« Next at Bat: Russ Feingold | Main | Flatter For Whom? »
August 18, 2005
Sea Change
The New York Times today has a long article on Republican discomfort over the worsening situation in Iraq. Quoth Grover:
Grover Norquist, a conservative activist with close ties to the White House and Mr. Bush's senior adviser, Karl Rove, said: "If Iraq is in the rearview mirror in the '06 election, the Republicans will do fine. But if it's still in the windshield, there are problems."
It gets worse:
Pollsters and political analysts pointed to basic opinion shifts that accounted for the political change. Daniel Yankelovich, a pollster who has been studying American attitudes on foreign affairs, said: "I think what's changed over the last year is the assumption that Iraq would make us safer from terrorists to wondering if that actually is the case. And maybe it's the opposite."
Richard A. Viguerie, a veteran conservative direct-mail consultant, said Mr. Bush "turned the volume up on his megaphone about as high as it could go to try to tie the war in Iraq to the war on terrorism" last year, and he argued that the White House could no longer do that.
It's clear that the last couple of weeks have witnessed a sea change in perceptions over Iraq. While it had long been clear that things weren't going great, every day that passed in August seemed to pound in the realization that it wasn't going at all, that anti-war sentiment had become a serious force, that former hawks had become current doves, elite supporters were now respected detractors, and the President's assurances were no longer worth a damn. Cindy Sheehan is part of that, as are new books by Larry Diamond and Anthony Shadid, worsening poll numbers, the unmet constitution deadline, and all the rest of the bad news flowing from the country.
Now Russ Feingold, a major Democrat, is calling for withdrawal, so expect him to become part of the chorus as well, adding to the critical mass of legitimacy anti-war sentiment is now gathering. The question then becomes what happens in the rest of the Democratic party. Do the so-called "serious candidates" try to marginalize this sentiment, consigning it to an ever-angrier, and ever-larger minority that threatens to tear the party apart? Or do they begin to embrace it, making it a politically safe and mainstream opinion? At this point, the success of this moment is largely up to them.
August 18, 2005 in Iraq | Permalink
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
https://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d8341c572d53ef00d83461ef2069e2
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Sea Change:
Comments
This is pretty cold, ruthless, and calculating, but I still say there's little Democratic advantage to be had from pushing withdrawal timetables. Republicans created the disaster -- let them deal with it, and in the process discredit themselves for a generation.
Posted by: sglover | Aug 18, 2005 1:20:13 PM
Norquist continued: "What I'm really worried about is the institution of the estate tax in Iraq. If that occurs, the Republican base will hold Bush accountable."
Posted by: Chris R | Aug 18, 2005 2:12:07 PM
and all the rest of the bad news flowing from the country.
Thats pretty much what I've seen. Small anecdote, as I sat in the hospital waiting room Thursday night, on flashed the news of more deaths from Iraq. I can't recall specifically is this was one of those "bad" ones or not, i.e. multiple troops, but it could have been. A complete stranger sitting next to me, late 50s/early 60s gentleman, looks away from the TV and mutters, "What the hell are we still doing there." I agreed with him and he then told me how he was a Vietnam Vet and said this war stinks of the same types of motivations. Sad conversation.
Posted by: Adrock | Aug 18, 2005 3:52:47 PM
One thing that might help things along would be to stop referring to those against the Iraq war as "doves"; the inference is that this group is against military action in all cases. That's inaccurate: a lot of the group supported the war in Afghanistan. Instead of obscuring what's at issue with a faulty typology, use something that clarifies things. Rather than "hawk/dove," may I suggest either "moron/non-moron" or "wrong/correct"?
Posted by: SomeCallMeTim | Aug 18, 2005 4:16:40 PM
I love the idea of more mainstream Dems taking a stand, and kudos to Feingold. But the ones who count right now are Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden. I think they are as mainstreamy as it gets. Do you think they would step up to the plate and call for withdrawal? Or have they already?
Posted by: Pepper | Aug 18, 2005 5:03:45 PM
OK, this was the best point where I could insert the word - Cindy Sheehan had to decamp because her mom had a stroke.
I don't know how or if this will impact things ... I do know people at Little Green Footballs are saying some unbelieveably cruel things, but that's about it ...
Posted by: Pepper | Aug 18, 2005 7:47:31 PM
That was so eloquently put Ariana! Thank you!
Posted by: Arpil | Aug 19, 2005 10:46:57 AM
This is pretty cold, ruthless, and calculating, but I still say there's little Democratic advantage to be had from pushing withdrawal timetables. Republicans created the disaster -- let them deal with it, and in the process discredit themselves for a generation.
I agree. What shouldn't be allowed to happen is for the anti-war side to become scapegoats for the failure. That's what happened in Vietnam. So, the fewer outrageous statements about war crimes trials for Bush, etc., the better.
