INSIDE WASHINGTON

Congressional Insiders Poll

by Richard E. Cohen and Peter Bell

Saturday, Feb. 14, 2009


Read how prominent bloggers responded to these questions.

Q: Do you support sending 30,000 additional U.S. combat troops to Afghanistan?

Democrats (35 votes)

Yes                      57 percent
No                       34 percent
Don't know (volunteered)  9 percent

Yes

"We can't walk away and let Afghanistan/Pakistan become a breeding ground for terrorism once again. But the problems here are different -- and in some ways more challenging -- than Iraq."

"Yes for now, but they cannot stay indefinitely."

"But only in the context of a recalibrated strategic plan and enlistment of support from allies."

"Favor more troops. Not sure 30,000 is right."

"Will they be coming from Iraq?"

No

"Afghanistan and our mission there must be rethought. Military troops alone will not turn it around. It is a place that is the 'graveyard of empires.' "

"A better use for the money would be to double the size of the Peace Corps."

"I see no plan involved. If the issue is to end our wars, then we should move toward that goal. I see nothing yet to show me otherwise."

"Not without a thorough discussion of what is necessary in Afghanistan: What is the mission goal?"

"Not until I see a meaningful plan."

"We never can seem to learn."

Don't know

"It depends. If they are merely a military 'force,' then no, nothing will change. If they are used to allow for a true shift in approach toward a more pro-Afghan effort, then yes."

"Allow the president's review of the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan to conclude before picking an arbitrary number of soldiers to send."

"Maybe. To do what? For how long? With what exit plan?"

Q: Do you support sending 30,000 additional U.S. combat troops to Afghanistan?

Republicans (34 votes)

Yes                      91 percent
No                        3 percent
Don't know (volunteered)  6 percent

Yes

"Gen. [David] Petraeus set the U.S. on a direction to achieve our goals in Iraq. And given the manpower, time, and resources, he should be able to accomplish the same in Afghanistan."

"We should consider deploying whatever additional forces are necessary to fulfilling our mission and keeping the Taliban on the defensive, so long as we have an endgame in place."

"Obama will have GOP support for whatever he asks with respect to Afghanistan so long as he listens to [Defense Secretary Robert] Gates and his commanders. His problem will be on the left, not the right. Now that they are in charge of the nation's security, the Democrats are already showing signs that they will cut and run rather than fight and prevail."

"Yes, if that is what the commanders on the ground in consultation with the secretary of Defense and the national security adviser determine is necessary."

"Yes, if it is the recommendation of the generals on the ground."

"This is a longtime request of military leaders."

"Evidence of success from previous efforts in Iraq is there."

"Without more troops, success in Afghanistan may be impossible."

Don't know

"Depends. Troop levels should be dictated by commanders on the ground, not [the anti-war group] Code Pink."

"Not sure."

Q: Have events of recent weeks made you more encouraged or less encouraged about prospects for bipartisanship this year on major issues that Congress has yet to tackle, such as health care reform and energy legislation?

Democrats (36 votes)

More encouraged   6 percent
Less encouraged  67 percent
No change        28 percent

More encouraged

"Republicans cannot afford to continue voting 100 percent against such a popular president who is making such bipartisan overtures."

Less encouraged

"Republican jihadists would apparently let America sink rather than work with Democrats."

"The Republicans have shown that they are more interested in scoring political points and playing political games with the stimulus than in fixing our economy, putting Americans to work, and acting in a bipartisan way."

"The Republicans have returned the president's open handshake with a claw."

"Republicans only care about politics. Not policy."

"We will be happy to take more Republican seats in 2010 as well."

"The minority is more interested in framing the political message than in producing a product."

"The game plan for the Republicans is to just say no. That was Newt [Gingrich's] mantra, and they are reprising the politics of the last century."

"It is clear to me that Republicans may be the best friends Democrats can find. They continue to stand against anything that is proposed. They have the same old, tired line that pushed them out of office to begin with. They have made a decision that they can regain power by standing against everything Democrats propose. Result: no bipartisanship."

No change

"This was expected. With losing a large amount of seats in both chambers of Congress and now the White House, the GOP has no incentive to be bipartisan. President Obama should continue reaching out but needs to be more firm in the future. Let the American people see that they are simply obstructionists."

"The odds of bipartisanship will depend upon the issue. Energy legislation is more likely to be bipartisan than health care reform."

"It will be tough and challenging every step of the way."

"It took Gingrich and his crew 20 years to kill the desire for bipartisan relationships. It will take more than a few weeks after a tough election to rebalance D.C. That is, if it can be done at all."

