Posted on 11/04/2026 8:08:05 AM PST by Ultra Sonic 007
Tuesday’s midterm elections are shaping up to be the “biggest national wipeout for Republicans since 2006, when voters brutally punished the GOP for an ill-advised and poorly planned war in the Middle East,” The Federalist’s CEO and co-founder Sean Davis said in a post on X.
In 2006, 56 percent of voters disapproved of the Iraq War, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of a national exit poll. The majority of those voters backed Democrat candidates, 80 percent to 18 percent.
Twenty years later, Pew released a survey in October that found 65 percent of Americans disapproved of how President Donald Trump was handling U.S. military action in Iran, while just 33 percent approved. According to the Associated Press, roughly one-third of voters said the Iran War was a crucial factor in their vote for Congress this election cycle.
But this wasn’t the outcome that the war’s advocates have pushed.
“There is no U.S. downside to striking the Iranian regime,” Marc Thiessen wrote in The Washington Post in January.
“There is no downside to striking the regime. Trump has already done so twice, and each time, Iran was unable or unwilling to retaliate. Indeed, the Soleimani strike came at a time when Iran was much stronger than it is today. Since then, Iran has suffered repeated blows that have left it weaker than at any time since the 1979 revolution,” Thiessen wrote. Thiessen went so far as to say “Iran is strategically naked” and “unable to effectively defend itself against a U.S. strike or respond decisively either directly or by proxy. This gives Trump a historic opportunity to deal the regime a mortal blow.”
The New York Times’ Bret Stephens wrote an entire piece making “the case for striking Iran” in February. Stephens noted that Trump was not giving an explanation for possibly striking, but that “it doesn’t mean there isn’t a compelling case for action.”
“Despite the risk that military strikes entail, the bigger risk, in the judgment of history, would be to fail to take it,” Stephens wrote.
Heritage Foundation Senior Counselor James Carafano said in response to a March press briefing that, “The reality is the U.S. has already won this war, period. Mic drop. End of statement.”
But now, the war we were repeatedly promised would end quickly is still dragging on, and Americans are clearly unhappy with Trump’s handling of the conflict.
A poll released last month found only 35 percent of Americans were confident in Trump’s foreign-policy decision-making, down from 53 percent in November of 2024. Confidence in Trump’s economic decision-making also went from 59 percent to 35 percent over the same period. Meanwhile, by Election Day 2006, a margin of 59 to 35 percent of voters said the Iraq War had not made America safer.
The political consequences of the Iran War also mirror those of the Iraq War. In 2006, 36 percent of voters claimed they voted to oppose President George W. Bush. Meanwhile, in a Pew survey released in October of this year, 44 percent of registered voters saw their congressional vote as a vote against Trump.
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A lot less white people in America didn’t help republicans either (no talking head will mention this fact).
no, it’s demographics - they have finally caught up, country is flooded with foreigners that will always vote left
It looks like we’re back to the 0’Biden and Obozo era again.
All them other losers likely had plenty of fault also, no?
2006 also means we’ve been here before. Luckily Iran can be overcome by simply withdrawing and letting Iran take its fees for the straight.
We have no soldiers on the ground for it. 2 years later it wont be an issue going into the 2028 so much as the credibility about wars is shot. Marco could win by saying Iran is “over with,” depending on the outcome. He still has a good reputation on foreign polocy.
Republicans really need to have domestic wins. Prices have to start going down a lot. Democrats also may (likely) not be able to control themselves attacking endlessly Republicans and not changing their perception as the islamo socialist transexual party.
We may get to the point where 2% of the American population supports the retarded warmongering sh!t that has become part and parcel of the GOP platform in my lifetime. But they will all think it’s a political winner because every one of those clowns will have an FR screen name.
One major difference with Obama and 2006 is Iran situation is jot Iraq. It looks similar now but we have no troops on the ground or territory occupied. We can just leave. So people can take 2 years to forget about Iran.
Oh…so we should have paid Iran another 150 Billion to Iran to build nuclear weapons? Flunk You! Americans clearly want Sodomites, Islamists, and Communists leading the country. They said so last night.
Trump campaigned on ending the Ukraine/Russia war. A war that didn’t have much impact on American’s pocketbooks. Starting another that did was a fatal error.
The only one with any credibility left in this administration is Vance — because he’s the one guy who knew this was a disaster from Day 1.
This Iran War is far different that Iraq in 2006, we don’t have ground troops getting killed every day and reported on CNN.
We have higher gas prices, not as high under Biden, but still high. I would take higher gas prices for a year if it means getting rid of the mullahs in Iran whose ideology is a bigger threat to the US and the World than expensive gas.
Vance is not currently good candidate because hes been memed into irrelevance as a bum. Its annoying and not fair but he has a severe image issue. I welcome a primary to see him change that.
“Citywide, the Chicago Police Department reports 229 total homicides [for 2026] as of early July 2026”
Bing
“The Pentagon has revised the number of U.S. troops who have died during operations related to the war against Iran to 23.”
Source - Stars and Stripes:
Great, now do the number of times the President’s Party lost control of both chambers of congress along with the reasons which are pretty vivid.
Yeah I tend to agree
Republicans would have lost regardless of Iran since most elected republicans were completely useless
The gas prices just added fuel to fires and made the loses even bigger
The offspring of 3rd world invaders are soon to be a majority in America and they have a completely different culture than America and really can’t be sold on conservative ideals
Well Brianna needs to get on the phone and tell Iran to cut it out.
Meanwhile, people’s votes won’t do anything about Iran - it could potentially only make the situation even worse by emboldening them - but their votes will result in the push for socialism/communism, destruction of the culture, stifling energy policy which is the only bargaining chip Iran even has, etc.
I don’t fully understand this narrative about the Iran war
In 2006, there were daily videos (oh, the Dems loved it!) of US soldiers in combat, getting wounded, return ceremonies of casualties, testimonials from parents and relatives, etc... People knew soldiers who went to Iraq, and the war, while not affecting American’s daily lives, it was indeed in front of their faces daily.
The war against Iran has been the opposite. In terms of PR for average Americans, it has been very antiseptic. It’s an air war. Involves no direct combat. very few casualties. Yes, gas prices are higher, but they were even higher at other points.
And Americans want taxpayer money stolen by USAID, and bags full of 100 dollar bills being shipped out of the country by Somali thieves, and Biden got 81 million votes, and the list goes on...
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