Dissension in the Republican Ranks
I like how Charlie Cook lays out the disagreements within the national Republican Party that are all coming to the fore because President Bush is losing control:
Disagreement among Republicans on the war in Iraq is another issue that is tearing at the GOP unity in Congress. Recent ABC News/Washington Post polling showed that roughly two-thirds of conservative Republicans, many of whom have certain isolationist tendencies and are skeptical on the concept of building democracies in certain parts of the world, have grave doubts about the war, while two-thirds of liberal and moderate Republicans are sticking with the president on Iraq.
On immigration, there is a huge chasm in the GOP between the business and agri-business elements of the party that like the constant flow of lower-cost labor — as well as those who want the GOP to be seen as expanding the party beyond its current base of whites and Cuban-Americans — and the nativists and others who want to build a wall to curtail future illegal immigration and start wholesale deportations of those currently living in the United States without documentation. No fight in either party is as emotional as this one.
Then there is the fight between those who put a premium on tax cuts above all else, and those who temper their enthusiasm for tax cuts with putting greater emphasis on balancing the federal budget.
Finally, there is the fight between the Sun Belters and those representing very conservative states and districts — whose constituents want the smallest possible government — and those representing the Northeast and other areas, who try to split the differences between the excesses of each party’s bases.
Meanwhile, Stan Greenberg tries to make sure we Democrats take advantage:
In this survey, we constructed a working message that attacks the Republicans with failure to address the problems that matter to people (health care costs and dependence on foreign oil), choosing instead to focus on Terri Schiavo, protecting DeLay, and cutting veterans benefits. The Democrats promise a first 100 days centered on passing an increased minimum wage, getting Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices, and imposing a windfall profit tax on oil companies to fund alternative energy. A majority of 52 percent are much more or somewhat more likely to vote for that candidate – 16 points higher than for the Republican message on progress and priorities.
The specifics are less important than the recognition that the playing field is very tilted today. The mood for change in Washington has consequences, and voters are listening to the Democrats when they articulate their plans.
That gives us a three-month period with the chance to challenge the White House cover-up on Iraq, to advance our ideas on energy and health care, to present our plans for change and to expose the Alito’s indifference to people, women’s rights and privacy. Those issues are incendiary at a time when voters want to throw out the current crowd in Washington.
