Anti-War Voters Lash Out at Democrats They Helped Put in Office Nicholas Johnston
Tue Nov 13, 12:02 AM ET
Nov. 13 (Bloomberg) -- When the Democratic Party called up recently to ask Myrna Burgess for a campaign contribution, she answered with an emphatic ``no.''
``Nothing has been done as far as the war is concerned,'' said Burgess, 72, an Amtrak worker from Levittown, Pennsylvania.
More than a year after anti-war voters like Burgess helped give Democrats control of Congress, there are more troops in Iraq, lawmakers have approved almost $100 billion in new war spending and congressional approval ratings are at record lows.
Democrats now worry that their inability to make good on campaign promises to end or slow the war in Iraq will have consequences. The disaffection has already fueled at least four anti-war primary challenges to party incumbents, raising fears among some lawmakers of an intra-party fight that could drain momentum before next year's elections.
``They want someone to be held accountable,'' said Representative Lynn Woolsey of California, a leading anti-war Democrat in the House.
For the moment, political analysts said polls show that Democrats are likely to keep or expand their congressional majorities. While only 22 percent of registered voters said they approve of the way Congress is handling its job in a Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times survey conducted last month, those voters are almost evenly split over which party is to blame.
Blaming Republicans
Voters are ``extremely frustrated'' about the absence of results, said freshman Democratic Representative Patrick Murphy, an Iraq veteran who was elected last year in Burgess's district on an anti-war platform. At the same time, he predicted that President George W. Bush's party would bear the brunt in next year's presidential and congressional elections.
``They will take out their frustrations on them and rightfully so,'' he said.
Still, there are some trouble spots for Democrats, as groups across the country begin to try to harness the voter disapproval. In Washington state, the anti-war group MoveOn.org has produced ads condemning Democratic Representative Brian Baird for his refusal to support legislative timetables for a withdrawal from Iraq. The group is also polling members on whether to mount primary challenges against the lawmakers they consider ineffective in trying to end the war.
Primary Challenge
Already in Illinois, where congressional primaries have been moved up to Feb. 5, anti-war challengers have emerged to take on two House Democrats, Melissa Bean and Dan Lipinski. Both incumbents are expected to prevail easily, and Lipinski is in a safe Democratic seat. Bean's is one of the top Democratic seats being targeted by Republicans, however, and a primary battle could weaken her in the general election.
In Maryland, a primary opponent has criticized Democrat Albert Wynn's early support of the war, and in California, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi faces a primary challenge from Cindy Sheehan, an anti-war activist who lost a son in Iraq and has led protests across the country.
As primary filing deadlines approach, more anti-war candidates are likely to spring up, said Brandon Friedman, vice chairman of VoteVets.org, a group that recruits military veterans who oppose the Iraq war to run for Congress.
``The Democrats were elected in 2006 to end the war in Iraq, and that hasn't happened,'' he said. ``This frustration is going to manifest itself in a lot of different ways in the next year.''
That sentiment was evident in interviews in the Philadelphia suburbs last month with more than a dozen anti-war voters, who said Democrats hadn't used their congressional majority to thwart Bush's policies.
`Disappointed'
``I am disappointed because I thought they would get a lot more accomplished,'' Harold Fisher, an 82-year old retiree from Levittown, said.
Last year, these Philadelphia-area voters helped Democrats gain two new House seats, including the one held by Murphy, an Iraq war veteran who won by just 1,157 votes out of almost 250,000 cast.
Anti-war rumblings haven't yet translated into a serious challenge for Murphy, 34, and Pennsylvania's other freshmen Democrats. Voters such as Joel Tenenbaum, a 58-year-old government employee from Levittown, say they want to give them more time, or wider majorities.
``They want to get this stuff done but they don't have the votes,'' Tenenbaum said.
Democratic Edge
Nationally, anti-war sentiment continues to give Democrats a strong ``edge'' next year, said Donald Kettl, director of the Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. ``Republicans are going to have a difficult time,'' he said.
To mollify their critics, Democrats have pledged to continue to push for a change of course in Iraq. They plan to vote this week on a $50 billion war-funding bill that mandates troop withdrawals. The measure is expected to do no better than previous attempts, which have either died in the Senate or been vetoed by Bush.
Democratic leaders acknowledge that these stalemates may be eroding their support with the party's anti-war wing, and say they are aware of the potential for a voter backlash.
``We haven't been effective in ending the war in Iraq,'' Pelosi told reporters Nov. 1. ``If you asked me in a phone call, as ardent a Democrat as I am, I would disapprove of Congress as well.''
To contact the reporter on this story: Nicholas Johnston in Levittown, Pennsylvania at njohnston3@bloomberg.net . |
