Jorge
07-03-2007, 02:16 PM
July 2, 2007 Issue
Copyright © 2007 The American Conservative
We Are the War Party (http://www.amconmag.com/2007/2007_07_02/article.html)
Congressional Republicans who doubt the Bush Doctrine face a primary purge.
by W. James Antle III
When praising one of his colleagues, Congressman Walter Jones is quick to commend steady commitment to principle. It’s a trait he knows something about. Since winning his House seat in 1994, the seven-term North Carolina Republican has been one of the most reliable Christian conservatives in Washington. “I’m just doing the best I can with every day God gives me,” Jones drawls. But back home, some members of his party worry that he has changed.
On one issue, at least, Jones clearly has. The steadfastly pro-military congressman—his district houses a fifth of the Marine Corps at Camp Lejeune—drew headlines and appreciative chuckles from talk-radio listeners when he had French fries renamed “freedom fries” on congressional menus to protest France’s opposition to the U.S. invasion of Iraq. But Jones didn’t limit his support for the troops to publicity stunts. He wrote letters to the families of over 2,000 servicemen killed in Iraq and attended the memorial services of fallen Marines. These tasks, combined with growing doubts about prewar intelligence, turned Jones into his party’s most impassioned opponent of the war—and perhaps the most legislatively active.
Jones co-sponsored legislation setting a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. He has also introduced a joint resolution stating that any expansion of the war into Iran must be expressly authorized by Congress. Not everyone is happy with his change of heart on Iraq, however. Onslow County Commissioner Joseph McLaughlin has decided to challenge him in next year’s Republican primary.
“Since 1994, I have been a Walter Jones supporter,” McLaughlin said in an announcement speech. “But it just cannot be that the congressman from the 3rd district, which probably has more troops in the fight than any other district in the country, would have more in common with Nancy Pelosi and the rest of the Democrats than with the Republican leadership.” His candidacy already has prominent supporters. “Disloyalty is something you just can’t tolerate,” Onslow County GOP Chairman Ronald Cherubini told The Politico. “That’s the way military people look at it. As a party, we have sent [Jones] a letter saying we cannot support you anymore…”
The Jones-McLaughlin contest is one of several races across the country that will test whether the Republican Party will tolerate dissent on the Iraq War. The handful of antiwar GOP legislators has always faced tremendous pressure within the party. Now they are increasingly facing primary challengers.
Congressman Wayne Gilchrest has represented Maryland’s first district for nine terms. Like Jones, the Vietnam combat veteran voted both to authorize the war and to end it. He opposed the surge and has backed timetables for pulling our troops out of Iraq. Gilchrest has defeated 23 primary opponents since 1990, but this time he is likely to face three-term state Sen. Andy Harris, who will be able to compete for the support of party regulars. Harris, a former commanding officer at the John Hopkins Naval Reserve Medical Unit, will challenge Gilchrest on the war.
“I’m not one who’s become part of the Washington fabric that led to our problems in 2006,” Harris told local reporters. “Returning to the viewpoint of Ronald Reagan—strength, not surrender, decreasing the size of government, decreasing taxes—that’s the true conservative base.”
And the conservative base still by and large supports the Iraq War. While Republican antiwar sentiment has grown, 59 percent of GOP voters told CBS News that they opposed a timetable for withdrawal. By contrast, 65 percent of independents and 83 percent of Democrats are in favor. This jarring disconnect explains why some Republicans are working to solidify the party’s pro-war stance even as the rest of the electorate is moving in the opposite direction.
The most spirited primary fights may involve the two most visible Republican critics of Bush’s Iraq policies, one of whom is rumored to be weighting a presidential run while the other is already in the race. Nebraska Atty. Gen. Jon Bruning has declared his intention to take on Sen. Chuck Hagel, while several candidates are said to be pondering a bid against Congressman Ron Paul—including former Paul staffer Eric Dondero.
A Hagel-Bruning race would not be a gentlemanly contest between two Midwesterners. In his announcement, Bruning said there was “no doubt that we’re at war with an enemy who will stop at nothing to defeat and kill us” and fighting al-Qaeda in Iraq is “the most important issue of our time.” That’s why, he continued, “Nebraskans want a leader who will stand with our troops and military commanders.”
Hagel’s staff hit back hard. “For Jon Bruning, who has never served his country in uniform, to question Chuck Hagel’s commitment to the troops is an insult to the troops and to the intelligence of the people of Nebraska,” the senator’s political director told reporters. “Mr. Bruning is in over his head.”
A race between Ron Paul and Eric Dondero might get just as heated. Dondero launched his campaign on the conservative RedState blog after Paul’s exchange with Rudy Giuliani in the South Carolina GOP presidential debate. Dondero called his former boss “a complete nutcase” whose foreign-policy views are “near treasonous.” Paul’s spokesman shot back that the would-be challenger was a disgruntled, fired ex-staffer who was “looney-tunes.”
“Ron Paul might face some frivolous challenges,” says libertarian Republican activist William Westmiller. “I’m not sure [Dondero] has the resources to take him on.” But if he doesn’t, Friendswood City Councilman Chris Peden might. Peden has already formed an exploratory committee.
