70 percent of the Democratic Insiders say that a vote on the Feingold measure would hurt their party

[Poiuyt]

According to tomorrow’s National Journal Insiders Poll, a whopping 83 percent of the GOP Political Insiders say that a Senate vote on Sen. Russ Feingold’s (D-WI) proposal to censure Bush, Cheney & Co., for their “misconduct” relating to the war in Iraq and other “assaults on the rule of law,” will end up helping the Republican Party, while only 13 percent think it will hurt.

While Republicans acknowledge that there’s plenty of antipathy within the party towards the White House these days, they think a fight over Feingold will on end up rallying GOP Senators and as well as the rank-and-file to the President’s defense. As one Republican Insider put it: “This is the real slam dunk—exact tonic for an ailing GOP base.”

Other Republican Insiders thought the Democrats would look like they’re catering to the anti-war left at the expense of trying to find a substantive solution to the war. And then there’s the politics of personal destruction. One Republican Insider asked: “Did impeachment of Clinton help the GOP?”

This looks less like a dare from the Republicans when you consider that 70 percent of the Democratic Insiders say that a vote on the Feingold measure would hurt their party. While Feingold was something of a prophet on proposing timetables for withdrawing troop from Iraq, only 28 percent of the Democratic Insiders believe that a vote on his censure motion would help their party.

Many Democrats worry that the measure would look more like an empty gesture and just feed the perception that the Democrats can’t stop the war or make progress on other issues. “Pass some meaningful legislation first to show people you are delivering on their needs before you are seen as playing politics,” said one Democratic Insider. But others assert that the more they talk about Iraq, the better the party’s political prospects.

more -

http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/

Try impeachment instead. I'd consider it more meaningful than censure.

[John Q. Citizen]

1. The Repos all said Dean would hurt the Dems too. Then we won congress....

[Breeze54]

9. Yup! It's just more hype and scare tactics.

They should put up or shut up and do what the majority of voters want done!

So much PR BS being thrown around and the gullible fall for it every time. :(

[eyesroll]

2. Feingold is a Senator. Censure is about all he's got.

Senators don't impeach.

[More Than A Feeling]

3. Breaking: 70% of the Democratic Insiders "a little slow."

"Democrats have been successful when they've united the country against the president for three years now, but these guys refuse to learn," said one extremely frustrated observer. "It kind of makes me want to find something hard to bang my head repeatedly against. Then maybe I'd understand their point-of-view!"

:banghead::crazy:

[Solly Mack]

4. and the more soldiers that die and are wounded - or maimed for life....

the more Democrats can talk about how bad the "war" in Iraq is going...and the worse the Republicans look


If you have to ask...

[MannyGoldstein]

5. What Don't I Get About This?

If two-thirds of Americans hate Bush, then I'd think that forcing the Rethugs to defend him would make the Rethugs look awful. I think the Dems should force the Rethugs to keep looking like Bush's lackeys, so the hatred of Bush will stain them all. We don't want to give them the chance next year to say "sure you hate Bush - but we hated him too, see how we didn't defend him?". Make them all roll in his putrefying flesh.

[Cha]

24. What you need to get is

the national journal is doing this and the insiders are calling themselves that and they're the dlc who are the whores bought and paid for by their coporatemeisters.

Good Luck Senator Feingold! I wish you would have had the money to run but so glad you're in the Senate!

[Swamp Rat]

6. Who the fuck are these "insiders?"

The DLC?

I'll take Feingold over most in D.C.

[Cha]

22. from, reid, mooseblat..

you know the usual fookin' suspects.

[janx]

7. In 2008, we have to get some more Congress members

elected who have a sense of INTEGRITY. Yes, we need a president with some of that quality too, but honestly, there's no excuse for this.

Maybe this is just more lazy media B.S. (it probably is), but crikey, this sort of thing really has to go.

[warren pease]

8. "insiders" = too many years inside the beltway...

To people elsewhere this is a serious matter, not a fucking game.

“Pass some meaningful legislation first to show people you are delivering on their needs before you are seen as playing politics,” said one Democratic Insider.

Is that the modern equivalent of bread and circuses? Give the peasants a few crumbs and they'll forget how completely corrupt the entire political system is?

I used to just HATE term limits because it absolved voters of doing their jobs and kicking the bastards out themselves. These days, I'm not so sure.



wp

[Cha]

26. Oh Snap! The Voters are smarter than

the inside the beltwayers! They know what has PRIOR-I-TY!

[Telly Savalas]

10. The insiders get to get out more.

[Capn Sunshine]

11. Couldn't have made a better argument against Clinton myself

These same "insiders RUN Hillary's campaign, and are sure that THEY know what America will like/dislike. They still talk about "not scaring the swing voter", without the realization it was energized Democrats and independents - a number some 5X the razor thin sliver of "undecideds" that gave us the '06 victory.

The message there was, stand up for your values and beliefs, and don't pander to voters stuck in the netherworld between Republicans and Democrats.

But the "insiders" have their own views on this subject, and they run Hillary's campaign , top to bottom, through and through.

[MissWaverly]

12. Remember, the GOP = 31% of the US

The media drum is all about THEM, 69% of the country more than 2/3 of the US is not them, and all the media coverage is about THEM
24/7 and their rhetorical rewriting of reality.

[Horse with no Name]

13. The "insiders"

Bob Dum-Shrum, et al?
Give me a fucking break. I'm tired of all of the irrelevant "insider" shit.

[Mass]

14. The same insiders who in 2005 thought that fighting on the war would hurt the party?\nt

[Hippo_Tron]

15. Censure is necessary

We need to set up a precedent that abuses of power don't go unpunished. Censure is a good first step.

[Poiuyt]

17. I'm afraid that if censure is the first step, it will be the ONLY step.

But you're right that the abuses of power should not go unpunished.

[VP505]

16. I could be completely

full of crap but it seems to me that what hurts either party is indecision, appearing weak, being wishy washy or flip flopping, appearing not to have a definitive plan or agenda and probably one of the biggest is NOT standing up to or ignoring wrong doing.

[Disturbed]

18. It's times like these that I am glad that I am not a Democrat.

“Pass some meaningful legislation first..."

Any meaningful legislation that the House would pass will be blocked by the Sentate Repugs and Dems.

What America really needs is a Multi-Party System so we don't have to chose between lesser of two evils all the time.

[NotGivingUp]

25. hmm...that might put us too close to having a real democracy. n/t

[mmonk]

19. They are really wanting this because they know Dems

in the House might also think it sufficient and be content that they placated the anti-war people.

[KAT119]

20. Sen.Feingold just voted (July 11) for traitor Joe Lieberman "War On Iran"

amendment!! He receives AIPAC campaign funds and does not want to impeach * who also wants war on Iran!! (UGH)....

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

21. "Insiders" is descriptive of the orifice in which their heads are resident.

[ulysses]

23. too true.

:rofl:

Politically inbred twits.

[Truth2Tell]

27. 70% of Democratic insiders couldn't find their ass if they had a bell on it.

We better pull our heads out pretty soon or we're doomed in 08.