Again, the Democratic party finds itself at war with itself. Our schizophenic posture to always portary to America a toughness towards America's enemies while striving for peace, pits elements of our party against one another.
The Democratic Party and the country as a whole are against the war in Iraq. Extracting ourselves from this quagmire is the central debate in Congress right now, and as long time progressive Democratic party leaders are finding out, the left wing of their own party can be relentless at times in their challenges to the process of government and it's lumbering methods to effect change.
Are we for peace in Iraq or just plain pacifists?
I believe that all Democrats want an end to this war. This reflects the mood of the country besides being the right thing to do.
But what are the personal reasons for our opposition? Those reasons run the gamut. Right or wrong, many Americans and some Democrats believe the war needs a military end. This would be the Lieberman and some Blue Dog Democrat's position. Defeat the enemy. Pacify and stabilize the country. Leave an effective government in place. Most of us may not see this as possible, but we can at least understand this argument. Sure, stamping our feet and saying it shouldn't be this way if we hadn't invaded in the first place is a natural thing to say, but that's also hindsight. What do we do now that we broke it? Many people believe we need to fix it.
I believe this is a minority viewpoint, both within our party and in America. I also believe the bulk of Democratic thought concerning Iraq deals with the results of our actions to date and how harmful to our country and to the world the continuation of such action will have.
The Iraqi war has been executed with such incompetence that we've squandered American, Allies, and Iraqi lives, global good will towards America, and at least one trillion dollars of combined Allied treasure and lost Iraqi economic activity from this ill conceived and poorly executed war. Our military is weakened. Our efforts in the true battle against global terrorism are compromised. We've given the terrorists of the world massive recruitment opportunities. This must end.
The American people, lead by most of the Democratic Party, now believe it is time to end this folly. End it we shall. While the President and his party are seeking to continue and in fact try to ramp up the war, our party is dedicated to bringing this war to an end and bringing our troops home.
So where's the infighting within the Democratic Party coming from? Why would people who repressed tremendous amounts of ideological differences to present a united front in the 2006 elections, now find themselves at war with each other? Candidates that received endorsements, funds, and volunteers from this very website, candidates in Kentucky, South Dakota, Indiana, and Pennsylvania now join forces with Blue Dogs in Congress and find themselves on the receiving end of massive criticism from people on this website just 60 days since they took office.
The debate about ending this war is how and when. Reasonable people can have differing opinions, but it's necessary that we focus on the final objective, ending the war. Congressman Obey wants this war to end. So does Kucinich and Harman. These people just differ on how and when. The American people feel likewise and are just as conflicted about the method to end this thing.
That leaves the vocal and active pacifist element within the Democratic Party. These folks are passionate in their beliefs and put their time, money, bodies, and efforts towards ending armed conflict in Iraq and all armed conflict. Not only are they in opposition to Iraq, but are opposed to a standing military period. Some of these folks believe Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq, Iran, Korea, and the like are only made worse with military intervention. They hold a belief in diplomacy, peaceful interaction, and disarmament as being the answers to these war infested hot spots around the world. There are gradients to this line of thought. Some oppose the Iraq war yet support the Afghan struggle. Others are turning more and more away from military intervention of any kind. The hard core pacifist elements will accept no compromise. End the war now, leave the Iraq and all other areas of conflict, bring the troops home, and beat our swords into plowshares.
We know that these are life and death issues. Brave Americans and innocent Iraqis are dying every day. As congress debates the process to end this, we as a party must remain united. That means the Lieberman’s and the Pacifists must not control this debate. We as a party must speak for the majority of the American people and find the most expedient method to extract our country from this Bush nightmare. We cannot be consumed in attacking our friends and allies in Congress that are wrestling with their consciences to best represent the people of their districts and act as a voice for these constiuents. We will end this war and hopefully before Bush leaves office.
Once Bush is gone, our party can re-position America to rightfully claim its leadership in the furtherance of human rights, global climate improvement with continued global economic interaction. America can turn its back on the dark days of Bush and his war and reclaim its role as the beacon in this world for peace and prosperity. That's America's birthright and the birthright of the Democratic Party.