This LA Times op-ed piece is required reading for moderate liberals. It wonders if the Republican Party’s dogged denial to the overwhelming and ever mounting evidence about the global warming phenomenon is based on the influence of a few hardcore conservatives, or the engery industry’s desire to build nuclear power plans.
Well, it doesn’t look like my pal Al is going to toss his hat in the ring.
David Geffen recently gave voice to what a lot of Moderate Liberals are feeling about Hillary/Bill ticket. And just a few entries ago, I blogged my concern about Hillary, and “birth right” politics. A week ago, Clinton seemed on the threshold of running away with the nomination, even before a single caucus had been held. But then a funny happened: people started to take notice.
Obama is on the move, turning out huge numbers of people at his appearances, with a reported 10,000 people signing up on his website for tickets to each campaign events.
And Edwards’ campaign shows signs of igniting. A poll came out today that showed that John Edwards is leading among Democrats in Iowa.
The feeling at the Moderate Liberal is that, as the moderate Dems and independent voters come around, the momentum is shifting away from Clinton. With Clinton, we done been thar, and done that. America doesn’t want to a Presidential successsion of “Bush, Clinton, Bush Clinton,” especially when there are better candidates vying for the Democratic nomination.
The House voted yesterday for the first time for a deadline on the Iraq war, agreeing to pull combat troops out of Iraq by next year. This is certain to cause a fight with George Bush’s “stay the course” failed policies in Iraq.
What would happen if this bill actually became law, and the U.S. was to pull out of Iraq next year. What would the terrorists to make of this? Will they just sit back now and wait out the U.S.? Will the Iraqi’s work even hard to secure a political solution?
As the hawks scream that this is failure, capitulation, and that we must “fight ‘em thar or else fight ‘em here,” I continue to become more convinced than ever that the U.S. presence in Iraq can accomplish no more. As long as we are there, no peace can emerge.
Perhaps Iraq will break up into three parts. Perhaps not. But now that Saddam is dead, what else can our presence accomplish in a land where we are invaders and unwanted.
The Neo-con hawks will not tell you that pulling our troops out of a civil war does not necessarily mean that we walk away from Iraq. On the contrary, the terrorists should be very concerned if we walk away, because it means that we refuse to follow the current failed course of action in which the terrorists are sure to win.
It removes a major reason for the existance of Al Qaida in Iraq. Without America in Iraq, Al Qaida’s funding and never ending flow of suicide bombers will begin to dry up.
Pulling out means that America will no longer be stopping cars with children at check stops and terrifying them by sticking their guns through the windows. There will be no more stories of American troops raping Muslim women or shooting families to justify revenge murders. No more Abu Ghraib prison pictures.
America pulling back from Iraq means that the terrorists will have little reason to migrate to Iraq from elsewhere in the middle east to fight the “crusaders.” How will they be able to justify killing civilians (currently they call them conspirators for helping Americans). Leaving may even pacify sectarian violence, speed a political solution, and possibly unite the sectarians against the terrorists.
Or the country may just break up into three pieces, and even that may not be such a big deal.
Its clear that our presense in Iraq, as we begin year five of this misadventure, is fueling hatred and contempt against American. For four years, America has tried to fight the fire it started in Iraq with more fire. The result has been a flame that grows ever hotter and more dangerous.
Now is the time to try and fight this fire with some water. Leaving Iraq is the water that can quench this fire, and allow the Iraqi people to start rebuilding their country.
The only certainty that the terrorists have right now is that they are sure to win if America continues to follow George Bush’s stay-the-course plan.
Philip de Vellis, a 33-year-old strategist with Blue State Digital, a Washington company that advises Democratic candidates and liberal groups, was unmasked as the person behind an underground political spot that compared Hillary Clinton to Orwell’s “Big Brother,” (or “Big Sister” as we like to call her).
Although some criticism has now acrued to the Obama campaign, de Vellis has done the Democratic party a huge service. This spot clearly articulates what so many moderate Democrats are feeling — that we don’t want another president with such deep Washington insider connections. George W. Bush has shown that if an American dictator is going to emerge, it will be through the recycling of aministrations. I believe that a “Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton” presidental succession would not win, and would not be good for America.
Philip de Vellis is correct: “Vote Different”
Thanks, Phil (hey, man… shoot us a note. I’d like to interview you).
Recent events have been speaking for themselves. Its almost too frustrating to comment on George W. Bush’s obstinance and contempt for the hard earned freedoms of the American people. We have seen how the insultingly named “Patriot Act” has led to King George removing federal prosecutors for purely political reasons with the attorney general’s ability to appoint federal prosecutors without Senate approval. We have seen how the FBI has lied about how it is abusing the Patriot Act to spy on Americans. The abuse of power just continues with the Bush administration.
Just think — if Democrats had not (barely) wrested control of Congress in the November 2006 election, none of this would have been known. A Republican congress would have continued to fail to exercise its oversight obligation of this administration. Thank God,the system worked (barely) last November.
Meanwhile, Habeas Corpus continues to be suspended. This is a perfect moment to review Keith Olbermann’s video, in which he artfully, articulately puts forward a case against this terrible U.S. policy.
After calling family man and Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards a “faggot” earlier this month during remarks to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), some pundits are wondering whether Crazy Ann Coulter’s shelf life is expiring. In fact, Coulter expired long ago, and her stink is rotting civil public discourse. Coulter represents the worst of worst of the conservative movement. Its no wonder then, that radio/tv commentator and self-confessed former alcoholic Glenn Beck is just the latest to (finally) distance himself from Coulter.
When you’re in the political majority, with ownership of the courts, the Presidency, Senate and House, a person like Coulter is fun to have around. She’s built her reputation by saying what other conservative Republicans are thinking.
But with the 2006 election, America has passed Coulter by. She is no longer “funny” because the Republicans are no longer in the majority. Crazy Ann’s remarks are now just too revealing of the Conservative Republican psyche to the American voter to be entertaining to CPAC.
I am incredulous as I consume the media today.
Let me get this straight:
The Republican candidate Guiliani, and candidate-wanna-be Newt Gingrich both have adulterous affairs in their past. Gingrich’s affair occurred at the time he was striking a moral pact with the country with his “Contract on America.”
Meanwhile, on the Democratic side, we have the Obama scandal rocking the nation. Aparently, Barack Obama decided he needed to clear up some parking tickets in his past.
So that’s all ya got on Obama? A few hundred bucks in parking tickets that he incured as a law student? Reading the CBS News headlines today, you might think that Obama was caught sending dirty text to a male page’s cell phone, or outing a CIA operative, or… well you get the idea.
Congratulations to Senator Obama for having the foresight to clean up these “scandalous” parking tickets. Good luck to the Repulicans as they try to election-ready their adulterous hypocrites.