With my free trial subscription to National Journal, I am taking advantage of the access to their great web site. For those that don't know, National Journal is a weekly magazine that has the most knowledgeable political writers in the business. It is mostly unbiased and sent out to all the congressmen and I'm sure more than one copy goes to the Whitehouse. Oh, and it costs $30 an issue. If you're a student, you can't beat the $250/year price. I know it sounds like a lot, but there is no better way to understand what is going on inside Washington.
Why not write a diary entry about one of the great articles? OK...
Every week, National Journal asks around 100 member of congress a question for their Insiders Poll. The great thing is that they get quotes from the Congressmen to go along with the poll. Of course most of them go with strict party line answers, but it still gives a great snapshot of what our Congressmen are thinking. This week, the question was:
Q: Would you support air strikes against Iran if that was the only way to prevent that country from getting nuclear weapons?
The Results:
Republicans (38 votes)
Yes 76 percent
No 16 percent
Other responses (volunteered) 8 percent
Republicans that answered Yes:
"Wholeheartedly. We have an obligation to the world to prevent an Iran with nuclear capabilities."
"Yes, but we aren't there yet."
"Further proliferation of nuclear weapons in the Middle East would cause additional unrest, turmoil, and tension in the region. It could also encourage other countries in the region to pursue nuclear weapons, which is obviously problematic."
"I would need to be convinced that all other options had been exhausted."
"In the final analysis, if the U.S. has to go it alone, then we should do so; our security and the security of the Free World demands that the nuclear threat from Iran be eliminated."
"And if the United Nations does not unite for sanctions and condemnation of Iranian nuclear proliferation, the U.S. should withdraw from the U.N."
Republicans that answered No:
"Politically, I would advise against air strikes. The administration lacks the public support and credibility to weather the storm it would create domestically and internationally. However, if the president listened to this argument and still said such strikes were vital to American security, I would swallow hard and support his decision. The majority of Congress would not. You can't take on Iran when you haven't finished the job in Iraq."
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Q: Would you support air strikes against Iran if that was the only way to prevent that country from getting nuclear weapons?
Democrats (36 votes)
Yes 39 percent
No 47 percent
Other responses (volunteered) 14 percent
Democrats that answered Yes:
"Yes. One question is also, under what auspices? At this point, it's a virtual certainty that it would be a part of some broader international effort."
"As to not repeat the mistakes that were made with the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, I would only support military actions that are sanctioned by the U.N."
Democrats that answered No:
"It appears that the administration has so shredded the international consensus against nuclear weapons proliferation with its Iraq deception and now its India nuclear loophole, it can no longer proceed with a military strike and expect the world to support it."
"Absolutely not. And doing so would be like throwing gasoline on a prairie fire. Our Mideast policy is a horrible shambles, and further military intervention could ignite war throughout the entire Mideast."
"Iran has gained enough power to retaliate against our troops in Iraq. We should have learned by now that diplomacy and sanctions carry fewer risks to us."
"No. Certainly not yet, but maybe at a later time and if Bush were not the only international leader who believed it was necessary."
"Not at the moment. There needs to be much more verification that there is something to destroy other than our credibility."
"We must exhaust all diplomatic means to resolve this issue, and we must not repeat the same mistakes of Iraq."
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National Journal's Congressional Insiders Poll includes 111 members of Congress -- 12 Senate Republicans, 46 House Republicans, 6 Senate Democrats, 46 House Democrats, and 1 Senate independent. (The vote of the Senate's lone independent is tallied as if he were a Democrat.)
GOP Congressional Insiders Sens. Lamar Alexander, George Allen, Jim Bunning, Conrad Burns, John Cornyn, Lindsey Graham, Johnny Isakson, Mel Martinez, Lisa Murkowski, Olympia Snowe, John Sununu, John Thune; Reps. Sherwood Boehlert, John Boehner, Kevin Brady, John Campbell, Chris Cannon, Eric Cantor, Michael Castle, Tom Cole, Tom Davis, John Doolittle, David Dreier, Phil English, Jeff Flake, Mark Foley, Bob Goodlatte, Melissa Hart, Doc Hastings, J.D. Hayworth, Pete Hoekstra, Bobby Jindal, Peter King, Jack Kingston, Mark Kirk, Jim Kolbe, Ray LaHood, Dan Lungren, Kenny Marchant, Jim McCrery, Patrick McHenry, Cathy McMorris, John Mica, Marilyn Musgrave, Sue Myrick, Mike Pence, Tom Price, Deborah Pryce, Adam Putnam, Dave Reichert, Tom Reynolds, Mike Rogers of Michigan, Paul Ryan, Pete Sessions, Christopher Shays, John Sweeney, Zach Wamp, and Joe Wilson.
Democratic Congressional Insiders Sens. Christopher Dodd, James Jeffords (independent), Edward Kennedy, Frank Lautenberg, Barbara Mikulski, Mark Pryor, Ken Salazar; Reps. Tom Allen, Tammy Baldwin, Melissa Bean, Xavier Becerra, Howard Berman, Marion Berry, Rick Boucher, Sherrod Brown, Michael Capuano, Ben Cardin, James Clyburn, Jim Cooper, Joseph Crowley, Elijah Cummings, Artur Davis, Jim Davis, Diana DeGette, Rosa DeLauro, Eliot Engel, Anna Eshoo, Sam Farr, Chaka Fattah, Bob Filner, Alcee Hastings, Mike Honda, Steve Israel, Jim Langevin, John Lewis, Zoe Lofgren, Nita Lowey, Ed Markey, Jim McDermott, Jim McGovern, Jim Moran, David Price, Silvestre Reyes, Jan Schakowsky, Jose Serrano, Adam Smith, John Spratt, Pete Stark, John Tanner, Ellen Tauscher, Bennie Thompson, Chris Van Hollen, and Henry Waxman.
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Sorry this Diary is so long, but this is only one question from the Insider's Poll in the latest issue. You can see how this is a great eye into Washington.
http://nationaljournal.com