Whether many anti-war people are willing to admit this or not, one thing is certain: many are now having buyers' regret for that ad that MoveOn.org ran in The New York Times. The ad ending up pushing moderate Republicans against ending the war.
In order to reach out to moderate Republicans, anti-war groups are going to have to refrain from employing tactics including but not limited to personal ad hominim attacks and questioning another person's loyalty. Sadly, MoveOn.org did resort to such attacks in effect giving pro-war Republicans all the talking points they needed to make the Democrats look bad.
The credit should not go to Republicans. The credit should go to MoveOn.org.
The loss suffered by Senate Democrats this week can be blamed on MoveOn.org, as well as many in the progressive movement who support such hysterical and emotional attacks against opponents. As a consequence, the Repubicans scored a notch up over the Democrats.
If we're going to wage a successful campaign ending this war, the Democrats should not abandon initial plans to temper their opposition to the war. Going full attack with bills they know will not win 60 votes in the Senate is no different than going on a suicide mission knowing that this could blow up in your face and make your entire party look bad.
It's time to be realistic. As long as George W. Bush is in the White House, accept that he's calling the shots and that Senate Democrats can only do so much. Take more moderate steps in ending this war. Push to end this war only if a Democrat is elected to the White House.
Going the route that MoveOn.org, Dennis Kucinich, Mike Gravel and the entire Progressive Caucus in the House isn't going to accomplish any goals, other than to help the Republicans.