It is not merely a question of whether the Republican assault will backfire politically, as the Democrats hope.

He predicted that Mr. Yeltsin's decision would backfire politically by undermining the President's and the network's credibility.

But this plan backfired politically.

There are those who say that a confrontational stance will backfire politically on the Democrats.

Renewed G.O.P. attempts to woo union elites will not only backfire politically, but also very likely further alienate rank-and-file workers.

In 1995, they fueled the push to seek a balanced budget by 2002, and shut down the government to do so, a move that backfired politically.

When that backfired politically, they switched gears and allowed perhaps the fullest debate the House has seen on any issue.

Sometimes the cemetery authorities request a further payment to avoid re-use of a grave, but often this backfires politically.

On Nov. 2, exit polls will show that it backfired politically, costing President Bush many votes among affected Cuban-Americans.

The result may be that Mr. Kim's calls for renegotiation backfired politically.