CNN's Bash claimed Dems oppose troop increases to please party's “left wing”

Written by Ryan Chiachiere

Published


On the January 18 edition of CNN's The Situation Room, CNN congressional correspondent Dana Bash claimed that “Democrats eyeing the White House” were making an “appeal to the powerful anti-war left wing of the party” by “saying symbolic, nonbinding resolutions are not enough” of a response to President Bush's plan to send additional troops to Iraq. In doing so, Bash suggested that support for congressional action beyond nonbinding resolutions was limited to the “anti-war left wing” of the Democratic Party. But, as Media Matters for America has noted, polling demonstrates that a substantial number of Americans -- not just the “left wing” of the Democratic Party -- favor congressional action to block the increase.

Two recent polls asked whether respondents approved of Congress passing a nonbinding resolution expressing opposition and whether they approved of specific actions by Congress to block the increase. Both found that specific action by Congress was supported by a percentage of respondents far too large to represent only the “left wing” of the Democratic Party.

According to PollingReport.com, a CNN/Opinion Research poll taken January 11 found that 62 percent of respondents wanted their representatives in Congress to support a resolution that “would express opposition to sending more troops to Iraq but would not take specific steps to prevent that from happening.” That number dropped one percentage point, to 61 percent of respondents, when those surveyed were asked if their member of Congress ought to support a resolution that “would take specific steps designed to prevent the U.S. from sending more troops to Iraq.”

A USA Today/Gallup poll conducted January 12-14 found that 61 percent of respondents favored passage of “a resolution to express their opposition to President Bush's plan to send more U.S. troops to Iraq” even though it “would not affect Bush's policy.” Forty-seven percent said they would support “Democrats in Congress taking active steps to block the deployment of more U.S. troops to Iraq, such as denying the funding needed to send the additional troops.”

From the 4 p.m. ET hour of the January 18 edition of CNN's The Situation Room:

BASH: With prodding by Bush officials, GOP leaders who still back the president may propose resolutions of support. They're hoping to get help from Democrat turned Independent, [Sen.] Joe Lieberman [CT].

LIEBERMAN [video clip]: As you know, I support the president's proposals, because I believe we have so much on the line in Iraq. I think those who oppose the president's ideas have an obligation, a responsibility, to propose an alternative course that offers the hope of success.

BASH: Meanwhile, Democrats eyeing the White House continue to appeal to the powerful anti-war left wing of the party, saying symbolic resolutions are not enough.

Joining [Sens.] Hillary Clinton [D-NY] and Chris Dodd [D-CT], [Sen.] Barack Obama [D-IL] now wants Congress to stop the president by capping troop levels in Iraq.

OBAMA [video clip]: The strategy, the tactics, and the mission itself have been flawed, and that's why Congress now has the duty to prevent even more mistakes and bring this war to a responsible end.