OCCOM BILL wrote:That probably doesn't sit well with you because you like the idea of impeachment and agree with Murtha's steadfast defeatism, but that's not what the public is looking for. It is simply too easy to re-ring the "Democrats don't have a plan" bell with such posturing. Notice where the Independents sit on Nimh's graph regarding impeachment; and you should see the fatal flaw in the strategy. Those are votes the Democrats need.
Hmm, yes but you are conflating two things here: the case for impeachment and the case for an anti-(Iraq) war platform.
Impeachment is obviously a loser of a proposition (and not just in terms of public opinion either, but thats what I'm talking about now).
But the "steadfast defeatism", as you call it, is another issue.
The line you were proposing earlier; basically, "steering the course", sticking the Iraq war out (and thus, unavoidably, making the case that doing so will yield a stable and/or democratic enough state), and basically deflecting questions about it with a "leaving it to the generals, they know best what to do" line; all of
that is, at this moment of time, far from in tune with public opinion.
To get a better impression of where public opinion stands right now on these issues,
this is an overview of recent opinion poll results on Iraq questions that I was compiling this morning.
Specifically, I'll point out the polls on two questions not included in that overview:
Quote:Regardless of how you word the "approval polls" to demonstrate American's disapproval; I think the majority still understand that we have to clean up the messes we make... whether they like it or not. Too much fervor against cleaning it up (Murtha, Pelosi etc.) caters to too small a percentage of the demographic. In 08, we won't be voting for the President of San Francisco.
On this count, this poll seems most relevant for this discussion: which position is more of an advantage or liability to win mainstream voters over?
NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll. March 10-13, 2006
"I'm going to read you several characteristics of a possible candidate for Congress. For each one I mention, please tell me whether you would be more likely or less likely to vote for a candidate for Congress with that characteristic, or whether it would make no difference in your vote either way. A candidate who [see below]."
"Favors withdrawing all American troops from Iraq in the next twelve months"
50% More Likely
35% Less Likely
12% No Difference
3% Unsure
"Favors staying in Iraq as long as is necessary to create a stable Iraqi democracy"
39% More Likely
43% Less Likely
14% No Difference
4% Unsure
Other polls show that whereas an
immediate withdrawal is rejected by a great majority, there is an equally overwhelming majority for reducing troops - and although one needs to browse back to results from January on
the Polling Report Iraq pages to find data, the opinion is pretty much split down the middle when the choice is between "keeping military troops in Iraq until the situation has stabilized" vs "bringing the troops home as soon as possible", or between "setting a timetable for removing troops from Iraq and remove them regardless of whether the U.S. goals are achieved by that time" and "staying until the U.S. achieves its goals there".
Half/half, opinion is on those choices now - and this is
2006, not 2008... if anything, if the US is still in Iraq by then, the "withdraw" agenda will have an even greater echo.
OCCOM BILL wrote:The last plays too much into the hands of Republicans who will continue to be perceived stronger on Defense
Surprisingly, the ground has shifted far on even that, at least where capability is specifically assessed on Iraq. Eg:
NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll. March 10-13, 2006
"When it comes to dealing with Iraq, which party do you think would do a better job: the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, or both about the same? If you think that neither would do a good job, please just say so."
27% Democratic Party
30% Republican Party
21% About the Same
16% Neither
6% Unsure
CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll. March 10-12, 2006.
"Do you think the Republicans in Congress or the Democrats in Congress would do a better job of dealing with each of the following issues and problems? How about the situation in Iraq?"
40% Republicans
48% Democrats
6% No Difference (vol.)
6% Unsure
CBS News Poll. March 9-12, 2006
"Regardless of how you usually vote, do you think the Republican Party or the Democratic Party is more likely to make the right decisions about the war in Iraq?"
35% Republican Party
41% Democratic Party
2% Both (vol.)
8% Neither (vol.)
14% Unsure
ABC News/Washington Post Poll. March 2-5, 2006
"Which political party, the Democrats or the Republicans, do you trust to do a better job handling the situation in Iraq?"
42% Democrats
42% Republicans
2% Both (vol.)
11% Neither (vol.)
2% Unsure
"One of the two main things"
That, I have not seen.
