How Not to Mention the War

[bemildred]

How Not to Mention the War

By LUCINDA MARSHALL

Democratic Senators Nancy Pelosi and Hilary Clinton recently sent out a fundraising letter. An acquaintance of mine who received the letter tells me that it also included a questionnaire asking him which issues were on his mind. But there was something very strange about the questionnaire. It seems that in the list of issues you could check off, they forgot to include anything about Iraq. My friend was rather peeved about that because as it turns out, he is mighty concerned about Iraq.

But perhaps the omission isn't so strange after all. Indeed, as the Washington Post points out, the Democratic leadership seems to be of the opinion that the crucial issue is how best to achieve success in Iraq. Given that, it is unlikely they want folks telling them they're concerned that the 'war on terror' is going badly.

Maybe it's just me but...how exactly are they defining success? We aren't going to find any weapons of mass destruction. We've already deposed Saddam. We insisted that they hold an election, which we deemed a success, never mind the irregularities, that happens a lot here in the good ol' U.S. of A. too, no big deal.

Not only that, but the Iraqis are just inches away from putting the finishing touches on a brand spanking new Constitution. It's most notable feature is that it is likely to give much more strength to Islamic law, effectually taking away many of the rights that Iraqi women previously enjoyed. Not to worry, in a recent interview with David Gregory on Meet The Press, Reuel Marc Gerecht, the Director of the Middle East Initiative for the Project for the New American Century (PNAC) tells us Gilda Radner-style to never mind all that hoopla about women's rights before the war, "Women's social rights are not critical to the evolution of democracy." *

CounterPunch

[Mass]

1. Nancy Pelosi is a senator?

[wryter2000]

3. LOL

Great minds, Mass. :rofl:

[wryter2000]

2. Pelosi's a Senator?

When did that happen?

[Wetzelbill]

4. Nancy Pelosi isn't a Senator

CounterPunch writers are very wrong on little facts like that which makes me suspicious of what else they are wrong on. Like an article such as this, which begins with such a glaring error, is something I wouldn't read after that first line.

[jurassicpork]

5. Take a good look at the DLC

and Hillary's new honeymoon relationship with them and what they've been saying recently (that anti-war protesters are "un-American"), and it doesn't become surprising. Yes, we need to unify our party and vote more Democrats in office starting next fucking year but we have to do an end run around the Democratic Leadership Council (aka GOP Lite) like the Republicans do end runs around the Senate and the American people.

JP
http://jurassicpork.blogspot.com

[Mass]

6. Pelosi is not in the DLC anymore than she is a senator.

[jurassicpork]

7. No, but Hillary is.

And she, as you may remember, was recently put in charge of getting everyone in the DLC on the same page.

If the DLC keeps spewing shit like this, it'll tarnish Hillary even more than she already is and the Republican spin machine is just getting warmed up. Just watch: her close new association with the DLC is only going to harm her and further jeopardize our chances of grabbing the leadership back in the Senate.

JP
http://jurassicpork.blogspot.com

[bemildred]

8. Well, I got a similar email from Barbara Boxer.

Who is my senator, and whom I support, talking about petitioning
Shrub for a "success strategy" for Iraq, so it does seem to be an
agreed strategy-meme among the Democratic leadership (not to be
confused with the DLC). So while this writer does seem a bit of
a loose canon, she is not entirely off the mark.

You are quite correct about Pelosi (House Minority Leader) who does
have a spine, and is not with the DLC, but is also on board with this
strategy or whatever one wishes to call it.

[wryter2000]

10. I believe it about Hillary

I question whether Pelosi is in the same category.

[Eloriel]

9. Here's something that bothers me more

Those "questionnaires" aren't questionnaires at all, simply cheap marketing gimmicks designed to get your attention AND your money.

[Mokito]

11. DON'T MENTION THE WAR!