/cut/
Full article HERE (http://www.amconmag.com/2007/2007_07_02/article.html)
Copyright © 2007 The American Conservative
We Are the War Party (http://www.amconmag.com/2007/2007_07_02/article.html)
Congressional Republicans who doubt the Bush Doctrine face a primary purge.
by W. James Antle III
When praising one of his colleagues, Congressman Walter Jones is quick to commend steady commitment to principle. It’s a trait he knows something about. Since winning his House seat in 1994, the seven-term North Carolina Republican has been one of the most reliable Christian conservatives in Washington. “I’m just doing the best I can with every day God gives me,” Jones drawls. But back home, some members of his party worry that he has changed.
On one issue, at least, Jones clearly has. The steadfastly pro-military congressman—his district houses a fifth of the Marine Corps at Camp Lejeune—drew headlines and appreciative chuckles from talk-radio listeners when he had French fries renamed “freedom fries” on congressional menus to protest France’s opposition to the U.S. invasion of Iraq. But Jones didn’t limit his support for the troops to publicity stunts. He wrote letters to the families of over 2,000 servicemen killed in Iraq and attended the memorial services of fallen Marines. These tasks, combined with growing doubts about prewar intelligence, turned Jones into his party’s most impassioned opponent of the war—and perhaps the most legislatively active.
Jones co-sponsored legislation setting a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. He has also introduced a joint resolution stating that any expansion of the war into Iran must be expressly authorized by Congress. Not everyone is happy with his change of heart on Iraq, however. Onslow County Commissioner Joseph McLaughlin has decided to challenge him in next year’s Republican primary.
“Since 1994, I have been a Walter Jones supporter,” McLaughlin said in an announcement speech. “But it just cannot be that the congressman from the 3rd district, which probably has more troops in the fight than any other district in the country, would have more in common with Nancy Pelosi and the rest of the Democrats than with the Republican leadership.” His candidacy already has prominent supporters. “Disloyalty is something you just can’t tolerate,” Onslow County GOP Chairman Ronald Cherubini told The Politico. “That’s the way military people look at it. As a party, we have sent [Jones] a letter saying we cannot support you anymore…”
The Jones-McLaughlin contest is one of several races across the country that will test whether the Republican Party will tolerate dissent on the Iraq War. The handful of antiwar GOP legislators has always faced tremendous pressure within the party. Now they are increasingly facing primary challengers.
Congressman Wayne Gilchrest has represented Maryland’s first district for nine terms. Like Jones, the Vietnam combat veteran voted both to authorize the war and to end it. He opposed the surge and has backed timetables for pulling our troops out of Iraq. Gilchrest has defeated 23 primary opponents since 1990, but this time he is likely to face three-term state Sen. Andy Harris, who will be able to compete for the support of party regulars. Harris, a former commanding officer at the John Hopkins Naval Reserve Medical Unit, will challenge Gilchrest on the war.
“I’m not one who’s become part of the Washington fabric that led to our problems in 2006,” Harris told local reporters. “Returning to the viewpoint of Ronald Reagan—strength, not surrender, decreasing the size of government, decreasing taxes—that’s the true conservative base.”
And the conservative base still by and large supports the Iraq War. While Republican antiwar sentiment has grown, 59 percent of GOP voters told CBS News that they opposed a timetable for withdrawal. By contrast, 65 percent of independents and 83 percent of Democrats are in favor. This jarring disconnect explains why some Republicans are working to solidify the party’s pro-war stance even as the rest of the electorate is moving in the opposite direction.
The most spirited primary fights may involve the two most visible Republican critics of Bush’s Iraq policies, one of whom is rumored to be weighting a presidential run while the other is already in the race. Nebraska Atty. Gen. Jon Bruning has declared his intention to take on Sen. Chuck Hagel, while several candidates are said to be pondering a bid against Congressman Ron Paul—including former Paul staffer Eric Dondero.
A Hagel-Bruning race would not be a gentlemanly contest between two Midwesterners. In his announcement, Bruning said there was “no doubt that we’re at war with an enemy who will stop at nothing to defeat and kill us” and fighting al-Qaeda in Iraq is “the most important issue of our time.” That’s why, he continued, “Nebraskans want a leader who will stand with our troops and military commanders.”
Hagel’s staff hit back hard. “For Jon Bruning, who has never served his country in uniform, to question Chuck Hagel’s commitment to the troops is an insult to the troops and to the intelligence of the people of Nebraska,” the senator’s political director told reporters. “Mr. Bruning is in over his head.”
A race between Ron Paul and Eric Dondero might get just as heated. Dondero launched his campaign on the conservative RedState blog after Paul’s exchange with Rudy Giuliani in the South Carolina GOP presidential debate. Dondero called his former boss “a complete nutcase” whose foreign-policy views are “near treasonous.” Paul’s spokesman shot back that the would-be challenger was a disgruntled, fired ex-staffer who was “looney-tunes.”
“Ron Paul might face some frivolous challenges,” says libertarian Republican activist William Westmiller. “I’m not sure [Dondero] has the resources to take him on.” But if he doesn’t, Friendswood City Councilman Chris Peden might. Peden has already formed an exploratory committee.
/cut/
Full article HERE (http://www.amconmag.com/2007/2007_07_02/article.html)