July 26, 2007
Bring it on!
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.
The Political Insiders were also asked this week whether it would be smart for their own party’s presumptive presidential frontrunner, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Rudy Giuliani, to agree to participate in debates for just the top-tier candidates. And here the Democratic and Republican Insiders were also in agreement: For Hillary and Rudy, the more (candidates) the merrier. An overwhelming 88 percent of the Democratic Insiders say it would not be smart for Clinton to engage in a debate with just her top rivals and a hefty 75 percent of the Republican Insiders say Giuliani would make a mistake to debate only the top tier of his competitors. Insider sentiment in both parties is that Hillary and Rudy are already dominating their respective debate matches and why try to fix what isn’t broken? The Insiders also note that it could look a bit arrogant for the two frontrunners to appear to be dictating who “belongs” in a debate and it would be more than a tad stupid to give their chief opponents more air time and opportunities to draw a bead on them. [JIM BARNES]
Posted at 04:59 PM
Comments
Democratic Insiders have no clue. The reason why the Clinton impeachment hurt the GOP was because of Clinton's approval ratings. Remind me again what they were at the time? 60%? Or there abouts? What are Bush's approval ratings? High 20's? The Insiders need to get outside the Beltway more often. The are being suffocated by Beltway think.
Ghost of Tom Joad | 07.28.07 02:03 AM
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Those bogus approval ratings scared the GOP into retreat mode. The reason it didn't help the GOP is because the GOP Senators did not go through with the impeachment. They left the House members out to dry.
mtnwmn | 09.28.07 05:55 PM
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