Democrats Fear Backlash at Polls for Antiwar Remarks (The Post) [View All]

The Washington Post reports that some Democrats will be afraid they will be portrayed as weak on defense. Who is weak on defense? What great military leaders would put our troops in situations where they are sitting ducks? Who said this war would be over in six weeks - six months at the most? Who said the Iraqis would greet us with flowers and kisses? Who said the insurgents were in their "last throes"? Who has made one mistake after another as our troops continue to die? Now tell me, who is weak on defense?
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/06/AR2005120601707.html?referrer=email&referrer=email

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Strong antiwar comments in recent days by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean have opened anew a party rift over Iraq, with some lawmakers warning that the leaders' rhetorical blasts could harm efforts to win control of Congress next year.

Several Democrats joined President Bush yesterday in rebuking Dean's declaration to a San Antonio radio station Monday that "the idea that we're going to win the war in Iraq is an idea which is just plain wrong."

The critics said that comment could reinforce popular perceptions that the party is weak on military matters and divert attention from the president's growing political problems on the war and other issues. "Dean's take on Iraq makes even less sense than the scream in Iowa: Both are uninformed and unhelpful," said Rep. Jim Marshall (D-Ga.), recalling Dean's famous election-night roar after stumbling in Iowa during his 2004 presidential bid.

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Rahm Emanuel (Ill.) and Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (Md.), the second-ranking House Democratic leader, have told colleagues that Pelosi's recent endorsement of a speedy withdrawal, combined with her claim that more than half of House Democrats support her position, could backfire on the party, congressional sources said.

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