What about censure?

• Author: Conniff, Ruth
• Position: Political Eye

Soon after Senator Russ Feingold, Democrat of Wisconsin, proposed censuring the President for his unauthorized wiretap ping program, Democrats began tripping all over themselves as they rushed to back away from the proposal. Columnists, news reporters, and bloggers documented the stampede to the exits by Feingold's colleagues. In one hilarious report, Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank described Hillary Clinton literally trying to hide behind the diminutive Barbara Mikulski to avoid answering a question about censure.

The conventional wisdom in Washington was that Feingold's resolution was bad politics. Republicans, most notably Rush Limbaugh, crowed that censure was a "gift," the kind of fringe issue that would turn off the public and bring Americans more solidly into Bush's corner. Brian Nick, spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told the San Jose Mercury News that the censure issue could only help the Republicans in the midterm elections. "The bottom line is that Republicans have worked with President Bush to enact policies that kept America safe during the war on terror," he said.

Richard Benedetto, a columnist for USA Today, concurred, writing of the censure debate that Democrats already lag behind Republicans on national security. Democratic support for censure which shows they oppose extralegal measures to combat terrorism--could widen the gap, Benedetto wrote.

But the polls tell a different story. To an April Washington Post/ABC News poll that asked, "Which political party do you trust to do a better job handling the U.S. campaign against terrorism?" 46 percent of respondents chose the Democrats, while 45 percent chose the Republicans. Bush's low poll numbers are causing Republican candidates to distance themselves from the President. Meanwhile, with or without the Democratic leadership, support for censure keeps growing. The Post/ABC poll showed 67 percent of Democrats favor censure.

There are some Democrats who are inclined to form a more aggressive opposition to Bush. Mong with Fein gold, Senators Barbara Boxer and Tom Harkin co-sponsored the censure resolution. John Kerry announced on Meet the Press on April 9 that he would support censure, if it came to a vote. John Edwards said in a recent speech that Bush "deserved censure" for his role in the Valerie Plame scandal. And more politicians might change their minds if pressure grows.

But the party leadership is not exactly championing Feingold's...