Republicans fear defeat over Iraq - Financial Times

[redacted]

The Financial Times Ltd
Published: May 11 2007 20:28 | Last updated: May 11 2007 20:28

Talking to Fox News, the conservative broadcaster, on his visit to Baghdad on Thursday, Dick Cheney said: “We didn’t get elected to worry just about the fate of the Republican party. Our mission is to do everything we can to prevail ... against one of the most evil opponents we’ve ever faced.”

Back in Washington Mr Cheney’s Republican colleagues are showing growing irritation with the vice-president’s Iraq war logic. On Tuesday 11 moderate Republican lawmakers warned George W. Bush that their support for his Iraq “surge” was rapidly running out. Tom Davis, a congressman from northern Virginia, told the US president that in one portion of his House district just 5 per cent supported his Iraq strategy.

The same growing unease applies with even greater force to Republicans in the Senate, who hold 21 of the 33 Senate seats that will be contested in next year’s congressional elections. Many Democrats believe that they could improve their narrow 51-49 Senate majority next year to a filibuster-proof 60 seats or more.

Such is the Democratic party’s confidence that some Democrats are talking of bringing about the same kind of splits in the Republican party that so damaged their own party’s electoral fortunes following the Vietnam war a generation ago. “There are a lot of people on the Republican side who are not happy with the situation,” said Trent Lott, a normally hardline Republican Senate leader.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/9d14ba3c-ffed-11db-8c98-000b5df10621.html

[and-justice-for-all]

1. "Fear Defeat"?!!!

It was a total lose 3 years ago!! The entire Rethug Clan is nothing but failure.

[radfringe]

2. I suspect the only "defeat" they really fear

is not in Iraq - but rather at the polls in Nov'08 because of IRAQ and other issues

why else would the republic candidates invoke reagan instead of bush during the debate? reagan was/is popular amongst voting republics/conservatives, bush is not

riding a dead president's coattails is safer than riding the one that's still bumbling around in the white house

[redacted]

11. Good Point!

[liberal N proud]

3. It's more than Iraq folks

The entire republicon agenda has this country so screwed up and America is waking up to the scam.
I don't think anyone is going to let them forget Katrina aftermath and the massive loss of American jobs plus the record gas prices driving the cost of everything but the failure to call it INFLATION!

It is the total culture of corruption and the biased media they have hijacked.

[and-justice-for-all]

4. Rethugs have fucked this country up..BBBAAAAADDD!! nt

[Disturbed]

5. Rethugs always need to find something to blame for

their failed policies.

[Skidmore]

7. Now there's a 08 election slogan that is waiting to be used. How about

bumper stickers and freeway bloggers and.....

[AndyA]

8. This is exactly right.

Americans are finally figuring it out.

The Republicans will lose votes from the families of dead troops, a significant number that will continue to grow. They are learning that this war was a lie, and that their loved ones, brave as they are, died because of that lie. Most will not be voting Republican again.

Votes are also gone from the 1 in six manufacturing sector workers who lost their jobs under Bush's incompetence. They had good paying jobs with decent benefits. They are now working for less money, with little to no benefits. And they've been forced into that situation due to Bush's irresponsible outsourcing of American jobs. Will they be voting for another Republican, to further eviscerate the American job market? The majority will not, not on your life.

Election theft is another issue that the giant that is the American people is slowly waking up to. More and more are aware of the manipulation of votes by electronic voting machines, and more and more Americans are demanding a paper trail. It will not be as easy going forward for the GOP to steal their way into office.

For the Republicans, it's the whole culture of corruption. It's Iraq. Watergate. Iran Contra. It's the Abramoff scandal. Scooter. The outing of a covert CIA agent. The high gas prices. The arrogance and idiocy of Bush.

All put together, it's a poisonous blend for 2008. And they deserve every bit of the flogging they are going to receive. They created it, now they can live it.

[redacted]

12. Good summary--thanks Andy

[B Calm]

6. They fear losing all that OIL

[WinkyDink]

9. They should have to FEAR what our soldiers and the Iraqis FEAR, IYKWIM.

Send them to Iraq; let them truly FEAR.

[Toots]

10. Their only defeat will be the Iraqis not giving them their oil

:shrug: and I doubt that is going to happen. They will buckle to US pressure..and Exxon will have even better profits in the future than they have this last six years if that is indeed possible..