Just keep in mind Colin Powell's "Pottery Barn Rule". You broke it, you own it. The focus needs to be on who is responsible for this mess. Who got us into this and how they still don't even see what they've done.
The public is waking up to the unfolding disaster in Iraq. Let Cheney & Bush go on with their unrealistic rosy assessments and never-die, stick-to-it rhetoric. Point out the visciousness of the attacks on Cindy Sheehan by the right.
Why? They're worried, and they should be.
Posted by: Pug | Aug 19, 2005 11:16:56 AM
Ihope Cindy the best of luck with herself and her mother. I have had alot of time following the problems of the world being I have lung cancer ( it kind of keeps my thoughts in different directions). I am neither republican or a democrate-I vote for the person. What really upsets me is lisening to Fox network and how they tear down any one who doesn't agree with them. I pray every night for many things especially my health, family,but also that some day the people who started this war will have to answer many questions. Also said many times,is the protest are unlike the vietnam war was, but I bet if they started the draft you will see people come out of the woodwork. ps QUIT SMOKING!!!! cg
Posted by: carole | Aug 19, 2005 11:46:08 AM
there is no need for the democrats to do or say anything about the bush-iraq war.....it is strictly a republican issue....its their war..they started it,let them 'explain' it..let them answer the grieving parents questions.let them be responsible for their war and its effects on humanity in iraq and here in the USA.unfortunately..no-one asks the soldiers who died or the iraqi civilians who hve died...who shall be held accountable?
Posted by: jean | Aug 19, 2005 12:26:38 PM
POLL: BUSH WORST PRES. IN HISTORY
Failed at every job you've ever been given? Then follow in the same footsteps of our great leader, George W. He's completely failed at leading the country, waging a war on “terror”,
balancing the budget, reducing gas prices, home prices, government spending, civil liberties,
even a Texas baseball team!
Remember those trite slogans: “Wanted Dead or Alive”, “Mission Accomplished”, “Bring It On”? Complete failures, all of them.
There's hope for every person in a drug rehab that the Republican party will give them a chance to screw up the society as much as Bush has. You just have to promise to do everything Karl Rove tells you. And remember, repeat all his moronic slogans as you would chant a mantra, continuously until the public swallows it.
Soon, you can invade any country, rob any group of citizens of their civil rights, overturn established laws, thumb your nose at the entire civilized world and call anyone who doesn’t blindly follow you, a “dirty, scum Liberal”.
Posted by: kit wilson | Aug 19, 2005 12:54:07 PM
you whiny dems make me want to throw up.
Posted by: george newbern | Aug 19, 2005 2:30:18 PM
Got a little sand in your vagina, George?
Posted by: PC Diogenes | Aug 19, 2005 2:47:39 PM
go ahead and throw up george...i guess we'll have too clean that mess up as well...
Posted by: dan | Aug 19, 2005 3:26:58 PM
The "owners" of planetary wealth have tried too late to shut down the free exchange of information, (the internet) and it has become their undoing.
The "owners" pants are down and everyone can see everything they have. Unfortunately for them, they can't manipulate information as in the past, and too late, flimsy excuses for War Profiteering are seen for what they are, excuses to keep the Status Quo, to "keep in control".
Critical examination of events under the scope of today's free information flow indicates that this current war is most likely financially motivated more than anything else, and that bombings in London, Madrid and New York's 9/11 are staged events designed to manipulate public opinion to allow the same crowd of string pullers to remain where they are.
Unfortunately for them, people aren't buying anymore. Unfortunately for them, people are fed up with mass death and watching sections fo this planet turned into smoking rubble.
Unfortunately for them, people are having a hard time making sense of the devastation in the Middle East while literally millions starve and are slaughtered en masse in Africa, while two billion people don't have access to clean drinking water, while two billion people live their lives without electricity, while unprecedented ecological and environmental devastation ravage the planet.
It's about time it is "unfortunate for them". People are fed up with seeing our Planet turned into a killing field, a waste dump for those who only wish is to exercise power over masses of people.
It's time to turn things around. It's time to move away from the madness that allows these horrors to exist.
It is time to say NO to those who would hurt all mankind just to save their own, who would feed upon Life's Sacred Fire for the sake of mere gluttony.
Posted by: charles potnar | Aug 19, 2005 4:22:49 PM
I'm sorry but were we done with "George" ? I'm not ...
Not all of us dems are whiny ? You'd find a lot of us are totally open minded and optimistic about the living life in this world.
I suppose when you "reps" get whiny you'd probably want a little cheese to go with it.
Perhaps we need to let you know what most people already have figured out - it's all about MONEY but mostly about OIL !
Hello ?
Posted by: mitskev | Aug 19, 2005 4:55:19 PM
I thought fascism was so passé, but nothing like a wingnut to resurrect those glorious feelings of being an uber-patriot, condemning with certainty all who dare to object to the fatherland. Ah, the sound of jackboots in the morning...George, get that brownshirt out of the closet!
