Fred Thompson: Iraq Wasn’t the Key Issue in 2006

Former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson says that the Democratic takeover of Congress last November had nothing to do with Iraq.

Instead, the presidential hopeful contends, out-of-control spending by Republicans and “unrestrained partisanship” were to blame. Thompson’s Leon Panetta-esque perception of the 2006 midterm elections is, to put it mildly, just plain wrong. (But why should that surprise us? He did vote for the war in 2002.)

Here are the numbers to prove it.

ABC News/Washington Post Poll. Nov. 1-4, 2006. N=1,205 adults nationwide. Fieldwork by TNS. Results below are among registered voters.
         

“Which of the following will be/was the SINGLE MOST important issue in your vote for Congress this year: the U.S. campaign against terrorism, the war in Iraq, the economy, immigration, ethics in government, health care or something else?” Items rotated
       

.
    %    
 

Iraq

 31    
 

Economy

 21    
 

Health care

 12    
 

Terrorism

 11    
 

Immigration

 9    
 

Ethics in government

 6    
 

Something else

 7    
 

Unsure

 2


Newsweek Poll conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International. Nov. 2-3, 2006. N=1,045 registered voters nationwide. MoE � 4.
         

.

  

“In deciding your vote for Congress this year, which ONE of the following issues is most important to you? . . .” Options rotated
         

.

  
    11/2-3/06 10/26-27/06
    % %
  The situation in Iraq 32 29
  The economy 19 21
  Terrorism 12 14
  Health care 11 14
  Immigration 10 11
  Abortion 5 4
  Stem cell research 3 3
 

Other/None of these (vol.)

 3 2
 

Unsure

 5 2


CBS News/New York Times Poll. Oct. 27-31, 2006. N=598 likely voters nationwide. MoE � 4 (for all likely voters).
         

.

  

“Of all the problems facing this country today, which one do you most want the new Congress to concentrate on first?” Open-ended

         

.

  
    ALL Republicans Democrats Independents
    % % % %
  War in Iraq 39 25 53 36
  Illegal immigration 9 15 3 10
  Economy and jobs 7 4 6 10
  Defense/Military 5 8 4 5
  Health care 5 2 8 5
  Terrorism (general) 5 10 1 4
  Education 2 1 2 2
  Foreign policy 2 1 2 2
  Taxes/IRS 2 2 1 1
  Environment 2 3 1 1
  Other 15 22 14 15
  Unsure 7 7 5 9


Newsweek Poll conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International. Oct. 26-27, 2006. Nationwide.
         

.

  

“In deciding your vote for Congress this year, which ONE of the following issues is most important to you? . . .” Options rotated. N=875 registered voters, MoE � 4.
         

.

  
    ALL Republicans Democrats Independents
    % % % %
  The situation in Iraq 29 14 40 30
  The economy 21 21 24 18
  Health care 14 12 14 17
  Terrorism 14 28 6 10
  Immigration 11 14 6 12
  Abortion 4 7 2 2
  Stem cell research 3 1 4 6
 

Other/None of these (vol.)

 2 1 2 3
 

Unsure

 2 2 2 2

On election night, CNN had an exit poll that showed corruption being the top issue for voters.

sked which issues were extremely important to their vote, 42 percent said corruption and ethics; 40 percent, terrorism; 39 percent, the economy; 37 percent, Iraq; 36 percent, values; and 29 percent, illegal immigration.

But even taking that exit poll at face value and giving Thompson the benefit of the doubt, his claim still does not hold water. (Notice partisanship in Washington? Yeah, me neither.)

With Thompson all but formally seeking the GOP nomination, the former senator’s got to rattle off a series of right-wing talking points based on half-truths and falsities to catch up with the likes of Rudy McRomney.

So far, he’s off to a good start.

(Hat tip: Greg Sargent, TPM Cafe)

Posted by Matt Ortega
Thursday, May 31, 2007 at 5:00 am

3 Responses to “Fred Thompson: Iraq Wasn’t the Key Issue in 2006”

You’re right, silly Thompson, how could he think the vote was for anything but the Iraq war? I mean, wow, between 32%-39% thought it was the most important issue. Clearly that’s a majority right? Right?

Well, no, actually. While yes, of those polled more said Iraq than any other single issue. However, that means 61%-68% thought it was any number of issues BUT the Iraq war. Now, THAT, my friend, is a majority.

Face facts, the ‘06 election was a mandate for change. To mix things up and tip the scales back somewhat. To say it’s a big mandate for withdrawal in Iraq is being disingenuous.

Left by Brad
June 2, 2007 at 9:26am

I didn’t say it was a big mandate for withdrawal. I challenged his assertion that “unrestrained partisanship” and out-of-control spending weighed more on voters’ minds individually than Iraq, and that certainly was not the case.

Left by Matt Ortega
June 2, 2007 at 12:16pm

[...] Fred Thompson categorically denied the Iraq War cost the Republicans in 2006, and included “out-of-control” spending among his list of [...]

Left by The Right’s Field » Rudy: GOP Lost in '06 for Spending
October 5, 2007 at 10:16pm

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