Reply #86: Republicans fear Iraq could hurt them in 2006 (IHT/NYT)

[Up2Late]

Republicans fear Iraq could hurt them in 2006

By Adam Nagourney and David D. Kirkpatrick The New York Times

FRIDAY, AUGUST 19, 2005
WASHINGTON Bad news out of Iraq, echoed in the United States by polls that show growing impatience with the war and rising disapproval of President George W. Bush's policies, is stirring political concern in Republican circles, party officials say.

Some of these officials, speaking on Wednesday, said the perception that the war was faltering was providing a rallying point for dispirited Democrats and could pose problems for Republicans in the congressional elections next year.

Republicans said a convergence of events - including the protests inspired by the mother of a U.S. soldier who was killed in Iraq, the missed deadline to draft an Iraqi constitution and the spike in casualties among reservists - was creating what they said could be a significant and lasting shift in public attitude against the war.

The Republicans described that shift as worrisome, pointing to a special election in Ohio two weeks ago, in which a Democrat, who had served as a marine in Iraq and who criticized Bush's decision to invade that country, came close to winning in a district that should have easily produced a Republican victory. "There is just no enthusiasm for this war," said Representative John Duncan Jr., a Tennessee Republican who opposes the war. "Nobody is happy about it. It certainly is not going to help Republican candidates, I can tell you that much."

<http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/18/news/repubs.php>
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