I received an email from the Edwards campaign this afternoon. (Jonathan Prince) (If you sign up on the website, anyone gets these. I'm not special).
I want to share part of it here, because I believe it's important to our movement to end the war.
The president and his allies—the whole right-wing buzz machine—are doing what they do every time someone opposes them. They attack their patriotism, call them weak, castigate them for not supporting the troops and don't let up until they get their way. That's the whole point of the political doctrine they call the "global war on terror"—it's a sledgehammer they use to crush opposition by twisting the meaning of patriotism, and it's given us the worst abuses and biggest mistakes of the Bush Administration, from Guantanamo to the war in Iraq.
The only way to beat them is to stand our ground and not give an inch. That's what John Edwards did today.
John Edwards today said this about the Democratic capitulation:
"The so-called compromise under discussion in Congress that would give the president another blank check to continue his failed war is a serious mistake. Full funding is full funding, no matter what you call it. Every member of Congress who wants to support our troops and end the war should oppose this proposal. If you're in Congress, and you believe this war is wrong, I urge you to use every power you have to stop it if it's brought up for a vote. Block the blank check.
And I urge all Americans who want this war to end to tell your representatives in Congress that you will support them if they stand up to the president. Tell them you understand that when the president vetoes a bill that funds the troop and ends the war, he is the only person in America stopping support for the troops. It is time for this war to end. As I have said repeatedly, Congress should send the president the same bill he vetoed again and again until he realizes he has no choice but to start bringing our troops home. Anything less is everything he needs to prolong the war."
http://johnedwards.com/...
And he said this in his speech today:
"The core of this presidency has been a political doctrine that George Bush calls the ‘Global War on Terror.’ He has used this doctrine like a sledgehammer to justify the worst abuses and biggest mistakes of his administration, from Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib, to the war in Iraq. The worst thing about the Global War on Terror approach is that it has backfired—our military has been strained to the breaking point and the threat from terrorism has grown."
"We need a post-Bush, post-9/11, post-Iraq American military that is mission-focused on protecting Americans from 21st century threats, not misused for discredited ideological pursuits. We need to recognize that we have far more powerful weapons available to us than just bombs, and we need to bring them to bear. We need to reengage the world with the full weight of our moral leadership."
"What we need is not more slogans but a comprehensive strategy to deal with the complex challenge of both delivering justice and being just. Not hard power. Not soft power. Smart power."
http://johnedwards.com/...
You know how Bush responds to truth. I'll let Mr. Prince tell you:
Today, he went to the heart of America's foreign policy establishment and called out the Bush crowd for their misuse of patriotism. He had the guts to say what all of us know—that the Bush Terror Doctrine has failed our troops and failed America by straining our military to the breaking point and sowing chaos around the world.
John Edwards offered a clear plan to rebuild our forces and cure the damage inflicted on our military by Bush's policies. He offered a vision of an America where moral leadership is once again the rule, and where we are stronger and more secure because of it.
So guess what happened?
The sledgehammer of the global war on terror came right out again—this time aimed squarely at John Edwards. Today, the national Republican party launched a vicious attack at John for asking Americans to speak out to support the troops and end the war.
They actually accused him of profiteering from the war because he's asked for your support and even had the nerve to ask you to pay the cost of a tee shirt. Of course, if the RNC really wants to attack someone for profiteering, they should call Dick Cheney's friends at Halliburton and ask them to return the billions of dollars they've made on a war that Dick Cheney promoted from day one.
Enough is enough. We need to reclaim patriotism from this crowd that has abused it over and over again.
So what do we do? How do each of us stand up to George Bush and his blood lust? (My words, but it is true. They now are talking about more escalation and more death).
There are many ways. Protest locally. As John Edwards says, "tell your representatives in Congress that you will support them if they stand up to the president."
Here's one more:
http://www.supportthetroopsendthewar...
Participate this weekend.
This Memorial Day weekend, we will all take responsibility for the country we love and the men and women who protect it. We will volunteer, we will pray, and we will speak out. In the days leading up to Memorial Day, we will take action to support our troops, end the war, and bring them home to the heroes' welcome they deserve. And on Memorial Day, we will honor and remember all those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.
Each of us has a responsibility to act, a duty to our troops and to each other. Support the troops. End the war.
Show George Bush that patriotism is not dead in America. That we believe in democracy and peace. That we will not give in. That we will struggle and struggle until this war is over. And that we will Support the Troops and End the War.
It is time for all of us to stand up to George Bush.