Iraq News Looms Over 2006
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Elections, The War On Terrorism, WarRecently, anonymous sources within the administration have expressed that the progess in Iraq isn’t going according to plan. In fact, they admit that intial optimism has been met with harsh reality.
Now some Republicans are worrying about what that’s going to mean next year, and rightly so.
From the NY Times:
Republicans said a convergence of events – including the protests inspired by the mother of a slain American soldier outside Mr. Bush’s ranch in Texas, the missed deadline to draft an Iraqi Constitution and the spike in casualties among reservists – was creating what they said could be a significant and lasting shift in public attitude against the war.The Republicans described that shift as particularly worrisome, occurring 14 months before the midterm elections. As further evidence, they pointed to a special election in Ohio two weeks ago, where a Democratic marine veteran from Iraq who criticized the invasion decision came close to winning in a district that should have easily produced a Republican victory.
“There is just no enthusiasm for this war,” said Representative John J. Duncan Jr., a Tennessee Republican who opposes the war. “Nobody is happy about it. It certainly is not going to help Republican candidates, I can tell you that much.”
Newt Gingrich even weighs into the debate.
“Any effort to explain Iraq as ‘We are on track and making progress’ is nonsense,” Newt Gingrich, a Republican who is a former House speaker, said. “The left has a constant drumbeat that this is Vietnam and a bottomless pit. The daily and weekly casualties leave people feeling that things aren’t going well.”Republicans, Mr. Gingrich said, should make the case for “blood, sweat and toil” as part of a much larger war against “the irreconcilable wing of Islam.”
And is Bush as much of an asset today as he was in 2002?
“If this continues to drag down Bush’s approval ratings, Republican candidates will be running with Bush as baggage, not as an asset,” Andrew Kohut, president of the Pew Research Center, said. “Should his numbers go much lower, he is going to be a problem for Republican candidates in 2006.”The near success in Ohio by Democrats was achieved after the party had enlisted an Iraq veteran, Paul L. Hackett, who nearly defeated Jean Schmidt.
The chairman of the Democratic Congressional campaign committee, Representative Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, said he was talking to four or five other Iraq veterans to run in open seats or against weak Republican incumbents.
The chairman of the Senate Democratic campaign committee, Charles E. Schumer of New York, said, “There is no question that the Iraq war, without any light at the end of the tunnel apparent to the American people, is becoming more and more a ball and chain rapidly weighing down the administration.”
Interesting times ahead. And that could be the understatement of the year(s).
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August 18th, 2005 at 10:24 am
We can only hope.
I wonder how people on the fence are perceiving Bush as he recreates, for a month, on his ranch, while more and more soldiers die every day.
There is a significant base of people who have latched on to Bush’s act: the swaggering cowboy, the simple talking good old boy, etc., who will always hold on to their dear leader and perceive him as a good leader – these people of course crave the simplicity and emotional resonance of a daddy figure.
But others, on the fence, hopefully are seriously beginning to question what the hell this man is doing, clearing brush and riding his bikey while kids get blown up. It is simply not the behavior of a real leader who is supposed to be at the helm while the country is at war, a war he started.
Does anyone care, besides those who already hate the guy? I don’t know.
I do know that in addition to the sick debacle this war has become, any sane person would look at Bush’s month-long vacation as a slap in the face to the nation, to the troops, to the families. I understand taking a week, maybe, but a month? Its not right. The man is totally pathetic, a hollow shell of a leader, a poser, an actor, a fraud. Anyone who thinks this hallow man has integrity is brainwashed.
On a different but related note, regarding the 06 elections, conventional wisdom holds that high gas prices also have a significant negative effect on incumbents. Ironic – something the president and Congress have relatively little control over, having an effect, possibly stronger than the war.
August 18th, 2005 at 6:59 pm
Justin,
Your talk weakens our resolve and harms our troops.
Take your liberal donkey ass to some commie site like DailyKos or Atraitor Eschaton.
August 18th, 2005 at 8:43 pm
Wow, these are some of the most strident, offensive comment we’ve gotten so far.
Chris, I haven’t seen you around the site until recently so I’ll clue you in to how things work. We treat others with respect, so if you’re going to throw ad hominems around, then please go somewhere else. I agree that Bush’s vacation are getting pretty ridiculous, but to say that anybody who thinks he has integrity is brainwashed is even more ridiculous.
Make your point and make it well. Don’t fall back on this nonsense because it’ll destroys your credibility.
August 19th, 2005 at 9:17 am
The liberal donkey ass comments from conservbastard are offensive.
Mine are strident, which I think is good. Nothing wrong with strident. But, I recognize that this might not be the right place for me.
What is really offensive, Justin, is all the maimed and dead young people who have been sent to Iraq on a fool’s mission. Objective reality is clear about what we are gaining and what we are losing. If this was a conversation about the budget deficit or education policy, I would be much less strident, I assure you. But the issue involves real people dying. Im sure you realize that, although frankly I cant fathom your detached viewpoint holding that all this killing and dying will have to be judged 20 years from now.
And you criticize me for saying that people are brainwashed? I have come to the point where I consider people who are holding on to their delusions about Iraq as brainwashed. There is simply no other credible explanation to me.
I call it like I see it. Bush is not a real leader, he is a joke. I have my sense of objective reality, you obviously have yours. A guy who sends kids off to die, based on false threats, in such an incompetent manner has no business taking a month off to ride his bike and cut trees. Its really, really basic, Justin. There is an objective reality, and within that there is an objective sense of integrity, and any sane, decent person understands that a real leader doesnt recreate for a month when he has sent people to die. You may call that “nonsense” – its actually a very clearly made point. Bush talked about integrity over and over and over, and this is what we get.
I have a clear vision of integrity in a leader. Bush is the antithesis. The fact is, a collective insanity has set in over 50% of the population, and that doesnt deserve respect, not one iota.
But, I recognize that your site has a certain theme, and my style is better somewhere else. So, Ill stop posting here. You continue with your civil tea party, and Ill keep on pressing the fight somewhere else. I may not convince anyone. People’s minds are made up, generally. Except for people like you, who ask us to wait 20 years to see if all these dead kids are worth it. But, the way I see it, it is imperative to keep up the fight, keep on screaming about it, because there is an element in this country that has embraced the Orwellian notion of fabricating their own reality. You may sit back with your moderate discourse, I find it terrifying.
Reason and evidence are ignored. The right-wing has said it clearly: “we create our own reality.”
I am here to destroy that fabriaction and shove objective reality down the throat. But I respect your desire for moderation, and I will take it somewhere else.
August 19th, 2005 at 1:05 pm
Chris says he has an objective reality. Justin doesn’t say he does (so far as I’ve seen). Guess who I’m more likely to believe.
Chris, for all your professed conviction, you come off as just another extremist. I very sincerely doubt you came into your belief solely as a result of hearing Bush taking a month off. Rather, I suspect it’s just another opportunity for you to cry wolf.
Accusing the right wing of fabricating its own reality while you proclaim your own is telling of your perspective. And relegating this forum to the pigeonhole of “civil tea party”, as you declare your departure for other points, similarly comes off has the sort of classic drive-by doo-dooing I’ve seen countless times before. Indeed, your style strikes me as so transparent and overtly vulgar, that I start to entertain thoughts that you might actually be a right-wing supporter trying to make the left look bad.
So if you’re being genuine… you really shot yourself in the foot.