(Second in what is apparently to be a daily series of diaries expanding on comments I have left in diaries by Big Tent Democrat -- except this time I basically agree with him.)
I have favored a non-binding resolution on Iraq. I now stand with Sen. Russ Feingold in opposing the Warner-Levin resolution. Examining why introducing a non-binding resolution would make sense -- even if it fails -- helps to explain what's wrong with Warner-Levin. And it helps to explain what's wrong with the Senate Democrats on this issue.
The Democrats are making moves that make sense in the context of enacting legislation. But we are not now operating in the context of enacting legislation. We are operating the the context of political symbolism. And we need to recognize what game we are playing, and start playing it.
We are now in the realm of symbolic politics. We will not be able to exert any positive force on Iraq. (We can refuse to fund the war, but that is a negative strategy, and one that the President will make sure makes us look bad, as he lets the troops run out of food and bullets.) The problem isn't that we don't have 60 votes, it's that we don't have 2/3 of each house of Congress to override a veto. It is possible that we can get there eventually, but that will mean turning the political battle over Iraq policy into a rout. We have to make Republicans abandon the President out of pure fear for their individual and collective political future. There's only one way that that is going to happen.
We have to use wedge issues, just like the Republicans used against us for the past twelve years.
How do you use an issue as a wedge? It's very simple. I left this comment in BTD's diary (once again, pretty much after the party had ended):
Here's what the strategy has to be on a non-binding resolution: Pick a set of statements that
(1) you actually believe are right,
(2) the American people agree with, and
(3) the Bush Administration opposes.
Now put Republican Senators in the position where they have to choose between what the American people want and what the Bush Administration wants. That's pretty much it. Repeat as often as necessary and squeeze them hard. This is how a non-binding resolution can be useful, in creating a political foothold for further climbing.
The section opposing de-escalation fails on all three grounds noted above. It's a poison pill. Feingold is right to oppose it. If you take that out, the other things I've heard about the resolution are bearable, but I haven't read the full draft. All sections should be subject to the above analysis.
While this is "symbolic," it is not merely symbolic. This is a substantive strategy. We need to loosen up Republican support for the President and his strategies. At that point, we can begin to enact a positive agenda.
Why are the Democrats buckling like this? It's not because they are wholly owned subsidiaries of Big Business, etc. Some of it is probably because the Senate leaders feel that they have to be responsive to the most conservative members of the caucus to keep them in the fold. That's understandable, but it's not good enough here.
The main reason that Democrats are buckling is that they are treating this non-binding resolution as if it were legislation. If you're passing legislation, you want the biggest coalition you can get, and you have to accept some things you don't want (as with the stupid amendments to the minimum wage bill.) But this is not legislation -- this is political symbolism. We do not want to sacrifice quality of message for quantity of votes here. We want to make voting against our resolution as painful as possible for Republicans. Make it painful enough, and eventually they may stop doing it.
I appreciate the efforts of the Democratic leadership to be cooperative and effective legislators. Usually, that's great. But this is not the usual type of bill the Senate considers. We don't need you to be legislators here. We don't need statesmen.
Right now, for this bill, we need you to be politicians. We need you to put Republicans' heads in the vise and squeeze them until their eyes pop out. We need to make it clear to the American people that they are the problem, and clear to them that the American people will hold them responsible for the prolongation and escalation of this war.
Don't be cooperative, Democrats. Unleash your inner Newt Gingriches. Pound them until they squeal. Be political. It's the only way that we can get some decent policy.