We find ourselves (dems) in an interesting predicament on the war - what are we gonna do now?

[The Straight Story]

The recent vote, on what I like to call the 'no soldier left behind' act puts so many new dimensions on the whole war that even Stephen Hawking would have problems figuring it out all out.

Here's what I am yapping my ass off about:
1. No matter the wisdom or the reason, we voted to keep fighting the Iraqi nation and funding it.
2. We voted to keep troops there (and ostensibly Afghanistan I would guess) in harms way.
3. This may have been a bush war before, but now it is a bush/dem war. We just signed on as cosigners. We gave it money and said, keep it going until later. But then we will up and pull out...sorta...maybe.
4. As negative stories about the Iraq war keep popping up, more soldiers and iraqi's die, etc there will be two parties with blood on their hands (so to speak). So I can see the American people being confused if one party bitches.

Yes - I see the democratic party's quandary here: They don't have the votes to force an end to the war now (but at least they could try, and then if failed it would show the people that they tried and the repubs were the ones keeping it going), so they vote on something which puts some structure on the war in hoping to have some power over the whole thing.

Since we started in the middle by voting for the funding and time lines we are stuck with the meme 'the dems can't blame us for the war, they are the ones who voted to keep it going so therefore they must be in favor of it as well'.

When wars go bad, people look at those in power as being responsible. bush already has seen his ratings tank since he started and mismanaged the whole thing, now when new problems surface, more are dead, etc - our side might take some slides too. Especially now if things get worse, people will tie it back to our funding/timeline/requirements.

So maybe now it is not just to be called "bush's war on iraq" but "The Americans' war on Iraq", cause from where I sit - both parties are sending money, weapons, and soldiers there to keep fighting.

The politics of compromise have won again - our soldiers and Iraqi's lose. But hey, at least it looks like we all care.

What's next, funding to feed the mice and rats at walter reed?

I'll stick by our party and fight for them, no real choice other than to vote for someone who is not a republican.

We need the numbers, now maybe we will need to start spinning the whole Iraq thing as well to look good to the American people, lest we tank like the asshole in chief.

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. I plan on intensifying my lobbying.

I will call my reps more often and remind them that we need to end this damn war, not fund it.

I will send money to my friends in DC who are lobbying.

I will not support any candidate for office who is not in favor of ending the war NOW.

[The Straight Story]

2. A smart plan, and one I think the dems could have adopted

Lobby the people harder, get out on talk shows, and get more and more people on board.

It is not too late for them to do that now with a simple:
"We passed the only thing we felt we could pass, but we don't like it - so help us to pressure the president and congress to get us the votes to end it now" and then hit the 'campaign to end the war' trail as hard as they hit the election trail and show that they are serious.

[Laughing Mirror]

8. They don't listen when you call unless you have a fistful of bucks

The whole goddam thing is so corrupt and rotten to the core the only hope at this point is utter and complete collapse. That is coming. Then we'll be able to pick up the pieces and start all over again.

[ClayZ]

3. If it smells like a.....

K and R

:kick:

[cassiepriam]

4. The repugs will always put us in a lose-lose situation.

We have to stop letting them manipulate us and do the right thing.

It is simple really, tell the truth and do the right thing.
No more games.
No more politics.
Time for statesmanship.

But the Dems have been tricked into being
the repug hand puppets once again.

[The Straight Story]

5. And I don't see where it would have really hurt us

To have them vote to stop the war, even if we lost the vote. Cast it out, see who votes how, then introduce the next bill up a notch and catch the repugs in their own web.

[cassiepriam]

6. It is never wrong to do the right thing.

[ClayZ]

7. Yay!

[n2doc]

14. I can see it strategically making sense

A vote to end the war would have put a lot of Dems in less strong districts in a bind. vote to end the war (without ending it) and see the next repuke use it against you. Vote to keep the war and have the grassroots use it against you in the primary. Pelosi is defending her flock.

It sucks. It sucks big hairy moosewang. But it is politics. And until some big name pro war dems get taken down in the primaries AND having the victor win in the general (F**ing Lieberman) the party is going to take the path of least resistance.

It is going to be a long, hard bitter fight. But no one is ever going to forget that it was Bushco who started the war and who botched it so badly that our very existence as a free nation is in jeopardy.

Keep the heat on....

[The Straight Story]

15. It may have put them in a bind - but

They need to make a stand somewhere. While it may have cost a few folks in quasi-rw districts in the end it would have also shown people there is a difference between the parties. we can back down for the sake of playing it safe - but if we do that now we will always being doing it

Some things are worth standing up against, seeing our young people die everyday and trying to stop that is one such thing.

[n2doc]

16. Oh I agree with you

One thing the Democratic Leadership doesn't seem to "get" is that taking strong stands, even if they lose, strengthens their base and will win converts. Lord knows how often the other side has played that game, with all sorts of wedge issues (anyone remember the Brady Bill?). They never seem to get the point that standing up for principles is a good thing.

I think that people really are looking for leadership. I wonder where our Bobby Kennedy, our MLK, our FDR, is going to come from. Or if the "triangulators" and propaganda media outlets have such a stranglehold that peole of honor and conviction can't be heard. God I hope not.

[The Straight Story]

17. It seems that the brightest lights only shine in our darkest hours

and right now, I see the lights going out and some folks offering up a candle instead of a floodlight.

[butterfly77]

9. Impeach...

at first I said lets wait for the investigations, but I see the Repugs haven't learned their lesson yet.

[The Straight Story]

10. I'm with you on that (nt)

[bonito]

11. Great rant

I'm not with the party on this one, voting to prolong the war is WRONG and narrows the line between the two parties.

[GeorgeGist]

12. Lest we forget ...

the whole Democratic plan is to have Bush veto the funding bill; if it passes the Senate. Then the Dems and Bush will be back where they started from. :yawn: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[The Straight Story]

13. And sice we probably knew it faced a veto, we should have went all out :) (nt)

[bvar22]

18. Absolutley.

Because of the VETO threat, the DEMS had a FREE SHOT at doing the RIGHT thing, and......they choked.

The Democratic Party now OWNS the Iraq War.
Thanks alot !