Lawmakers get little reaction to Obama war plan

WASHINGTON (AP) — The switchboards and e-mail inboxes of members of Congress are not seeing much of a surge from President Barack Obama’s plan to send more U.S. troops into Afghanistan.

Health care and Wall Street bailouts? Those issues light up the phones and get the digital juices flowing.

But lawmakers from across the political spectrum say their constituents seem to be too war-weary or preoccupied with matters at home to be making their voices heard in large numbers on Obama’s troop increase.

The tepid response is a marked difference from three years ago, when President George W. Bush’s decision to send more troops into a bogged-down Iraq war roiled the Capitol for months and prompted widespread protests.

“I think people are distracted, rightfully so, with economic issues,” said Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus and the only lawmaker to vote against the original Afghanistan war authorization in 2001. “It’s a very desperate situation. People are losing their health care and their jobs.”

Obama announced that he will send 30,000 additional troops into the war, now in its ninth year, and set a time line for starting troop withdrawals in July 2011. The increase will put U.S. troop strength at about 100,000 — nearly three times more than when Obama took office.

The public’s muted reaction is being mirrored by Congress. There’s an air of resignation among lawmakers and little talk of trying to block or make significant changes to Obama’s plan. Even liberals who disagree with the president have measured their criticisms, and conservatives who support a troop buildup were left with little choice but to go along.

Rep. John Simkus, R-Ill., a West Point graduate, surveyed his constituents in his weekly newsletter. He heard back from 117, of whom 85 said they supported Obama’s decision.

Lawmakers said the calls they’re getting have been mixed, with the most vocal commentary coming from critics of Obama’s plan.

Republican Rep. Doug Lam- born, who represents a large military constituency around Colorado Springs, Colo., reported getting about a dozen calls immediately after the president’s speech. The most consistent message was, “Don’t get us involved in another Vietnam,” said Lamborn spokeswoman Catherine Mortensen.

Just three people called the office of Rep. Phil Hare, D-Ill. Two were against the troop increase and one for it. The office received eight e-mails calling for troops to come home. Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., got 61 calls and e-mails, his office said, about a quarter of the volume it received on health-care reform over the same time.

Lee and another leading war critic, Rep. James McGovern, D-Mass., said they weren’t interpreting the lack of an outcry as a sign of support. Lee pointed to polls such as one by the Pew Research Center that found just 32 percent of respondents favored sending more troops into Afghanistan, while 40 percent wanted fewer.