"Republican old habits are hard to break."

Q: Have events of recent weeks made you more encouraged or less encouraged about prospects for bipartisanship this year on major issues that Congress has yet to tackle, such as health care reform and energy legislation?

Republicans (35 votes)

More encouraged   9 percent
Less encouraged  71 percent
No change        20 percent

More encouraged

"I think the White House will be more engaged in major legislation in the future rather than just letting [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi run everything."

"It can't get much less bipartisan than it is now, so it has to get better. Right?"

Less encouraged

"Let's be honest: The Democrats never had any intention of keeping a single campaign promise."

"They've shown that Obama will talk a good game on bipartisanship, while Pelosi and [Senate Majority Leader Harry] Reid follow a narrow, partisan, and thuggish route of legislating. In the end, the Democrats' 'bipartisanship' is empty rhetoric, and they have no intention of working with Republicans in any substantive way."

"It's clear that regardless of what rhetoric we hear, the mantra of 'Change you can believe in' equates to nothing but more of the same. The speaker has no interest in working in bipartisan fashion. And despite how many times the president invites GOP members over to watch football, it's clear that he's giving in to the Left and painting the GOP as the enemy."

"Obama is a show horse, not a workhorse, on bipartisanship."

"Less encouraged, but not surprised. Does Pelosi really mean anything she says in a press conference?"

"Complete shutout on the stimulus is a bad sign."

No change

"Pelosi has neutered every chairman for the last two years. She sent a very clear message with her assault on John Dingell as well: She will write, run, and schedule all bills, and everyone else should sit down and shut up."

"Obama cannot have bipartisanship unless he is willing to lose Democrats to pick up Republicans. So far, neither he nor the Democratic leadership has proven willing to do that. On immigration and entitlement reform, Obama will need Republicans and can get them. On health care and energy, the president will have to be more pragmatic and more independent from Pelosi and Reid than I suspect he will be."

National Journal Insiders

Democratic Congressional Insiders Sens. Sherrod Brown, Ben Cardin, Thomas Carper, Christopher Dodd, Edward Kennedy, Frank Lautenberg, Barbara Mikulski, Mark Pryor, Jon Tester; Reps. Jason Altmire, Robert Andrews, Michael Arcuri, Tammy Baldwin, Melissa Bean, Xavier Becerra, Howard Berman, Marion Berry, Rick Boucher, Michael Capuano, Dennis Cardoza, Chris Carney, James Clyburn, Jim Cooper, Joseph Crowley, Elijah Cummings, Artur Davis, Diana DeGette, Rosa DeLauro, Eliot Engel, Anna Eshoo, Sam Farr, Chaka Fattah, Bob Filner, Alcee Hastings, Mike Honda, Steve Israel, Frank Kratovil, Jim Langevin, John Lewis, Zoe Lofgren, Nita Lowey, Carolyn Maloney, Ed Markey, Jim McDermott, Jim McGovern, Kendrick Meek, Jim Moran, David Price, Silvestre Reyes, Jan Schakowsky, Jose Serrano, Adam Smith, John Spratt, Pete Stark, John Tanner, Ellen Tauscher, Bennie Thompson, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Henry Waxman, and Peter Welch.

GOP Congressional Insiders Sens. Lamar Alexander, Jim Bunning, John Cornyn, Jim DeMint, Lindsey Graham, Kay Bailey Hutchison, Johnny Isakson, Richard Lugar, Mel Martinez, Lisa Murkowski, Olympia Snowe, John Thune, David Vitter; Reps. Michele Bachmann, Brian Bilbray, Marsha Blackburn, Roy Blunt, John Boehner, Charles Boustany, Kevin Brady, John Campbell, Eric Cantor, John Carter, Michael Castle, Tom Cole, Mike Conaway, David Dreier, Jeff Flake, Scott Garrett, Bob Goodlatte, Kay Granger, Doc Hastings, Pete Hoekstra, Bob Inglis, Darrell Issa, Peter King, Jack Kingston, Mark Kirk, John Kline, Christopher Lee, Dan Lungren, Kenny Marchant, Kevin McCarthy, Patrick McHenry, John Mica, Candice Miller, Sue Myrick, Devin Nunes, Mike Pence, Tom Price, Adam Putnam, Dave Reichert, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Mike Rogers of Michigan, Paul Ryan, Pete Sessions, John Shadegg, Adrian Smith, Mark Souder, Pat Tiberi, Fred Upton, and Joe Wilson.

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