Liberals Slam War Supporters

With Congress again debating Iraq, anti-war activists are turning up the heat on an increasing number of wavering Republicans to move them from criticizing the war to ending it.

Americans Against Escalation in Iraq, an umbrella organization of anti-war groups, began a extensive robocalling project aimed at constituents of 12 senators and 52 House members, urging them to call the congressional offices of the targeted members and press them to vote for expected anti-war amendments. The calls include a prerecorded message from Iraq war veteran John Bruhns, who says, "It's time to get our troops out of this endless war."

In Minnesota, Americans United for Change yesterday launched a $100,000, weeklong television ad campaign urging Republican Sen. Norm Coleman to support amendments offered in the Senate to end the war.

Like many of the targeted Republicans, Coleman has been critical of the Iraq war effort but hasn't signed on to legislation aimed at ending U.S. involvement in it. "We are pushing them to put that talk into action and vote for binding legislation," said Moira Mack, a spokeswoman for AAEI.

The intense lobbying campaign comes as Senate Republican leaders are scrambling for a response to the latest Iraq developments, including an escalation in violence and signals from the White House that a mid-July progress report will show that Iraqi political leaders are failing to meet the benchmarks for progress sent out by President Bush, party insiders say.

"You are not going to expect all the benchmarks to be met at the beginning of something,'' said White House spokesman Tony Snow, who also tried to refute a New York Times report of internal administration debate over redeploying or withdrawing some troops.

The White House is trying to tamp down Republican defections after a recent spate of high-profile GOP shifts against the war in the Senate, where debate is beginning on the defense authorization bill. Among the shifting Republican senators are Dick Lugar of Indiana, Pete V. Domenici of New Mexico, Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and George Voinovich of Ohio.

But it's an increasingly uphill struggle as the war drags on with scant evidence of progress. And the noisy -- and unanswered -- anti-war grass-roots efforts are specifically aimed at Republicans in the hope of further isolating the White House.

Senate Republicans are confident their Democratic rivals won't be able to marshal the 60 votes needed for amendments to the defense bill that would begin withdrawing troops from the war zone. But they have yet to stake out a clear position.

Many are anxious about what Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) will say after his July Fourth recess trip to Iraq. The presidential hopeful is scheduled to deliver an address on Iraq on Friday in Concord, N.H. And if McCain and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a close McCain ally and war supporter, criticize the progress of the White House Iraq surge plan, it will make it more difficult for other Republicans to retain a hard line on the war.

One Senate insider, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said many Republicans are no longer unquestionably supporting Bush's policies for continuing the war and are looking for a "third way" on Iraq. But that doesn't automatically mean they will begin voting with Democrats.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) declined to say whether he and others would support an amendment by Alexander and Sen. Ken Salazar (D-Colo.) to implement the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group or some other, yet-to-be-detailed proposal by Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), a senior member of the Armed Services Committee.

"All of that stuff is kind of a work in progress right now," McConnell said Monday. "We're having a lot of discussions about it."

On the other hand, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) and the Democrats have promised to forca vote on a troop readiness proposal he crafted with Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.). And waiting in the wings is an amendment by Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Carl Levin (D-Mich.) to force a withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from Iraq by April 1, 2008.

Also, Senate Democrats are closely watching what their presidential candidates do on the Iraq votes. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is a co-sponsor of the Reid-Webb readiness amendment, and his staff said on Monday that he was backing the Reed-Levin amendment to set a firm April 1 withdrawal date.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) is also backing the Reid-Webb proposal but has not given any indication of whether she will back a firm exit date for Iraq. Clinton, though, is drafting a proposal with Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.) to force a new authorization vote for the U.S. military effort in Iraq, and Clinton's office said she is hopeful of a vote on her proposal.

All this maneuvering comes in the wake of the launch of the anti-war organizations' "Iraq Summer" campaign, which included dispatching 100 grass-roots organizers to 15 states and 40 congressional districts.

During the July Fourth recess, dozens of events were held and more than 3,000 anti-war signs were posted in yards and windows.

In Iowa, Sue Dinsdale, mother of an Iraq war veteran, led anti-war protesters from the Ames Veterans Memorial to a town hall meeting hosted by Rep. Tom Latham (R-Iowa). During it, Dinsdale asked Latham to "stand with your constituents to end this war," rather than with Bush. Latham demurred to commit to either side, saying he's still gathering facts.

In New Mexico, anti-war activists conducted door-to-door canvasses near the offices and homes of Domenici and Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.), talking with their constituents about the war and providing anti-war signs to those willing to display them.

And in addition to the Coleman ads this week, protesters are planning to gather outside a local Chamber of Commerce lunch that will include Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.).

In Maine on Thursday, anti-war protests are planned in Bangor and Lewiston, home to moderate Republican Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins. And Virginia war opponents are coordinating four different constituent office visits with congressional representatives, with a press conference to follow.

Sununu, whose fellow New Hampshire senator, Gregg, broke with Bush this weekend, will be the target of events this week in the Granite State. Anti-war activists plan door-to-door canvasses, a rally in Keane and the start of a campaign encouraging the wearing of green arm bands in memory of those who died in Iraq.