Open Letter To Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Congratulations on your new role as Speaker of the majority. It has a wonderful ring to it, majority, doesn't it?

Democrats have been fighting for a majority for a dozen years and winning control presents a wonderful opportunity for the party.

I closely followed the vote this week for Majority Whip with Rep. Murtha losing out to Rep. Hoyer. I'm sorry for you it played out the way it did.

But there is a wonderful lesson for the party in this confrontation. Democrats have distinct conservative and liberal wings and the two need to find a way to work together. If the party can craft moderate policies balancing the interests of both, it will stay in power in Washington for a long, long time. The American people will reward it for thoughtful, common sense.

Of course, the alternative is the kind of disfunction Maureen Dowd nicely encapsulated today when she quoted one Congress person quipping: "I just wish Mom and Dad would get along so I don't have to split my weekends."

I know you understand these dynamics and more. Thank you for your service to our country.