The WaPo has
a front page article discussing Republican "cohesion" on Iraq framing it as an unwillingness by Republican pols to face an unwavering, war supporting constituency.
This raises an interesting question to me. Have Karl Rove's divisive "base politics" come back to bite them on the ass?
A majority of Republicans still support this president and this war, and the hardcore base, the more likely primary voters, support it even more strongly.
In the 2004 and 2006 election, the Republican machine spent great effort trying to turn Iraq into a Republican "litmus" issue either you're for the war, like our candidates, or against America, but, as we saw in 2006, if the independents don't support that position, that leaves the Republicans as a "base only party."
If Iraq is the top issue in 2008, Republican candidates will have to somehow placate those who support the war and the president to win their primaries. What does that mean for them when they face general elections?
(This presumes that the Democrats don't do anything or say anything that gets them out of the mainstream on Iraq.)