I have long believed that single issue partisans were dangerous to the Democratic Party political process. I have never agreed to a litmus test to determine Party fidelity but for the foundational or cornerstone beliefs such as civil rights, for example. The Democratic Party likes to think of itself as the big tent that can find a place for the pro-life and pro-choice politicians side by side. The way these opposites seem to exist side by side is to acknowledge that choice is the law of the land, it seems to be working and no body likes abortion. Sort of a stand-off of beliefs and action exists that result in a kind of equilibrium. After all it is a single issue and there are many other issues and beliefs that bind us together rather than separate us. Can the war/occupation/quagmire we call Iraq be viewed on the same kind of single issue basis as I have described above? In a word ...
NO. Beacuse the war affects everything.
BarbinMD’s front page diary today about Senator Levin’s position on supporting the troops spurred this diary from me and something that I have been thinking about for a while. The war in Iraq touches everything that is bad about the opposition party and calls to arms nearly all the principles that we hold dear as Democrats.
Opposition to the war and any continued deployment of troops to Iraq must be the LITMUS TEST for the Democratic Party, it office holders, candidates and its ideals.
We must escape the rhetorical device that our Republican opposition has created. Supporting the troops is a plastic stick-on decal and slogan that means nothing but means everything to paint our opposition to the war into a defensive posture.
We say supporting the troops does not mean sending them to their senseless and meaningless death for the Iraqi debacle. In this month of June 2007 as of the date of this diary 68 of our troops have given their lives for the mantra of supporting the troops. How supported they must of felt as their lives slipped away. How many said in their last breath, "for what?" How many of us and you especially Senator Levin can say for what?
Why is continued support of the war in Iraq a litmus test? Because of our continued engagement in Iraq; the war threatens everything that we believe as a nation and as a republic governed by the lofty idea that we are a nation governed by the rule of law. It is because of the Iraqi war that torture is now allowed in violation of the "quaint" laws of the Geneva Convention, warrantless spying on tens of thousands of American citizens by the FBI has occurred and many other CRIMES against our Constitution. But what can be expected from a leader, our SELECTED president who said the Constitution is just a goddamned piece of paper.
Why is continued support of the war in Iraq a litmus test? Because support of the war now threatens the financial underpinnings of our nation. The cost of this war speeds along at an unbelievable pace. Spending two billion a week in "support of our troops". At $436 billion dollars today, how will this war ultimately be paid for by our country? Will we just keep going to our bankers, the Chinese and hope for the best? And when those notes become due and the lenders slow or cease lending because of our precarious financial position how will we pay it? It will be paid by collapse of and the removal of the social safety net – what little there is of one – in our land. Goodbye Medicare as we know it. Farewell Social Security. No Child Left Behind exchanged for Every Child Left Behind but ready for an army uniform. And with the collapse emerges a new order – the loss of the middleclass and actions made by government for the good of the commons. Even among the wealthiest they see the intent and design of the fiscal policies of the country (see Warren Buffet). How much worse it is made by reckless and irresponsible spending for this illegal war.
Why is continued support of the war in Iraq a litmus test? Because the war fosters a culture of fear. Fear drives people to do things that they might not otherwise do. Fear is a divider. It creates and us and them climate. It is easier to hate "THEM" or fear "the other" with this ongoing conflict. It is this mentality that allowed the Pentagon to say in response to Abu Ghraib,"they were only Iraqis" . So who will be next on the hate parade? Gays? Mexicans? Liberals? Atheists? Non-Christians? The war is creating this hate and xenophobia. This war does not unite us in a common cause for good but seeks to align our fears to look at all things with a new pessimism and skepticism of the goodness of people generally.
The Iraqi war must be a litmus test for Democrats. The war is threatening or destroying everything that we hold dear as principles of not only our Party since its rebirth in the New Deal, but also this nation. If Senator Levin or other Democratic Office Holders cannot see the broader implications of the war and it effects on the country, then they are blind. We cannot tolerate an escapist retort of supporting the troops to stand any longer.
For me there is a Litmus Test.
End the war immediately, withdraw our troops from Iraq and quickly and safely as possible. If the President does not agree, withhold the purse and compel withdrawal. By whatever means oppose the deployment and make it stop for the good of our nation and the world.