The Politico: Democrats turn to traditional issues
By: Martin Kady II
Oct 8, 2007
Congressional Democrats rode anti-war sentiment to victory last fall — but they are staking their success in the final months of this year’s calendar on more traditional domestic issues amid concern that the war may not be the potent political issue it once was by Election Day 2008.
With few Iraq votes expected in the next several weeks — a marked departure from the first nine months of the new Democratic-controlled Congress — Democrats are trying to build an agenda that’s heavy on health care, community policing, housing, tax reform and other issues. “Iraq has always been the 800-pound gorilla in the room, but there are other issues to deal with,” said Jim Manley, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). “We did well with our initial agenda. Now we need to move on to a broader agenda.”
But there’s another driving factor under the radar: a latent concern that Iraq may not be as favorable a political issue for Democrats a year from now, as images of brigades of U.S. troops coming home could well be flickering on American television screens....
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...as always, polls are a factor. A majority of voters in an Oct. 3 Gallup Poll support the partial withdrawal plan proposed by Army Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq. Meanwhile, a significant majority in a recent Washington Post poll showed that voters trust Democrats more than Republicans on health care by a 2-1 ratio, further illustrating why Democrats are pushing so hard on the children’s health bill.
“They have to diversify their portfolio. There’s no question about that,” said Ross K. Baker, a congressional expert and professor of political science at Rutgers University. “President Bush has handed them a great opportunity to unify around traditional Democratic social issues.” His veto of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program bill — scheduled for an override vote Oct. 18 in the House — is really just a starting point....
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1007/6251.html