Much to my surprise I find myself in the same Congressional District (CA 28th) as the highly read and regarded diarist Maryscott OConnor. Like Maryscott, I have also met Byron DeLear and believe like Ms. OConnor he makes a fine candidate (
CA-28: Green versus Democrat). Like her I wish Byron was running against a Repug as a Democrat candidate.
Howard Berman's support of the War is wrong on Humanitarian Grounds, on Environmental Grounds, on Moral Grounds and on National Security Grounds.
Maryscott, as you have pointed out far more eloquently than I the war in Iraq is a Genocidal Nightmare without end. It is the defining issue of our decade, right here, right now. Howard Berman (HB) got it wrong and he should have known better. How can HB be a reliable progressive voice when he supports a policy that hurts our national security, drains our National Treasure ($337 Billion) and recklessly kills - 3000, disables and permanently impairs a 100,000+ and counting of our noblest young adults? The Department of Veterans Affairs documents show that 100,000 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan have been granted disability compensation Can we afford the rising cost of their care for the next 50 to 70 years? Howard Berman is complicit in allowing this tsunami of pain and money to over whelm our budgets for years.
Howard Berman has enabled Bu$h foreign policy and Israel is a big beefy right hook of that foreign policy. The reason HB probably voted for the Bu$h Agenda is has been mostly likely has been bought by the AIPAC lobby who have helped craft Neocon Foreign Policy debacle for the last 6 years. Did you see what happened in Lebanon? Do you think for one minute Israel did not get permission from the White House for the destruction of Lebanon and of course the attendant misery in Israel. HB in some ways is responsible, for Olmert would never have gone in without Bush backing. If Bush had credible opposition in Congress like DeLear appears to represent then he might not have killed 600,000 Iraqis.
No President in History has been able to set aside civil liberties as Bu$h has done. Whether Berman has voted for any these so called Patriot Act Bills, Torture Bills and spying on us Bills, which go hand and hand with National Security and the War on Terror he has been a Bu$h enabler. Without the War on Terror as an excuse to cancel our Civil rights.
Berman pretend he is an environmentalist. He says he supports proposition 87, to end out reliance on oil, special. Does he have any idea who is the biggest consumer of fuel and the biggest polluter on the planet? That would be the US Military. Think about the tons of depleted Uranium Dust blowing around Iraq the Middle East, eventually, the World? What about all the Green House Gases released into the atmosphere from the explosives, can't be good.
This is our moment to get accountability.
Aggressive wars are themselves war crimes. To intentionally create and go along with a false basis for an aggressive war is an act of high treason. Therefore the War in Iraq is indefensible and the only way HB can really reflect the values we have here in the 28th is throw him out of office or at the very least make him respect and honor our anti-war by giving him the stiffest election challenge we can muster, knows if he screws up and continues to support the Bu$h position he will have a credible challenger who is going to come back at him and unseat him in 2 freaking short years because I won't forget and Maryscott you will not forget the horror of 2 more years of war in Iraq and maybe Iran too.
Your rational for supporting Berman is also flawed. It's like being in a Marriage and 2/3 of the time it's good, but when it comes to let's say really important thing: Sex and Fidelity it is not good. Would you stay in that marriage? HB is a congressman that pretends he is a liberal but when the important votes comes he caves like 90% of the democrats. It is intolerable to me to have another 2 years of the same old agenda. What will it take for Americans to reestablish accountability in their government? Bush has got away with lies and an illegal war of aggression, with outing CIA agents, with war crimes against Iraqi civilians, with the horrors of the Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo torture centers, and the destruction of New Orleans.
What will it take for Americans to reestablish accountability in their government? Answered fewer Howard Berman's in congress.
With DeLear (info here) I know we will have a strong oppositional voice in Congress opposing the Bu$h Co agenda. He will vote with them Dems most of the time. Mary, we must Crash the Gate and not voting Howard out is just the status quo for the worst government and the very worst President of the United States ever. To paraphrase General Wesley Clark: "And now, 3 and a half years into a failing mission in Iraq", Howard Berman "can't seem to say we should change the course. And that's a REAL mistake."
Re-elect Howard Berman? Well, there's a word for it.
"Mistake."(see the Ad here)