Midterm jitters: GOP concerned about upcoming elections

By Chris Dignam
Collegian Staff
March 1, 2006

With the November 2006 midterm elections approaching, more-than-just-a-glimmer of hope shines for Democrats due to the repeated national blunders committed by the Bush administration. Republican governors worry that the administration’s mistakes, from Katrina to port security to the war in Iraq, will hurt the party as a whole.

Not only has the Bush administration recently suffered heavy criticism from Democrats, but GOP governors have admitted frustration with a string of national slip-ups, fearing that they will hinder their performance in this election.

Most of these errors made by the administration have been with one of the nation’s most, if not the most, vital issue today: national security. These GOP governors reluctantly acknowledge that the series of mistakes threatens to undermine public confidence in President Bush’s ability to provide security, which has long been his greatest strength among voters.

An MSNBC online poll of roughly 35,000 responses found 87 percent of people believe that the Bush administration’s missteps would hurt the GOP in this election year. The remaining 13 precent believe that voters will be able to distinguish between national controversies and state issues. The president’s approval rating stood at 40 percent in an AP-Ipsos poll conducted in early February, and most recent polling has shown it remains at about the same level.

The recent port security controversy with Dubai Ports World, set to manage six of the U.S.’s most important ports, arouses concerns and claims that these ports would put aspects of port security in the hands of an Arab power. Democrats and Republicans alike have questioned the approval to the transfer of leases and saw weakness in the deal, though plans with postponing the deal that recently arisen.

“I don’t think he [President Bush] was well served on the port issue by the bureaucracy,” said Republican Dirk Kempthorne of Idaho, who is leading a united front of governors pushing back on potential reductions to National Guard forces. “He’s at the forefront on national security. When you combine this flap on the ports, and these potential cuts on the military, you need to make sure that issue doesn’t slip away. It’s one of his strengths.”

But the port controversy is just the newest problem in a long chain that has been stacking up more quickly than they are being resolved. Problems surfaced earlier in Bush’s decision to direct the National Security Agency to engage in domestic electronic spying without warrant; the War on Terror and the handling of Hurricane Katrina resulted in major dissatisfaction from the public and politicians.

Republican Bob Taft of Ohio said, “This is hindsight, but it was a mistake to bury FEMA under the Department of Homeland Security.”

Bush’s drug prescription program also received unfavorable attention. The war in Iraq is a situation that has continued to draw a great deal of controversy.

According to Republican Don Carcieri of Rhode Island, the bigger problem is Iraq. “The biggest cumulative effect weighing on everybody is the war,” Taft said.

Though many politicians, including Republicans, cannot help but shake their heads at some of the recent decisions made, Carcieri was sure voters would forgive, both on the drugs and on the hurricane response.

“They’re more understanding of that kind of thing,” Carcieri said. “They understand they’re only human.”

dignamc1@lasalle.edu
Information gathered from www.msnbc.com