TPM: Rothenberg: Dems Shouldn't Fear Casting Opposition To Iraq War As Partisan

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Rothenberg: Dems Shouldn't Fear Casting Opposition To Iraq War As Partisan

By Greg Sargent | bio

In his latest column, Stuart Rothenberg lambastes Dems for painting the recent House vote against escalation as "bipartisan" -- then goes on to make the key point that Dems could actually benefit if opposition to the war is seen as partisan as they head into a showdown with the White House over Iraq:

But if the vote was overwhelmingly partisan, why don't Democrats just say so? What's the big deal?

The likely answer is that Democrats are trying so hard to avoid allowing Republicans to label their criticism as merely partisan that they won't even acknowledge the obvious...

In fact, a partisan division over the war probably would help Democrats by further damaging the Republicans between now and next year's Presidential election. After all, if it isn't merely President Bush, but also his entire party, that supports the war and ignores public opinion, Democrats would seem to benefit.

Obviously there are a handful of high profile Republicans who have opposed the Bush policy in Iraq for a considerable time - most notably Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska in the Senate and Rep. Walter Jones of North Carolina in the House - and a number of GOP members of Congress have over the past couple of months sounded increasingly critical of Bush policies.

But the House vote demonstrates that Republicans still have not left the President's ship, even though it clearly seems to be sinking, and Democrats ought not be so wedded to their talking points' emphasis on bipartisan opposition to the war that they refer to a "bipartisan resolution" that clearly was nothing of the sort.

As noted below, a new poll released today found that Americans trust the Dem-controlled Congress over Bush on Iraq by an overwhelming margin of 20 points.


http://electioncentral.tpmcafe.com/blog/electioncentral/2007/feb/26/rothenberg_dems_shouldnt_fear_casting_opposition_to_iraq_war_as_partisan

Poll: Far More Americans Trust Congress Than Bush On Iraq

By Greg Sargent | bio

As the Dem-controlled Congress prepares this week to debate ways of winding down President Bush's war in Iraq, Dem Congressional leaders can take solace in an incontrovertible fact: When it comes to the war, Americans trust them over Bush by an overwhelming margin of 20 points. A new Washington Post poll released this morning finds that 54% of respondents trust Congress to get Iraq right, while only 34% trust Bush.

Though the current 20-point spread on Iraq is down from the 27 point gap that existed just before Bush's escalation speech, the new numbers -- combined with Bush's 31% approval rating on Iraq in today's poll -- would appear to suggest that Dems are in a commanding position as they prepare to debate ways to engineer a showdown over the war with the White House.

Meanwhile, the Post poll finds that Bush's general approval rating is mired at 36%. His disapproval number is 62%, with nearly one in two voters -- 49% -- "strongly" disapproving of Bush's performance.

http://electioncentral.tpmcafe.com/blog/electioncentral/2007/feb/26/poll_far_more_americans_trust_congress_than_bush_on_iraq