Republicans Don’t Even Talk About Iraq Posted by Moira Whelan

The long series of debates before the Iowa Caucuses are now over, and one interesting fact speaks volumes about which party is actually addressing the concerns of Americans.

Some truly dedicated souls counted up how many times each candidate in each of the final Republican and Democratic debates uttered the word “Iraq”—here’s the count:

                                               

	Republicans	Democrats
	McCain-1	Biden-2
		Clinton-1
		Dodd-1
		Obama-3
		Richardson-3
Total	1	10

    (h/t dedicated souls)

So given that the the Gallup Poll released two days ago said that 36% of Americans cited Iraq as their top issue, and that the issue “ranks as the top voting issue for Republicans, independents, and Democrats,” one can only assume that the Republican candidates are banking on the fact that they can win without even mentioning IRAQ.

Yeah. Good luck with that.

Comments

[Peace]

It appears that the Republicans are following the script written by David Brooks and Peter Beinart and not the American people in believing that Iraq is no longer an main concern. I just hope that the Democrats don't follow their cue and ignore the Iraq issue.

[Vigilante]

Where was Ron Paul?

[Don Bacon]

Ron Paul stood tall in October, 2002, when it counted. Ron Paul in the US House of Representatives, October 8, 2002

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this resolution, which regardless of what many have tried to claim will lead us into war with Iraq. This resolution is not a declaration of war, however, and that is an important point: this resolution transfers the Constitutionally-mandated Congressional authority to declare wars to the executive branch. This resolution tells the president that he alone has the authority to determine when, where, why, and how war will be declared. It merely asks the president to pay us a courtesy call a couple of days after the bombing starts to let us know what is going on. This is exactly what our Founding Fathers cautioned against when crafting our form of government: most had just left behind a monarchy where the power to declare war rested in one individual. It is this they most wished to avoid.

As James Madison wrote in 1798, "The Constitution supposes what the history of all governments demonstrates, that the executive is the branch of power most interested in war, and most prone to it. It has, accordingly, with studied care, vested the question of war in the legislature."

Some – even some in this body – have claimed that this Constitutional requirement is an anachronism, and that those who insist on following the founding legal document of this country are just being frivolous. I could not disagree more.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul58.html

[Don Bacon]

Contrast Ron Paul with The Decider:

GW Bush, Oct 2, 2002: "The Constitution of the United States designates the President of the United States as Commander-in-Chief. The Congress of the United States plays a role, and I believe that this process we are about to embark on is the appropriate role that Congress should carry out its responsibilities. But at the end of the day, the final, most serious responsibility of sending young American men and women into harm's way rests with the President of the United States."
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/10/20021002-7.html

[bwaage]

I hate to interrupt the Paulbots here, but the reason Iraq was was hardly mentioned was because the moderator said at the outset that the debate would feature no questions about Iraq or immigration.

[CO]

to: bwaage
Once again it appears the Republicans are selecting the questions just like they pick out the crowds and ignore the public.

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