges the power to review White House secrets.

  I don't think Steny Hoyer is the dumbest Democrat in history.  I think Nancy Pelosi is.  As proof, I submit her, "If anyone can prove why Bush should be impeached" BS.  If she doesn't know, then she has got to be the dumbest person in Washington DC at least.

Paul Kiel found this astonishing AP story:

A top Democratic leader opened the door Tuesday to granting U.S. telecommunications companies retroactive legal immunity for helping the government conduct electronic surveillance without court orders, but said the Bush administration must first detail what those companies did.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said providing the immunity will likely be the price of getting President Bush to sign into law new legislation extending the government's surveillance authority. About 40 pending lawsuits name telecommunications companies for alleged violations of wiretapping laws. Democrats introduced a draft version of the new law Tuesday _ without the immunity language.

Nancy Pelosi is the "Speaker of the House," and is therefore supposed to speak for all House members, Democrats and Republicans. By her very title, she's not supposed to be excessively partisan - although former House Speaker Newt Gingrich certainly never behaved that way.

But one step down the Democratic hierarchy from Pelosi is a fellow named Steny Hoyer. And what is his title? Majority leader. By his very title, he's supposed to be the ultimate partisan in the House, just like his predecessor Tom DeLay.

Well apparently Hoyer despises the voters who put Democrats in the majority and gave him his title - namely the Democratic base.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer was one of only 59 Democrats who voted on May 10 to keep U.S. troops in Iraq forever. Today, after months of one-sided negotiations with the White House, Hoyer completely surrendered:

Hoyer confirmed Tuesday a final Iraq spending bill will not include a deadline for troop withdrawals, but promised that Democrats would try to end the war using next year's spending bills.

Hey Steny - we've heard the exact same promises since November - why on earth would we believe you now?

Certificate of Ownership: 110th Congress Buys the War by stacybannerman Saturday 24 March 2007
Busy week here on the Hill, and I’m sure you know that the 110th Congress just bought the war in Iraq. On Monday, the 19th, the fourth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, Military Families Speak Out held a press conference on the steps of the Cannon House building. We unveiled the Certificate of Ownership, complete with warranty – the brainchild of MFSO member Tammara Rosenleaf, who stayed with me and is planning to return in April. (You can download the certificate at www.mfso.org)... (more)

Call your members of Congress now toll free at 800-828-0498, 800-459-1887 or 800-614-2803.

ACTION PAGE: http://www.peaceteam.net/funded_withdrawal.php

Usually when we contact our members of Congress our great challenge is to get policy hostile Republicans to understand that even in THEIR districts we have enough people opposing them to threaten their reelection. But we certainly expect our OWN representatives to listen to us. So why is it that STILL some of our most progressive House members are not fully behind Barbara Lee's amendment for a fully funded withdrawal of our troops from the hopeless sandpit in Iraq. You would be astounded by the names of some of your own representatives who have not yet committed to taking a real stand to end this war.

  Sirota nailed it on Hoyer and the DLC...

DLC’s Revisionist History on Iraq Knows No Bounds

Writing on the Murtha-Hoyer battle, the DLC’s Ed Kilgore says, “It’s not as though Steny has done anything to undermine House Democrats in their criticism of Bush Iraq policies.” Really? Wow. I guess it was the other Steny Hoyer who last year attacked Murtha’s Iraq announcement in the Washington Post as an idea that “could lead to disaster.” I guess it was the other Steny Hoyer who days after that attack, “told colleagues that Pelosi’s recent endorsement of a speedy withdrawal [from Iraq] combined with her claim that more than half of House Democrats support her position, could backfire on the party.”

If it's Friday, it's time to take a look at what's been floating around the political world this week and that I haven't commented on, might have slipped under your radar or has just flat-out been too silly for you to notice…

Nancy's Got Guts - House Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi’s choice of John Murtha to be the new House Majority Leader, her steadfast support of his candidacy and Murtha's loss to Steny Hoyer, hardly spell an initial political defeat for the most powerful person in the new House of Representatives. If anything, it bodes well for the kind of true leadership we can expect from Pelosi, who had to know Hoyer would win and, accepting the political consequences, stuck by Murtha right up until the vote yesterday.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- House Democrats on Thursday chose Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer to be House majority leader over Rep. John Murtha, the choice of Rep. Nancy Pelosi, in line to become speaker.

Hoyer was elected on a vote of 149-86.

The balloting marked a personal triumph for him, but also a snub to Pelosi, moments after the rank and file selected her unanimously to become speaker when the House convenes in January.

"We made history and now we will make progress for the American people," Pelosi told the party caucus moments after her selection.

She vowed that after 12 years in the minority, "we will not be dazzled by money and special interests."