First of, go look at this poll: 58% of Americans want our troops out of Iraq by 2008. 52% want Congress to cut off spending for any new deployments (i.e., “surges”).
Then look at this story: Cheney attacks Democrats as weak on the war, and as appeasing terrorists.
In a speech to the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee, Cheney said even discussion of a withdrawal tells “the enemy to watch the clock and wait us out.”
And an actual pullout would send an even worse message, he said.
“If terrorists conclude attacks will change the behavior of a nation, they will attack the nation again and again,” he said. “The only option for our security and survival is to go on the offensive … until our enemy is destroyed.”
Then go read BooMan from last night regarding the Democrats caving in to Bush by removing language from the supplemental bill on Iraq that would (a) defund the war if Bush refuses to remove troops from Iraq by the Fall, 2008; and (b) require Bush to get Congress’ approval before attacking Iran.
Thus, my title.
(cont.)
The majority of Americans want us out of Iraq. It’s why the Democrats won both houses of Congress in last year’s midterm elections. No one except a bunch of diehard neoconservatives and the bloogers at conservative hate sites like Free Republic.com and little green footballs want to attack Iran. Yet, here we sit, nearing the ides of March, 2007, no closer to reining in the Bush administration regarding its continuing pursuit the most disastrous and immoral foreign policy in our nation’s history.
I’m not here to chide the Democratic leadership. I suspect they are doing all that they can do. But sadly, not enough Democrats understand that they won’t be blamed for losing Iraq if they seek to bring the troops home, and stop the bleeding, literally and figuratively, of our troops and our resources.
So what do we do about it? Again, I point you to BooMan’s front page post yesterday, A Party Within a Party for the answer. Progressives need to recapture the Democratic party from within, much as the Conservative movement captured the Republican party in the 89’s and 90’s. On the national level, that means Congressional Democrats who refuse to vote in favor of the progressive agenda need to be punished with primary challenges until they are either replaced or adopt progressive goals as their own, as evidenced by their voting record in Congress.
On the state level, it means that we must actively participate in local Democratic politics and push for “movement progressives” to run for all levels of elective office, from sheriffs to local school boards, from city council members to mayors, and from State legislators to governors. This is the only approach that will see real change in the political landscape.
The people in charge of the Republican party are either insane or ideologues or both. The people in charge of the Democratic party right now, unfortunately, are Republican enablers. They’ve gotten used to the bullying. They’ve come to depend on DLC trained consultants to tell them how to vote and how to run their campaigns by running to the mythical center. Hillary Clinton is a classic example of such a politician, beholden to a political strategy that only her husband has ever been able to make work. I fear Barack Obama is becoming another example of this failed approach.
The only way forward for liberals/progressives is a revolution — from the inside. We must purge the Democratic ranks of as many of the old style triangulators, centrists and poll driven politicians as we can over the next several election cycles. Once they have been removed from power and replaced with true progressives whose victories are a direct result of our support and our efforts, we can truly begin to change the face of American politics, shifting the “center” leftward. Until then we will continue to see many Democrats talk tough to appease their most progressive followers, and then turning around and voting in favor of the “establishment approved” (read DLC) agenda when they think we aren’t paying attention.
Time to start letting them know we are watching them, and that we will exact a price for their betrayal of our values.
did you mean: “wither the democrats” … ? that is, if you’re attempting a pun.
because that’s what seems to be happening to them. like grapes in the sun, but leaving behind nothing tasty.
However you want to take it is fine by me. It seems the Democrats are at a crossroads — continue down the same old path of being Republican Lite, or switch back to a platform of ideas and goals that FDR could recognize.
Funny you mention FDR, I was just reading this morning about everything he tried (it didn’t always work, but when he failed he would just try something else instead) to turn the country around from the Depression.
Democrats abandon war authority on Iran.
At the very least could maybe they stop the next one. The decision is with the war without end administration…..again.
Correction: The Dems weren’t “caving into Bush” when they removed the Iran language – they were caving into AIPAC, just as Bush caved into AIPAC by starting the Iraq war. AIPAC and Israel are at the root of the problem of the US in the Mideast.
True AIPac is a problem. It doesn’t represent all American Jews nor all Israelis.
“The only option for our security and survival is to go on the offensive … until our enemy is destroyed.”
That is just another way of saying, war interminable. The Iraq war or whatever it is has been going on longer than the second world war. And as far as anyone can tell, it has been the same old war it turned into one year after we had Mission Accomplished. Neocons have two things in common: lack of foresight and the inability to learn from experience. This statement by Cheney is clearly an example of the latter.
“But sadly, not enough Democrats understand that they won’t be blamed for losing Iraq if they seek to bring the troops home, and stop the bleeding, literally and figuratively, of our troops and our resources.”
Yes, bringing the troops home will give the GOP the front in wants in blaming the Democrats for losing Iraq. VP Cheney is heralding this in the very statement including in your post!
If we do this, notwithdstanding the fact that most Americans want it done, the Democratic Party will be the long term loser, once again becoming the party that wants to protect America’s enemies. It worked for the GOP before. It can work again.
We have to let the GOP own this debacle. We have to tie it to them with the anchor chain for a battleship. If we solve their problem for them, their media allies will absolve them and give us ownership of “defeat”. Russert, Andrea Mitchell and Tweety are chomping at the bit to fit Democrats with a T-shirt that says “Vietnam redux”.
Realpolitik, if we have the stomach for it. Back to the wilderness if we don’t.
In alll honesty, I think you are short changing the intelligence of the American public. This is the type of play it safe, never stick your neck out strategy by Democrats that has made people cynical and apathetic regarding our political process. When you have one party which stands for something (no matter how wrong headed) and another party which stands for nothing other than “we can do better” guess which party has an advantage?
i couldn’t disagree more. the public will not turn on the democrats for ending what the public wants ended. in fact, the opposite will be true: by not ending it, they will have inherited it.
after four long years of listening to republicans singlemindedly pursue this fiasco, no one will forget who owns this war — no more than they will forget who started it — no matter how much the republicans insist that the democrats believe it.
I hope you two are right and that the American public are convinced that the GOP owns this. I don’t see much to help me believe it.
When the GOP’s media allies get finished with it, we will be the ones who lost Iraq. We can see the narrative taking shape now, every Sunday morning.
Yes, I’m very cynical about this. I think I have cause, in large part because my Democrats have shown themselves to be more than a little unwilling to actually challenge the GOP in a manner that may prove effective. The Democratic Party still can’t muster any critique more stinging than “he mislead us.” A party with so little spine will not effectively fight back and make the case that this is a GOP debacle.
the poll numbers, which have been on this trend for more than two years — and presaged the results of the midterms — are reason enough to give me faith that the public will back the democrats if they choose to take a stand.
the real question is: are they enough for the democrats?
There is a common right-wing rhetorical device, Dolchstoßlegende. Those of us who grew up in the shadow of Vietnam got enough exposure to it to last several lifetimes. When I see it invoked, I usually ask the person why they feel the need to rely on the same sort of rhetoric that the Nazis used back in the day, and what that says about his/her motives.
Don’t you mean whithering Democrats?
“If terrorists conclude attacks will change the behavior of a nation, they will attack the nation again and again,” he said.
Isn’t this the same BS we all heard in 2004 after Madrid was bombed? Yep.
Pax