From DailyKos comes this weak timid rationale for Democrats to protest the war without ever admitting the invasion of Iraq was based on lies, is morally and ethically indefensible, and in violation of international law. Protest Lite.
What is the primary reason DailyKos calls for Dems to now ‘protest’ the war? To win in the mid-term elections. I’m sure Iraqis living in bombed-out homes with no water or electricity will deeply appreciate such support.
Democrats have been loathe to talk about Iraq, as their palpable fear get in the way of leadership on this increasingly important issue.
So here are two ways to talk about the war that don’t betray weakness:
How is opposing the war showing weakness?
Promoting a withdrawal
We have a lot to be proud of over the past three years. We have freed the Iraqi people from a brutal dictator and given them their first taste of freedom. Iraq held successful presidential elections earlier this year, and the nation is now run by a democratic-elected government.
Hogtwaddle. Iraq is controlled by the US with a puppet government. A real government would have the ability to tell the US to leave. They specifically do not have that right due to the “Constitution” the US rammed down their throats.
We have accomplished what we set out to do — bring freedom to Iraq and rid the region of the specter of Saddam’s terror.
As if bringing freedom to Iraq was ever the primary reason for invading a sovereign country based on deliberate lies. The US supports plenty of corrupt brutal regimes, like Burma, so spare me the bullshit about the invasion of Iraq being done for humanitarian reasons. When Democrats sound like Republicans, most people will simply vote for the Republican.
But now it is time to let the Iraqis take charge of their own lives. The future belongs to a free democratic Iraq, but it is a future they must fight for themselves.
Too late for that. Due to the imperialistic blundering of the US, Iraq will be destabilized for years and will probably eventually be governed by those deeply unfriendly to the U.S. Why should they trust the U.S.? An ethical principled protest against the war would say that rather than this slimy let’s oppose the war so Dems can get elected. Yo, the Dems in the Senate recently voted in lockstep with the Republicans 99-0 to continue funding the war AND for the odious Real ID Act. So why will voting for Democrats help end the war?
Afraid to call for withdrawal? Hammer on “accountability”.
We are facing a crisis in Iraq, and yet no one is being held accountable. Our troops don’t have enough men, equipment, or armor to effectively and safely do their job, yet those responsible for these deadly miscalculations remain at their jobs.
We must have accountability in order to win this war. Those responsible for so many catastrophic mistakes must replaced by more competent, more effective, people.
So these “more effective” people can do what, run the war better? Bomb more homes into rubble? Withdraw? Politely ask Bush to stop being a butthead? What IS this babble about accountability? It makes no sense and will convince no one. It also is de facto support for the war and offers no rationale for leaving. Ya, this approach will really get people fired up to vote for you.
The war will be the issue in 2006. I’ve already talked to several Democratic candidates who think they can get elected talking about social security and health care. Rubbish. That’s what Democrats thought in 2002 and 2004, and the war intruded both cycles. Given the way things are going over there, 2006 promises to be no different.
The American public has turned heavily against the war, despite the absence of an anti-war movement, despite the 24/7 cheerleading of the war in the cable news networks, and despite the lack of coherent Democratic opposition to the war. Democrats must ride that wave into 2006, and can do so in ways where they don’t sound like hippy retreads.
Hippies helped end the Vietnam War. That’s because they genuinely opposed the war and then did something about it.
I guess the author must be asleep, because the antiwar movement is alive and well today, and organizing for nationwide Sept. 24 protests. This DailyKos post is a precise example of the “lack of coherent Democratic opposition to the war” that it laments.
What is NOT an option is remaining silent on the war, as so many Democrats would obviously prefer.
Mouthing lame antiwar sentiments as proposed here in hopes of getting Democrats elected rather than genuinely opposing the war is a recipe for more Democratic defeats. Polls show that the populace opposes the war now. Yet the Dems in Congress continue to vote for the war. Replacing a few Republicans with Democrats who will vote the same way accomplishes nothing and will not end the war.
Were the Democratic establishment to genuinely and unreservedly oppose the war, then they could win and win big. But for this to happen, they would need to actually mean what they say.