Voting against war is bad politics for Republicans

Washington Post:

With public opinion tilting firmly toward ending U.S. involvement in the war in Iraq, Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest (R-Md.) might have expected praise for his votes that would start to bring the troops home. Instead, at town hall meetings on the Eastern Shore, the former Marine and Vietnam combat veteran has been called everything from a coward to a traitor.

After Rep. Bob Inglis (R-S.C.) voted for a non-binding resolution opposing President Bush's troop increases, reaction in his district was so furious that local GOP officials all but invited a primary challenge to the reliable conservative. Inglis responded with multiple mailings to his constituents, fence-mending efforts and a video message on his House Web site pleading his case. On subsequent Iraq votes, he has not strayed from the Republican fold.

The experiences of the few Republicans to vote against the war help explain the remarkable unity that the party has maintained in Washington behind an unpopular president. Just four Republicans -- two in the House, two in the Senate -- voted last week for a $124 billion war funding bill that would start withdrawing troops by Oct. 1, legislation that Bush has vowed to veto this week.

That cohesion reflects the views of the GOP's core voters, who see the war in Iraq in fundamentally different terms than Democrats and political independents do, said Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. Voters from those groups tend to see unremitting gloom, but Republican base voters continue to see a conflict that is going reasonably well, with a decent chance of military success.

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"It's pretty clear that an overwhelming majority of Republicans think it's a bad idea to have a surrender" withdrawal date, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Friday. Many Republicans may feel uneasy. "I certainly am not happy with where we are in Iraq," he said, but "simply announcing when you're going leave is a stunningly bad idea."

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For some reason the story left out the Washington Post's favorite Republican Check Hagel who is all ready drawing opposition in the Republican primary for the 2008 race. What the Post is just waking up to is that the Republican base is just as passionate about winning as the Democrats are about losing. The swing voters are going to go with which ever side they think is winning. If the war has turned around by the fall they will leave the Democrats and reject their strategy for defeat. If it hasn't the Republicans will have to deal with that problem then.

The perception that we are losing or wasting lives is largely a product of the Democrat imagination and desperation for defeat. If we win, they know they are in serious trouble for a generation or more. That is one reason why they are unwilling to give Gen. Petraeus a chance.