David Sirota: Why Democrats Won’t Stop the War

[marmar]

from In These Times:



Why Democrats Won’t Stop the War
By David Sirota


The nationwide opposition to the Iraq War is based on a host of populist impulses. Some people hate it because they think lives are being sacrificed to pursue the oil industry’s agenda. Some despise it because, without a military draft, the U.S. casualties — 4,000-plus and counting — are disproportionately working-class kids. Still others abhor the war because it drains scarce resources away from pressing priorities at home. And yet, despite this groundswell of antiwar sentiment, the campaign to stop the war is adrift and dysfunctional.

On the one side are groups like United for Peace and Justice, that head what progressive activist Matt Stoller has deemed “The Protest Industry” — a clan “made up of those who decided that participation in the system was immoral” because they “have seen ‘compromise’ many times before and think they know where it leads.”

At Protest Industry rallies against the war in Iraq, you will find no effort to hone a basic message. You will see a sea of signs demanding (1) the end to a war with Iran that hasn’t happened, (2) the impeachment of President George W. Bush, (3) the arrest of Vice President Dick Cheney, (4) the elimination of the death penalty, or (5) the overthrow of the U.S. government by Maoists who reason that the “world can’t wait to drive out the Bush regime.”

These demonstrations are boisterous but ephemeral displays whose chaos and lack of message reinforce a self-defeating fringe image.

On the other side of the antiwar movement is a group of organizations and apparatchiks that have launched an operation called Americans Against Escalation in Iraq (AAEI) — a coalition of mainly Washington, D.C.-based advocacy groups, pooling cash and staff for “a major, multimillion dollar national campaign to oppose the president’s ‘surge’ proposal to escalate the war in Iraq,” as its website says.

Within the uprising against the war in Iraq, AAEI and its allies are the “professional” side of the antiwar effort. Consider them The Players. .....(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3691/why_democrats_wont_stop_the_war/

[fascisthunter]

1. Gotta Keep Feeding the Rich by Killing the Poor

Sweep all the BS out of the way and you get a class war.

[papau]

2. Obama's staff (Ms Pwers) already stated "out of Iraq in 16 months" was just campaign talk

[Benhurst]

5. I hope she was lying. Otherwise, he is.

[erpowers]

3. Get People To Vote

I contend if people want to end the war they should just get people to vote, especially in non-presidential elections. The voter turnout is so low in this country, especially in non-presidential election years. If the voter turnout was higher the people could vote out politicans who are supporting mistaken wars and replace them with people who do not support wars that do not need to be fought. I think the Democratic Party needs to try to empower more people in terms of voting. The Democratic Party needs to push more people to go to the polls on election days.

[electropop]

4. They could start by not disenfranchising FL and MI.

Just a thought.

[Disturbed]

6. It's a political game. Dems do not want to lose Iraq.

If the Dems stopped funding the US Occupation they would be blamed for losing Iraq.
So, they play the game of talking about wanting to end the US Occupation but never do so.

[erpowers]

9. You're Right

The DNC should allow the votes in Florida and Michigan to stand. In addition, the Florida and Michigan delegations should be seated at the convention.

[electropop]

10. Given that they screwed up the primaries, they would have to re-vote.

[xchrom]

7. money is what will stop the war.

we simply cannot afford it.

[Disturbed]

8. U.S Debt $9.2 Trillion

http://www.DeficitsDoMatter.org

The US Occupation tab is transferred to the National Debt.

[KG]

11. the dem party has never been an anti-war party - why would they start being one now?