Coleman is target on eve of war votes

2007-07-08

Source: St. Paul Star Tribune

One of the first shots in the next White House battle with Congress over spending for the war in Iraq is being aimed directly at Sen. Norm Coleman.

As the Senate takes up that divisive issue this week, a national antiwar group called Americans United for Change is launching a weeklong, $100,000-plus television ad campaign in Minnesota criticizing Coleman's support of President Bush on the war.

Coleman, who is facing reelection next year, is emerging as a political target of antiwar activists amid growing signs of unease among senior Republicans on Capitol Hill about the war as U.S. casualties mount and sectarian violence rages.

On Thursday, Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M, became the fourth Senate Republican in recent weeks to call for a new military strategy in Iraq. The next day, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., joined the chorus, saying, "It should be clear to the president that there needs to be a new strategy."

Coleman declined to comment directly on the unusual ad campaign against him, which begins airing statewide today.

Coleman's chief spokesman, Tom Steward, released a statement saying that Coleman "respects and shares the frustrations of those who are concerned about the continuing violence and political stalemate in Iraq."

Coleman, he added, "has been quite vocal in expressing his concerns to the president regarding the direction of our policy in Iraq."

Similar ad buys by Americans United for Change are targeting two New England Republicans whose reelection prospects could depend on putting distance between themselves and the White House as public opinion continues to sour on the war.

"He's part of a critical group of senators, like Susan Collins [of Maine] and John Sununu [of New Hampshire], who are self-proclaimed moderates," said Donald McFarland, director of the group's Minnesota chapter. "He's at a crossroads."

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