http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1843512,00.htmlThe Republican party has launched a major attack to portray the Democrats as against the Iraq war and caught in the grip of an extremist fringe that wants to pull out of the conflict.
In television ads, newspaper columns and television interviews Republican politicians and conservative commentators have branded Democrats as weak in the 'war on terror'.
Republicans believe that focusing on terrorism and the war will allow them to keep control of Congress, despite a huge Democratic push and record disapproval levels of President George Bush. Vice-president Dick Cheney arranged a rare conference call with journalists to push the new message that Democrats were anti-war. '
betting on the proposition that ultimately they can break the will of American people in terms of our ability to stay in the fight and complete the task,' he said.
'Lieberman is the first casualty of the war against the war against terror,' wrote columnist Michael Goodwin in the New York Daily News. Lieberman's main public support now is coming from Republicans such as Cheney, who have been quick to praise a man who has openly supported Bush on Iraq. This mirrors the way top Democrats quickly abandoned Lieberman after his defeat. Party leaders have now rushed to back Lamont.