GOP getting worried over McCain's 100-year war in Iraq

Talking Points Memo has this rather interesting little story about how the chairman for the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is getting a little worried over McCain's comments on keeping American troops in Iraq for 100 years. So worried, in fact, that the NRCC has issued a little press release on the subject. From Talking Points Memo:

Republicans can see how John McCain's 100 years comments (remember, he said it repeatedly) can be made into an albatross around his neck. So they're going for the full court press. Here's a press release just out from the head of the NRCC, the Republican House campaign committee (one among many over the last couple days) ...

Chairman Cole Comments on Issuance of False Democratic Talking Points

Despite Being Widely Discredited, Democrats Level False “100 Years” Accusation at Senator John McCain in Desperate Election Year Ploy

Washington– Today, Chairman Tom Cole made the following statement in regards to the dissemination of talking points issued by the House Democratic Caucus in advance of Gen. Petraeus’ report before Congress, which included a statement falsely accusing Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) of “promising” 100 years of war in Iraq:

“With a long and protracted primary battle brewing in the presidential contest, Democrats are justifiably worried that a John McCain candidacy could hurt their chances from the top of the ticket on down. Unfortunately for the American people, when the facts don’t meet the political goals of some Democratic leaders in the House, they resort to desperate tactics such as undermining the testimony of a widely regarded military General or distorting the words of the Republican presidential nominee. Intentionally disseminating falsehoods as ‘talking points’ in order to stem the perceived political fallout of positive news coming out of Iraq, just goes show how worried Democrats are about the upcoming elections.”

[....]

Here's why Republicans are scared to death of this. No one wants to be in Iraq 100 years from now, even if McCain stipulates to the fantasy that Iraqis will be happy having us occupy their country forever and that the place will become like Finland. And none of our soldiers will ever get killed there and it won't cost any money. If that's the explanation for why we shouldn't be concerned that he's happy to stay in Iraq for a century, that just tells people that McCain is living in a fantasy world.

If there every is a more brilliant means to attack Senator John McCain on Iraq, it hanging this 100-year albatross around McCain's neck. And the Republican Party is finally realizing just how devastating this 100-year McCain remark can be. As Carpetbagger's Steven Benen had noted:

There’s no great mystery here. McCain’s (repeated) willingness to maintain a century-long presence in Iraq has become the single biggest mess for his campaign that Republicans can’t explain away. It doesn’t need to be distorted; it’s damaging enough on its own.

What the Republican Party is now trying to do is to create an intensive marketing campaign in order to eliminate this linking of "McCain," "Iraq," and "100 years" from a single sentence, and completely out of the political discourse of this presidential campaign. Even more ironic, the Republican Party is claiming that this tying of McCain to the "100-years in Iraq statement" is really showing how "justifiably worried that a John McCain candidacy could hurt their chances from the top of the ticket on down," and are resorting to "to desperate tactics" by "distorting the words of the Republican presidential nominee. It appears to me that with this memo, it is the Republican Party that is worried over the Democrats attacking McCain for his 100-year in Iraq statement, and are trying to turn this into a Democratic weakness in order to force the Democrats to abandon this type of attack against McCain.

The problem for the Republican Party here is that John McCain's comments on Iraq are a disaster. From YouTube:




If the Democrats are smart, they need to consistently attack John McCain to his 100-year statement, and probably even go as far as calling McCain a "war monger." Here is what The New Yorker columnist Hendrik Hertzberg said after John McCain made his 100-year statement of American troops staying in Iraq:

McCain's wants to stay in Iraq until no more Americans are getting killed, no matter how long it takes and how many Americans get killed achieving that goal—that is, the goal of not getting any more Americans killed. And once that goal is achieved, we'll stay.

He'll see your fifty years and raise you fifty. But the cards are blank.