A Plan To End The War - Dump The Democrats
By Joshua Frank
04/20/06 "ICH"
-- Across the country opposition to the war in
Iraq is fast setting in. The latest Bush job approval ratings
are dismal, hovering around 35%, in large part due to peoples’
wariness about the disorder and uncertainty engulfing Iraq. Two
weeks ago 24 towns in Wisconsin passed antiwar resolutions.
According to Institute for Policy Studies in Washington that
pushes the total number of cities to pass similar referendums
nationwide to 100. But as the sentiment against the war
continues to mature, the most significant question still remains
unanswered: What are all of us who want to bring our troops home
now going to do to stop the war?
Getting off our lazy haunches and protesting in the streets is
one thing, but until we are willing to voice our objections at
the ballot box, nothing in Iraq will ever change. Marching
through our Main Streets with anti-Bush placards in hand, no
matter how refreshing and energizing it may seem, still doesn’t
hold all the hawks accountable for the war they have instigated.
And I am not just talking about the Republican warmongers. On
the other side of the isle the antiwar movement is faced with
its principal challenge -- the Democratic Party.
It’s more than a challenge. In fact antiwar allegiance to the
pro-war Democrats may well be our biggest problem. Despite the
mounting opposition across the US to the war in Iraq, not one
major Democrat has endorsed an immediate unconditional
withdrawal of troops from Iraq. A few have supported Rep.
Murtha’s “strategic redeployment” plea, which would sanction air
strikes of Iraq as well as continued US military outposts
throughout the region. But not one leading Democrat wants US
troops home now. And what has the antiwar movement done to
punish them? Nothing.
The Dems’ complicity shouldn’t come as too much of a shock. The
majority of leading Democrats in the Senate voted for Bush’s war
as well as all of its boondoggle funding along the way. Sure,
they may loft a few soft criticisms at the president for his
handling of the botched crusade (it wasn't mismanaged, it was
illegitimate from the very start), but now that we are there,
they say, we have to support our troops’ mission. Whatever that
mission is (or was), I haven’t a clue. It surely wasn’t about
democracy, WMDs or bin Laden. If anything, it was just a covert
(overt if you ask me) expansion of US Empire. No Democrats will
expose, let alone oppose, this gross underlying premise of the
“war on terror”. No Democrats will resist the State sanctioned
torture or killing of innocent civilians if they aren’t punished
at the polls for supporting it.
The only way to compel the Democrats to oppose this mess they
helped make is to oppose them until they understand they are
part of the problem. Not the solution. I have no illusions the
Democrats will ever come around to our side of reality,
especially if we are only sauntering around in circles on our
allotted day of dissent and not voting against those who support
this war on Election Day.
Until this begins to happen the situation in Iraq will only get
worse.
Joshua Frank, editor of BrickBurner.org, is the author of Left
Out! How Liberals Helped Reelect George W. Bush (Common Courage
Press 2005).
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