I believe it's the other way around:):
GOP Nominees Make Iraq a Political Weapon
URL: washingtonpost.com
By Jim VandeHei
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 18, 2002; Page A01
Steve Pearce, a Republican congressional nominee in New Mexico, is at the forefront of an emerging GOP campaign to turn a possible war against Iraq into a political weapon back home.
"Pearce takes strong stand against Iraq, Smith weak on issue," screams Pearce's recent campaign release. Pearce is sharply attacking his opponent, Democrat John Arthur Smith, for doing what many leading Democrats across the country are doing: urging President Bush to build international support before trying to overthrow Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
"That's just a way of saying, 'Don't do anything,' " said Pearce, who is running even with Smith in the polls for an open seat in southern New Mexico.
Pearce isn't alone. Across the country, GOP House and Senate candidates are emphasizing the possibility of war in Iraq, either touting their support for Bush or highlighting their opponents' reservations -- past or present -- about military strikes against the Baghdad regime, according to several candidates and party strategists.
Although many candidates are waiting for Congress and the United Nations to act before taking a firm stand on military action against Iraq, the issue has gained ascendancy in key Senate races in South Dakota, Minnesota and Georgia. Several GOP House nominees, meanwhile, also plan to make it a major theme in the weeks ahead, a party strategist said.
These events mark a shift in the midterm elections toward a topic that Republicans generally favor -- the Bush administration's tough stand against Hussein -- at the expense of subjects that Democrats prefer -- domestic matters such as health care benefits and the fiscal health of the Social Security system.
Bush has called on Congress to pass a resolution authorizing war in Iraq if U.N. weapons inspectors are prevented from verifying the destruction of Hussein's weapons program. Some Democrats have voiced concerns about using military action -- especially unilaterally or bilaterally, if only Britain joins the United States -- to overthrow Hussein if he does not cooperate immediately.
In South Dakota, home to one of the nation's most hotly contested Senate races, Rep. John R. Thune (R) is bashing Sen. Tim Johnson (D) for his past opposition to going to war with Iraq.
As a House member in 1991, Johnson opposed the resolution authorizing war to drive Hussein's army out of Kuwait. He later joined a lawsuit aimed at preventing President George H.W. Bush from committing troops to the Persian Gulf. The former president will host a fundraiser for Thune on Thursday, a timely reminder of Thune's support for and from the Bush family.
Thune believes Johnson's position on Iraq is supplanting Medicare reform, Social Security and tax cuts as the hottest campaign issue in South Dakota, said his spokeswoman Christine Iverson, despite polls showing that voters care most about domestic issues.
Thune on Monday came out in strong support of an immediate vote in Congress backing President Bush. He said Johnson's role in the lawsuit, which would have prevented Bush Sr. from dispatching troops to Iraq, shows he was "completely out of sync with South Dakota" voters. Veterans groups in the state yesterday held a news conference to denounce Johnson's past stance.
"The issue matrix is changing," Thune said in an interview. "Whether Tim Johnson likes it or not, this is on the mind of voters."
Johnson, who wants to build international support before going into Iraq, said: "I don't see this as a cause for politics, but my opponent, whose campaign has slipped in recent months, feels this is an opportunity to use the lives of military personnel as political pawns."
In Minnesota, Republican Norm Coleman, a former St. Paul mayor, is trying to unseat Sen. Paul D. Wellstone (D), in part by highlighting Wellstone's opposition to Bush on Iraq. Coleman has stepped up his support for the president, calling on Congress to pass a war resolution before the United Nations acts. "It's front and center in people's minds," said Leslie Kupchella, Coleman's spokeswoman.
Wellstone, who has urged caution and a thorough review of the pros and cons of waging war before authorizing Bush to do it, said Coleman has obviously shifted into a more pro-war mode.
"On life-and-death issues, the people of Minnesota really want to have some assurance you really are using your best judgment, being intellectually honest, and that certainly is what I intend to do," Wellstone said.
A Senate GOP campaign strategist said Wellstone, Johnson and Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) are most vulnerable to attacks on the Iraq issue because they voted against the resolution sought by Bush's father in 1991. Republicans plan to run ads this fall attacking Democrats who have voiced opposition to toppling Hussein, GOP strategists said.
Still, some Republicans see this strategy as risky, and counsel a wait-and-see approach. If things take a turn for the worse, or international opposition to the Bush plan intensifies, some strategists fear public support for war with Iraq could wane.
This may explain why some candidates, such as GOP Rep. Greg Ganske, a Senate nominee in Iowa, are adopting a more cautious tone. Ganske, after weeks of deliberation, has started to talk more confidently about Bush's approach, but he has mostly held back from going after Harkin for opposing Bush Sr. in 1991. Instead, he is playing up his support for Bush, who campaigned for him Monday.
Still others are finding it difficult to make headway on the issue. In the Senate race in Georgia, a state rich with military bases and personnel, GOP Rep. C. Saxby Chambliss sees the possibility of war in Iraq as the dominant issue. He has staked himself firmly in support of Bush, and hopes to benefit from his tenure on the House committee overseeing efforts against terrorism and homeland security.
"People like to know he has a strong position," said Chambliss spokeswoman Michelle Hitt.
But Chambliss is unlikely to corner the market on military assertiveness. His opponent, Democrat Sen. Max Cleland, is a Vietnam War hero who lost both legs and an arm in combat. Although Cleland has stopped short of endorsing unilateral action, he has expressed support for Bush's strategy of working with the United Nations before settling on a final course of action.
In Texas, Democratic Senate nominee Ron Kirk, an African American, lashed out at Republican John Cornyn for backing U.S. intervention in Iraq because a disproportionate number of soldiers would be minorities.
"I would be curious to see if he would go to war without any thought of loss if the first half-million kids to go came from families who made $1 million," Kirk was quoted as saying.
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