Posted by: Ape Vampire | Aug 19, 2005 5:57:10 PM
Last I checked, a giant majority of the Democrats voted for this war, including Senator Clinton.
Of course, nobody voted for the Kosovo war that is a quagmire with no end in site because Clinton unilaterally bombed Serbia for 78 days with no vote from Congress and no resolution from the UN. We still don't have a constitution in the Balkans or any resolution. We still have troops there.
Posted by: Scot Walker | Aug 19, 2005 6:11:48 PM
It's all about money? You must be talking about the UN, right? The corrupt UN that was raking in billions with the Oil for Food program.
Oil? Where is it? Let's have it. Bring it in to the USA right now, because the price of gas is pretty high right now. Where is it? I thought this war was for oil. And where's our oil for Kuwait? I thought we went into Kuwait to kick Sadam out to get Kuwait's oil! How come we don't have a pipeline going directly from Kuwait into the USA right now?
Get out of Kosovo! The Muslim Albanians wouldn't burn the churches and houses of Christian Serbs if we weren't occupying their land!
Idiots
Posted by: Reality Check | Aug 19, 2005 6:20:32 PM
Vietnam. Over 56,000 U.S. soldiers killed in action.
Iraq. Over 1,800 U.S. soldiers killed in action.
Vietnam. We didn't finish the job and the Communists slaughtered over 1 million people after we left and another 2 million were slaughtered in Cambodia.
Iraq...
Posted by: Leggy Super Model | Aug 19, 2005 6:23:51 PM
"Unfortunately for them, people are having a hard time making sense of the devastation in the Middle East while literally millions starve and are slaughtered en masse in Africa"
Why the hell do you think people are starving in Africa? Despots, you idiot. What do you want to do with the despots? Talk them out of stealing wealth from the people and from aid sent to their country?
Yeah, that Live Aid 20 years ago did a lot, didn't it? You ignore the source of the problem and you just want to throw money at the problem to make you feeeeeeel good. It's all about your emotion and your feelings with everything, isn't it? Let's ignore the solutions needed.
Jesus, Adolf Hitler only took over France because of France's foreign policy, right? They deserved it. If France had just minded their own business, Germany wouldn't have invaded them.
And I loooooove how Cindy Sheehan has the right to call President Bush a terrorist, but as soon as anyone says anything negative about Cindy, oooooooooh, that's a low blow! Hypocrites! Cindy has the right to say what she wants, and Drudge and anyone else has the right to say what they want. Get out of the kitchen if it's too hot, sweetie.
Posted by: Larry Johnson | Aug 19, 2005 6:29:22 PM
Press conference!!!!
It is time to call for a real press conference. This is the only president in history who has been shielded from being accountable to the American public or is he only accountable to the Supreme Court? If John Kerry had been elected, there would have been out outcry for him to explain his policy in full, step-by-step detail.
Note: No props and microphones in his ear.
Gloria
Posted by: Gloria | Aug 19, 2005 7:30:49 PM
The Bush Administration and it's supporters are clearly uncomfortable with the Cindy Sheehan situation. Why? Because she has increased the anti-war discussion in the country, and has asked some fairly simple questions that the Administration does not want to answer. Or maybe they cannot supply a real answer to the simple question of "Why are we in Iraq?".
Comparisons to Vietnam are fair. Especially the longer this goes on, and the very real possibility that we leave Iraq having accomplished nothing.
Is George Bush the worst President in history? Only time will tell. I certainly believe that he is the most ethically challenged President in the last 30 years. How many brave Americans died because of the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal? How does Bush sleep at night?
Posted by: Tony | Aug 19, 2005 7:58:01 PM
Enough already about Democrats who "voted for this war". They did so because they, like everyone else, were misled with lies about Weapons of Mass Destruction. No one would ever support a war unless it were in self-defense, and the Bush administration knew that, so they concoted a web of lies designed to scare the public into thinking the war was some sort of defense against an imminent attack. Now they're caught in that same web and offering damage control statements such as "Well, maybe there weren't any WMD's, but the war was still a good idea". Had the Bush administration asked for support based on the flimsy theory that the war would (possibly) reduce terrorism, not even most Republicans would've supported it. Let's face it: War is never necessary unless you are being directly attacked, and we all know Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11.
Posted by: Vince | Aug 19, 2005 8:29:12 PM
Reviewing the comments of others, I do
believe in Colin Powell's "Pottery Barn
Rule" that states: "You broke it, you own it." Our leadership is not following the U.S. Constitution, as they took an oath to do, including Congress. That's where this mess started. I refer you to "An Unlikely Conversation With Our Cowards in Congress," as found here.
http://www.tvnewslies.org/html/cowards_in_congress.html
'Nuff said.
Posted by: Citizen One | Aug 19, 2005 11:09:08 PM
The comments to this entry are closed.
