Because we've had our bloodbath on the DennyK/Ho Ho feud, but I apparently haven't had enough...
This is from A Tiny Ripple of Hope (Terry, if you're a Kossack, well done good sir!):
(after the jump...patience, patience)
Open Letter to Rep Dennis Kucinich
May 5, 2005
Dear Mr. Kucinich,
I'm responding to your Open Letter to Howard Deanthat was posted on the Internet on May 4, 2005. This letter along with links to the original version of your letter and to the revised one will be in this letter. I think it's time someone chastises you out for your hypocrisy, and as a member of my town's Democratic committee, I feel obligated to do so and that is why I'm posting my Open Letter to you on the Internet.
I'm not a constituent of yours, but thanks to being inspired by Howard Dean, I'm now the secretary of my town's Democratic Committee.
While I'm not interested in running for elected office, I'm interested in rebuilding the Democratic Party from the grassroots up. Howard Dean gave me hope that there are Democratic leaders, who saw the Democratic Party in a state of atrophy and are willing to work with Democrats, both rank-and-file and local Democratic leaders, like my committee members, to resuscitate the Party from the grassroots up. That's why I asked my Democratic Committee to publicly endorse Howard Dean for DNC Chair, and my Committee responded by unanimously endorsing him.
I have read both your original and revised open letters to Howard Dean. It was very sloppy of you and your staff for publishing the original letter on the Internet with the major error -- the home state of Paul Wellstone, the only senator to vote against the war. We both know that 23 senators voted against the Iraq War Resolution. I also found it interesting that the Left-wing Media web sites, which posted both your letters, posted the revised one without noting that they were doing so, but fortunately, I saved a copy of the original letter and am posting a link to my copy of it at the end of this open letter. I will gladly show it to everyone, who uses your revised edition to attack Howard Dean, to prove that you are far from the perfect progressive your portray yourself as.
In both your Open Letters, you make the same mistake that you made about Howard Dean during the primary campaign. You assumed that Dean was totally anti-war and that is why anti-war progressives swarmed to his campaign.
You quoted Howard Dean, "Now that we're there [in Iraq], we're there and we can't get out.... I hope the President is incredibly successful with his policy now." And then you rhetorically asked, "Did these words really come from the same man who claimed to represent the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party, and who had recently campaigned on the antiwar theme? What's changed?"
If you had paid attention to what Howard Dean had said during the primary campaign, you would know that nothing has changed in regards to Dean's position on the 2003 Iraq war and its aftermath.
And some more...
Contrary to the distortions you spread in your Open Letter, Mr. Kucinich, Howard Dean's position on Iraq is consistent with what he said during the primary -- that we can't just pull out and abandon Iraq to chaos. The basis of Howard Dean's position is Afghanistan post-Soviet withdrawal, not Dean becoming "Republican-lite." Remember, Presidents Reagan and Bush I abandoned Afghanistan after the Soviets pulled out, and Afghanistan turned into a "failed" state, which played host to Al Qaeda, who attacked us on 9-11-2001. Howard Dean's position makes valid points and must be considered when we decide to withdraw from Iraq. Iraq is much closer to Europe and Saudi Arabia, our major source of foreign oil, than Afghanistan is, so if Iraq followed the same path as Afghanistan, it won't just be the US who has a serious security issue to deal with.
After reading your letters, I drew the conclusion that you are just trying to pump up your ego to run for President again in 2008, and you're trying to paint yourself as the only "pure" anti-war hero in Congress. What I detect in your letter, Mr. Kucinich, is jealously towards Howard Dean's pre-primary success and the continuation of his popular support from many Democrats and progressives who opposed the 2003 Iraq war.
Another major flaw in your argument against Howard Dean is that you assume that the anti-2003-Iraq-War protester = longtime anti-war advocate. You are completely wrong about who makes up the anti-war and progressive groups today. While there are still elements of anti-war elements from the Far Left, the ones whom you court, many of us prefer to evaluate each situation as it arises on whether or not military action is the best or worse way to respond to the crisis. While we are reluctant to support war, we know that we live in a dangerous world and that military power is still needed to defend this nation and to help protect our allies. It just happened that with George W Bush's 2003 Iraq War, the Far Left and many moderates joined forces to oppose that war and the precedent it would set, but that doesn't mean that moderates have become members of the Far Left Wing.
You also need to consider that some Far Left anti-war advocates continue to support Howard Dean, even if they disagree with him on some of his positions. One anti-war/pacifist advocate, who is a Dean supporter to this day told me that she still supports Howard Dean because "Howard Dean is always who he says he is and Howard Dean knows how to look at a problem and fix it."
Just because us, moderates, and the Far Left joined forces to protest the 2003 Iraq War, does not mean that we are united on our opinion of "what to do now in Iraq." I believe that the United States is in a Catch-22 position, thanks to President Bush. There is no easy way out, however, I do believe that we need to send a message to our troops that torture is morally wrong, and they should stop it immediately, even if it means disobeying orders from a superior. We also need to rein in our corporations, who are squandering ours and Iraqi resources, get Iraqis employed with meaningful work, and stop trying to convert Iraq into an American colony.
There's much, much more, but you ain't gettin' it here. For the rest, I want you to go patronize the Tiny Ripple and give him some love!