Democrats in competitive Congressional races have distanced themselves from the activist wing of their party, rejecting calls for a timetable to withdraw from Iraq and backing the Bush administration's insistence on victory instead of retreat. This surprising survey redefines the "mainstream" of political thought in a manner that some Democrats will strongly dislike:

Most Democratic candidates in competitive congressional races are opposed to setting a timetable for pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq, rejecting pressure from liberal activists to demand a quick end to the three-year-old military conflict.

Of the 59 Democrats in hotly contested House and Senate races, a majority agree with the Bush administration that it would be unwise to set a specific schedule for troop withdrawal, and only a few are calling for substantial troop reductions to begin this year, according to a Washington Post survey of the campaigns.

The large number of Democrats opposed to a strict timeline for ending the military operations runs contrary to the assertion by President Bush and top Republicans that Democrats want to "cut and run" amid mounting casualties and signs of civil war. At the same time, the decision by many Democrats to refrain from advocating a specific plan for withdrawal complicates their leaders' efforts to convince voters that they offer a clear new direction for the increasingly unpopular war.

George Bush and the GOP can be forgiven for that characterization of the Democrats since most of their leaders continue to demand unconditional withdrawal. Led by John Kerry and Russ Feingold, and underscored by the dark-horse victory of Ned Lamont in Connecticut's Senate primary, Democrats have demanded an end to the mission in Iraq since last fall. Their street activists and money raisers have not only demanded that but also the impeachment of George Bush for getting us into Iraq in the first place.

As the Post reports, even the Democrats who won't call for a timetable avoid talking about the war at all. If they do nothing but complain about the war, they gain the support of the MoveOn wing without losing the moderates. Of course, this means they provide no explanation or plan whatsoever about how to succeed in Iraq. They see this as an opportunity to score points by blaming Bush without the messy task of formulating a coherent policy of their own -- a strategy they also employed in 2002 and 2004, with no success at all.

This lack of courage in the convictions of Democratic candidates shows that the mainstream of political thought -- even among Democrats -- does not run in anti-war defeatism. In fact, this candidate survey shows that Joe Lieberman exemplifies the Democratic center much better than Ned Lamont. Despite all of the money and demonstrations produced by MoveOn and International ANSWER, Americans still know that we cannot allow terrorists to push us out of Iraq or anywhere else. Voters will also understand that, once again, the Democrats intent to run on Bush-hatred and nothing else of substance. And if the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, the Democrats have allowed the inmates to take ownership of the asylum for a third straight electoral cycle.

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» The GOP is Not Without its Share of Nutjobs from Cranial Cavity
A case in point would be Mary Maxwell one of three candidates running in the Party’s primary election. She along with incumbent, Charles Bass and Berlin New Hampshire Mayor Bob Danderson are seeking a seat in the U.S. Congress’ 2nd Distr... [Read More]

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